#231 Slow Walks, Strong Noses

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What if the long pause on your dog’s walk isn’t confusion, but craftsmanship—your senior pup carefully stitching light, shadow, and scent into a clear picture? We unpack how aging reshapes a dog’s senses and why those slower moments are signs of adaptation, not decline. From the bluish haze of nuclear sclerosis to the steady guidance of smell, you’ll hear how vision softens, hearing drifts, and the nose steps into the lead.

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:02):
If you have an older dog, you might have noticed some
new habits creeping in.
Maybe your walks have gottenslower, or your dog pauses to
stare off into the distance.
And it can be easy to wonderwhat's going on.
Are they zoning out, losinginterest, or is something

(00:25):
changing with how they see andsense the world?
My dog Scooter is about fourteennow and over the last couple of
years I've noticed some shifts.
His eyes have that bluish whitehaze and sometimes on our walks
he'll stop and just stare.

(00:45):
And at first I thought he waswatching something in the
distance.
But after a while I realizedhe's probably just taking a
second to figure out what he'slooking at.
That haze can look likecataracts, but in a lot of older
dogs it's actually somethingcalled nuclear sclerosis.

(01:06):
The lens inside the eye stiffensand gets cloudy with age.
So dogs can still see just notas sharply.
It's like they're lookingthrough a fogged up window.
Depth and detail take longer toprocess, and especially in low
light or around unfamiliarshapes.

(01:30):
So when Scooter stops andstares, he's not confused.
He's just taking a little extratime to piece things together.
His brain is working on thepuzzle of light and shadow,
trying to make sense of it.
His hearing isn't great either,or maybe he's just more creative

(01:50):
in ignoring me these days.
But the sense that seems to holdon the longest is his nose.
While smell can dull a littlewith age, it usually fades much
more slowly than sight orhearing.
And dogs use scent to anchorthemselves to the world, even if

(02:13):
their eyes aren't sharp andtheir ears miss a sound or two.
Scent gives them confidence.
When scooter stops to sniff, Itry not to rush him.
That's his way of mapping theworld around him.
It's how he gathers informationand reassures himself that

(02:33):
everything is still where itshould be.
If you've got a senior dog,there are a few small things
that make life easier.
Stick to walking familiarroutes, so the smells, turns,
and textures feel familiar.
Give them time to pause and takeit all in.

(02:56):
Keep good lighting around stairsand doors, and then pair your
voice with a hand signal or alight touch, so communication
doesn't depend on perfecthearing.
And bring in more scent basedgames, hiding treats around a
room or using a snuffle mat, sotheir nose keeps doing what it

(03:19):
does best without putting stresson their joints.
Hing changes how dogs experiencethe world, but it doesn't take
away their curiosity or theirjoy.
They just need more time, morepatience, and more chances to
explore life at their own pace.

(03:41):
So if your old dog pauses on awalk and stares off or stands
nose deep in the grass for aminute, let them.
They're not lost in thought.
They're finding their place inthe world all over again.