Aug
2012
Grey Hairs On My Dog, Oh No, Bring In The Wagon!
As many of you can probably tell my recent posts over the last few weeks have mostly focused on Sherman.
There’s a reason for that.
Sherman’s getting grey hair!
I noticed it a few weeks ago.
I thought he had some dust on his mush and I went to wipe it away and it didn’t come off.
I tried again.
It was still there.
I yelled for my husband.
“Look at what’s on his mush!” I yelled.
“Slobber?” my husband replied.
“No! I think it’s grey hair!” I yelled.
“All I see is a slobber.” he said.
“I still don’t see it.” he said.
The kids didn’t see it either when I yelled for them to come take a look.
I guess it’s only something that a mom can see.
Anyway it was devastating to me.
Sherman is going to be six in November.
A giant breed, such as the Newfoundland, is considered a senior at age seven, sometimes even earlier. Because of their size they age much quicker than most average sized dogs. Newfoundlands have a life expectancy of 8-10 years, but many also live well past that.
I plan on having my Newfs around for the long haul.
And when I say haul, I mean haul, like as in “Sherman is going to haul a load of firewood.”
Yup. That’s right, it’s time for Sherman to start another chapter in his life as a working dog.
The grey hair isn’t going to magically disappear, even if I use a brown Sharpie to color over it, so I have no other option than to bring in the wagon.
Having the dogs do carting or drafting as it is called, has been something that I have always wanted to do with them and since time is not on my side here, there is no better time than the present to have him work like his breed was intended to.
Sherman is still in great shape and certainly has the potential to haul. A draft dog does not pull his load, he pushes the harness with his chest, pushing the harness forward, and the harness and traces pull the load.
Sherman is not hooked up to the traces here but I hope it gives you the idea of him pushing the harness forward with his chest and transferring the weight to the traces, which pull the load.
My husband is in the process of modifying a red wagon into a cart that is easier for him to maneuver. All we need is some bigger wheels and a breaking mechanism and then Sherman will be working! In the meantime I am getting him familiar with the idea of the wagon and the harness.
While you won’t see us in any drafting competitions or pulling massive loads, it is my hope that by winter Sherman will be hauling a few pieces of firewood from the backyard to the fireplace to keep us warm in the winter!
Maybe, if Gracie can stay little forever, he will be able to haul her too.
tylersat99
August 17, 2012 at 2:15 am (305 days ago)How old is Sherman? Lexie is starting to get some grey in the same place. I keep pretending it’s been there all along, she’s 6 1/2 .
Jen
August 17, 2012 at 10:32 am (305 days ago)Sherman will be 6 in November! I have no idea where the time has gone!
Finn
August 17, 2012 at 5:58 am (305 days ago)Aw! I love that conversation you described, it made me laugh!
Emma
August 17, 2012 at 7:19 am (305 days ago)Lucky for our household, my 10 yr old Kuvasz is all white so no gray will be noticed and my muzzle is pretty white too. Look at it as a sign of maturity, we respect dogs with a bit of grey!
melF
August 17, 2012 at 7:54 am (305 days ago)Sherman is so cute. I don’t see the grey hairs, but then again, maybe I am in denial. I hate it that big dogs have a lower life expectancy.
You and I must be on the same wave length lately. I have also been thinking a lot about Daisy’s age. To be honest, I’ve been kind of melancholy about it this week. I don’t know her real age, but when I got her she was estimated to be 4 years old. In November, she will have been with me 5 years. That means she is 9 and entering her senior years too. I feel an urgency to give her all the cool experiences she can possibly have in life. I want to know that she got to do all the things she loves and more. Our selections might not include a cart, but we have the same intention.
I can’t wait to see Sherman pulling/pushing the cart.
Misaki
August 17, 2012 at 8:22 am (305 days ago)Sherman is turning into a silver fox bol
Eva or sometimes Priscilla
August 17, 2012 at 8:55 am (305 days ago)Oh no!!! Don’t worry, Sherman, I think your Mom is hallucinating!!!
Kristine
August 17, 2012 at 9:13 am (305 days ago)Why do dogs have to grow up and get old? Why can’t they just stay the same for ever and ever? It’s a hard thing to deal with so I choose to just ignore the fact completely. Since Shiva’s fur is naturally grey maybe I won’t have to face this reality for quite a few years?
Carting is such a great idea! I bet he’ll love it once he is used to the idea and the feel of the cart behind him. My childhood dog was a Siberian husky and my parents once had her trained to pull my little sister on a sled. It was so cute!
Beth
August 17, 2012 at 9:16 am (305 days ago)I hope Sherman likes the cart. I think its a great idea!
Jodi
August 17, 2012 at 9:39 am (305 days ago)Sugar Lips, that is what I call my dogs. Sampson is going white in the face, just looking at him breaks my heart.
Delilah is getting white around the mouth too. Not my favorite moments in owning dogs.
Can’t wait to see videos of Sherman hauling wood. I wonder if Sampson could do it. We could sure use the help.
Sam
August 17, 2012 at 9:57 am (305 days ago)Sam held off on his grey hairs until about a year ago, but then we couldn’t stop them! He doesn’t quite have his solid white face yet, but we know it will only be a matter of time.
It will be fun to see him pulling a cart!
Sam
The Heartbeats
August 17, 2012 at 10:02 am (305 days ago)Yep. Both Lucy and Calhoun have gray muzzles & it kills me. *sniff, sniff* My babies are getting older, 4 & 6!
Mamma Heartbeat
Blueberry's human
August 17, 2012 at 10:58 am (305 days ago)That sounds like fun! Hey – maybe he can take Gibby out for little field trips!
It’s always a little sad to see those gray hairs pop up – a cruel reminder that dogs don’t live nearly long enough. He looks more distinguished now!
