I took Ash to the vet because she was limping - figured it would be arthritis, but it’s a tumor in her femur. Drugs are making her feel better, and we’re giving her all the meat gravy she wants, and she’s feeling more energetic the last few days with Piper here.
We feed him leftover fish, meat and vegetables as well as cheese now whenever we can. Imho, the older dog has a sweetness that even puppies have a difficult time matching. :) Or maybe it's just that we know that we won't have them with us forever.
He's taking Tramadol for fairly severe arthritis. I usually give him one during the day, and two at night. I know what you mean about having Piper there. Our big guy still seems to enjoy sparring with our two year old "pup". The other day when the UPS guy came, he barked and barked, with a big smile on his face. It was so great to see that he still had it in him.