you rescued this dog, i'm sure with the intentions of keeping her. she NEVER should have been spayed if she was in heat, it should have waited 2-3 months post heat. unbelievable that a shelter would do this. have you taken her to a vet at all?? if not, that's what you should do, at the very least. if you don't want to "spend a lot of money" for vet care for your dog, you probably shouldn't be a dog owner. dogs are for life. i'm sorry but you don't sound like you are making much of an effort to see what this problem is and what can be done to take care of it. yes, vet care can be expensive, i know because i have 4 great danes. if this was your child, would you not take it to the doctor right away? you brought this dog home, you owe it to her to do everything possible to make sure she is healthy.

"Couldn't you just tell your dog not to do it?" My sheltie is very smart, but he still doesn't understand English, I'm afraid. Just kiddin'! He's pretty much deaf. He hears (we think) dishes clattering, loud claps or slams, but sometimes if we clap at him when he's digging at the floor, he doesn't show any signs of hearing the clap, probably can't hear it over the digging sounds he makes. So, we have to run over to where ever he is, typically in some corner or behind furniture, and touch him, which startles the heck out of him. And most of the time, when we finally locate him and he's within reach, he's stopped digging and is laying down. I've always heard that if you don't catch them in the act, it isn't effective to interrupt them. So if he's already laying down, I don't bother him. On the upside, being deaf, it makes it very easy to give him a Flowbee haircut. :)

Thanks so much for those pictures, graywings! I think we can make that work. The porch the dogs will be exiting to has hardiplank siding, 8" laps, and on the inside is beadboard. I think our very Handy a Guy could tart up the appearance with molding and build a step on the outer side as the flooring there is wood....we'll see. Thanks,

Wow, this thread took wings again! Let's see if I can answer. missymoo - we wonder, too, about the discomfort of being still. But as I said upthread, she stops the pacing when we're not paying attention to her. She was never a particularly active dog, so other than maybe being bored, I'm not sure it's discomfort. Yesterday DH was gone and I was puttering around the house. She landed in one of her favorite spots and was there the entire afternoon. tibbrix - We live in NC, so the water is really cold right now. I just don't think I could do that. I wouldn't want someone tossing me in a cold lake in February. And she hates water unless DH is in there with her. I don't think he'll go for that. :) mimi - the vet has done a bunch of range of motion and that type of testing. There haven't been any tests with machines or anything. She doesn't think the dementia is really an issue because of the dog's attentiveness, being in-the-moment when she's there, etc. She said there is still a lot going on upstairs, and there are no other symptoms of dementia. We have her on pain management drugs, which are limited because she is also on Prednisone, which means she can't take NSAIDS. She's also on a supplement and fish oil for arthritis. I will look into the PAWS, that might help some. starsplitter - we have not used glucosamine/chondroitin for this dog, although we gave to another dog years ago. I'd have to ask and research it, it might not work with the Prednisone. The Pred is for a chronic liver ailment, and is keeping that well controlled. She only get 5mg every other day, so super low dosage, but long term. Thanks to everyone for all of the suggestions and words of advice. We've never had a dog live this long, so we're in new territory.