Jackie Bouchard
August 17, 2012 at 11:17 am (305 days ago)This might sound weird, but we were just saying last night to our Rita (who is only 1) that we are looking are looking forward to seeing her as a dignified, gray faced old gal. We lost our last beautiful girl, Abby, in January at only 2 1/2 to bone cancer, so we never got to see her go gray and get to be a senior citizen. We got robbed. So hopefully we will still have Rita some day when she is gray. Of course, we hope she lives to be at least 16! At LEAST.
There is never ever enough time with our pups, no matter how old they live to be.
Sherman is such a handsome boy – a little bit of gray will just make him look more distinguished! Cute pics.
Bassetmomma
August 17, 2012 at 11:42 am (305 days ago)Ahhhh! So now Sherman will be a distinguished Newf! I think he’ll look pretty cute hauling that wagon full of wood. Love that picture of him and Gracie!
Sue at Talking Dogs
August 17, 2012 at 12:17 pm (305 days ago)Carting… I’ve gotten to do it with a friend’s Swissies. What fun! (I’m ignoring the whole grey hair thing on purpose. Dog’s longevity – or lack thereof – is nothing I want to think about.)
Jan
August 17, 2012 at 12:46 pm (305 days ago)I love seeing dogs do the actual work they were bred to do
Peggy Frezon
August 17, 2012 at 3:10 pm (304 days ago)Oh dear, did that gray hair on Sherman give you gray hairs? Kelly is very gray and ol’ Brooks, even though he’s 11 he’s only a little gray. So go figure. Looks like a great start to pull that cart!
24 Paws of Love
August 17, 2012 at 4:21 pm (304 days ago)Silver start getting white hairs at age five, after she was spayed. And she just keeps getting whiter and whiter. I’ve cried a couple of times over it. My little girl is getting older. My husband just laughs at me and says she just wants to be like her daughter Fiona.
Two French Bulldogs
August 17, 2012 at 4:53 pm (304 days ago)Do we tell the world when mom gets grey hairs! Oh the nerve
Benny & Lily
Daisy
August 17, 2012 at 5:04 pm (304 days ago)Bella and I have lots of grey hairs.
The hauling sounds like a great idea. After all age is just a number and grey hairs….just grey hair.
XXXOOO Daisy, Bella & Roxy
Pip
August 17, 2012 at 7:33 pm (304 days ago)That wagon looks like a perfect size for me! How about a lift, Sherman!
Your pal, Pip
P.S.: I’ve got lots of grey furs!
Roxy the traveling dog
August 17, 2012 at 8:01 pm (304 days ago)He’s going to be a great cart puller, grey hair or not.
Julie
August 17, 2012 at 11:25 pm (304 days ago)Every day I see another white hair on Cali’s face
I wish they could stay young forever!!!
Murray's Mouth
August 19, 2012 at 12:26 am (303 days ago)Aw, he’s gorgeous! I have gold dogs so less seeing of the greys lol…but the aging stresses me too!
Kolchak, Felix & Jodi
August 19, 2012 at 4:17 am (303 days ago)I noticed that Koly is getting grey in the muzzle and he’s only 5! My sweet Felx is going gray all over his little body and it breaks my heart. We have no idea how old he really is and like you, I feel heart broken that he’s not a pup anymore!*sigh* why do they have to grow up?
2 brown dawgs
August 19, 2012 at 4:54 am (303 days ago)Storm is 5. She has had grey hair for at least a year. Chessies can grey prematurely. It think it shows more on her than Thunder because of her dark color.
Boy Sherman, your people must need a ton of firewood. They made you a super fancy cart!
Karen Friesecke
August 19, 2012 at 10:57 am (303 days ago)I remember feeling the same way when I found Jersey’s first white hairs. She was around 6YO, too. Time flies way too quickly when you have dogs.
*nice* job on the cart! Can’t wait to see Sherman in action!
Amy@GoPetFriendly
August 19, 2012 at 11:58 am (303 days ago)Buster’s getting grey in the same place as Sherman – and I’m freaking out about it, too! How is it possible that our boys are reaching this next stage of life? I’m not ready!!
snoopy@snoopysdogblog
August 19, 2012 at 12:00 pm (303 days ago)Hey Sherman,
Don’t worry buddy my Black puppy fur went Grey before I was even one, I just say it makes us look distinguished!!
That cart thing looks like fun, maybe your Mom could fill it with treats and you could pull them into the house instead of wood?
Have fun,
Your pal Snoopy
houndstooth
August 19, 2012 at 7:08 pm (302 days ago)Those grey hairs are hard to accept! Greyhounds are notorious for greying up really early. I hope we get to see some cute video and pictures of Sherman and his cart soon!
That would make one adorable Christmas card picture! Just saying!
Nichole
August 20, 2012 at 4:59 pm (301 days ago)HA! Tut has been prematurely grey since he was a kid… LOL
Miss Lola has become quite grey over the past couple years though!
Misty Shores Chesapeakes
August 21, 2012 at 7:46 pm (300 days ago)I see the gray, I know that doesn’t make you feel better but maybe this will I think it is premature gray; Cheyenne has it too and she is nine but I refuse to think of her as a senior dog
I can’t wait to see more photos of Sherman and the cart.
Vicki
August 25, 2012 at 8:24 am (297 days ago)Buddy will be 8 years old on September 6th. The years have flown! Not so much the white muzzle because he is already white there but He moans and groans so we know that he is aging, poor boy. Nothing to be done but keep ‘em healthy and well for as long as we can.
I think if Sherman gets this carting business down, you should put him into service hauling Christmas trees at a local farm. That would be very cool.
Good luck Sherman and keep the awesome pictures coming!