Nico has been having more and more senior moments lately and I am feeling like I need to confine her somehow while we are away from the house, both for her own safety and our sanity. (and the new couch we will hopefully be getting next month.)

Thankfully this is only for a couple hours a day most of the time.

However I am loathe to crate her at this stage in her life. I worry she will get stiff and sore if she can't move around enough, and that it will just totally upset her since she hasn't been crated other than for competitions since she was a pup.

So I am considering using the back room that has no real use other than being where we put stuff.

If she had the room, she could have her dog beds, and a water bowl and the doggie door and could move around and be comfortable.

I am also thinking I will confine Loki as well, especially after the Tuna can incident last week. He is a lucky boy he could have cut his mouth to pieces chewing a can like that.

They are really lovely with each other, he dotes on her and they like cuddle and be together if they aren't getting attention from one of us. I know sharing crates is a no-no but I really see no reason they couldn't share a room for a few hours a day.

Does this plan sound ok?

The last time I had two dogs (quite a few years ago), one senior and one half her age, they spent time together enclosed in the laundry room on very cold days when I was at work. They also shared a kennel when they had to go to the doggie motel for the occasional weekend away...

I never had a problem, but the dogs were very good together all the time. When hanging out, they would always lay down together facing away and watching out for each others' back.

So, I say yes as long as you know they get along.

Robin - the dog I acquired last year who is turning 12 this week does not get along with my other intact male. Due to this, I have to rotate dogs being loose in the house. What I ended up doing is taking my dog room in my finished basement (bed room that has my dog crates, grooming table, etc in it) and made it Robin's room for when he is not loose in the house. All the crate doors are open with beds in them as well as beds in the closet in the room and I have a radio playing. Robin seems to enjoy sleeping in the closet :-)

This way he does not get stiff and can move around when he can't be loose in the rest of the house.

I thought I would clarify the senior moments she has been having lately. This is new territory for me and while overall she is doing well and still very happy and mobile with a VERY good appetite I am seeing some changes in her behavior.

I know her hearing and eyesight are not what they used to be, but she also isn't quite herself anymore.

A couple of weeks ago I was lax and didn't put the bread in the microwave or bread box. Heard her in the kitchen and went to investigate. I caught her with the brand new loaf, took it from her and was waving it at her saying No! No! baaaaad dog.
She just looked at me and wagged her tail and then gingerly tried to take it back. For her entire life a strong verbal correction like that would have been a big deal, not so much now.

Then there was the brand new Sam's size box of granola bars she got, and ate every last one. I walked in to find wrappers everywhere and she looked like a hippopotamus. I was ready to take her in and get her stomach pumped but the vet said as long as she wasn't acting "off" at all to watch carefully.

Rather than going through the dog door, she tried to go through the storm door, which has no glass on the bottom half. She got stuck halfway over, thank goodness we were home and heard the scuffling sounds to go rescue her. She didn't seem upset though, just sort of confused.

Occasionally seeming to be stuck in the bathroom. There isn't room for her to turn around in there, so she has to back up, but now sometimes she will walk in and just stand there until I guide her out.

Over the weekend she went bounding out of the front door, which she NEVER does. But then she went sideways off the porch and got stuck between the house and the bushes. There is at least 2 feet of clearance between the house and the bushes so she should have been able to maneuver right out. But instead she panicked and blundered around running into both until I could get down there and guide her back towards the house.

They do get along really well and Loki is very sweet and gentle with the old girl.

They sleep back to back a lot, or butt to butt which makes them look like a heart, and melts mine a little every time.

They are currently curled up together and he is cleaning her face. We will drag his bed over next to hers and routinely brings her his balls and other toys, dropping them at her feet.

Despite their loving relationship though, they are not what I would consider "too doggie" They both strongly prefer my attention over the other dog, and Loki has a lot of one on one time with me in the form of walks, training, and car rides, trips to the lake etc.

As their owner, I am sure you know how they are together, and I am sure you have their safety at heart.

If it were me, I would let them be together knowing their history but I would be very vigilant about catching other behavioural changes in the old gal BEFORE they can cause a problem.

So far her new quirks have been slightly entertaining to read about and mostly harmless, but if her behavior were to change in any sort of a new possessiveness, dominant, or senile type way, I would not hesitate to seperate them during the day.

Not sure how much room you are working with, but you could do a covered x-pen or an extra large wire crate and then rotate who stays in it during the day and who stays in the room. This suggestion really only applies if there comes a time you have to seperate them.

Some of her quirkiness is somewhat amusing. Often all we can do is throw our hands up and giggle at it all.

I will keep a close eye on her for any snarkier behavior, both for their safety and because IMO it could indicate serious pain or other worsening problems.

I feel like they would just knock an x-pen down, and in order to be big enough it would end up taking up the whole room. If I had to I could crate Loki in another room and let her have the back room to herself.