Greetings everyone,
I have a problem. Our dog Annie (originally a pound puppy - mostly black lab) is approaching 13. For the past 3 years she's lived with my son while he attended college out of town. This arrangement worked well for my wife. She's never been fond of Annie - or dogs in general. Annie is showing her age. She has trouble with stairs, difficulty standing up & laying down. She's also starting to follow us around everywhere, all the time - and so is underfoot alot. The problem is that Annie is not going back to college with my son. She's just not suited to that lifestyle anymore and my son's new apartment doesn't allow pets. My wife is very upset and says she won't live with "that dog". Annie is a sweet dog, but sheds like crazy so there's a hair problem around the house. She's stinky - my son never washed her much (or himself, but that's another story). She's an indoor dog, never liked staying in the back yard much. So I'm prepared to wash her every week and vacuum everyday to make her more pleasant to be around. But I'm at a loss as to what else I can do to keep the peace around the house. Any ideas?
Thanks for reading.
B.Shears

Hello,
Annie needs to feel loved despite and because of her age!
I think you are the only one that loves her. How much love can a person really feel for anyone if they can't love Annie?
I recommend a dedicated area where she can be kept and feel in peace.
She might not have long to live. Give her the old age care and love you would want youself to have.
Even a large crate, but prefferably a room or part of a room would do.

I want to thank you for the Love and Care that YOU feel.

Maybe your wife should be reminded that Dogs are the only animals that have stood by our side all history long and even before that. Asking for nothing, offering everything. It is not more than 100 years ago that having a dog made a family fortunate, never to go hungry.
Dogs were honoured at ancient times and special burial grounds were dedicated to them.
God Zeus has commanded Dogs be honoured and worshiped at the highest mountain peak, or suffering and bad luck would prevail. Temples can be found today to verify such practices by our oldest predecessors.
Make a search on "Anubis" the keeper and protector of the secrets of the dead. Quess how much is just not told!
There is a spirit and a soul involved. But I quess that can only be seen by a few.

Ask your vet if there's any medication that will make Annie more comfortable and make life easier for her. Make sure she doesn't have bad teeth or an ear infection that's making her smell bad. Then call a professional groomer and schedule a de-shedding treatment. This will greatly reduce the amount of hair she's dropping in the house and keep her smelling nice.

Remind your wife of the sad truth that a 13 year old dog doesn't have a whole lot of time left on this earth, and it would be nice if she'd show a little compassion towards an animal that has been an important part of your life.

This might seem a bit brash, but I don't know how to say it more tactfully (my apologies if I offend you)-- you might want to look into marriage counseling. I detect another underlying issue contributing to your wife's revulsion to not just Annie, but dogs in general. You can reason with her until you're blue in the face, and make grooming the dog a full time job, but until you resolve what is really bothering your wife, she will never be at peace with the dog.

While it's true the real issue may not be the dog. But it's also true that the wife might just not be a dog person. Not everyone loves dogs. My own mother can't abide a dog in the house. Never has, never will.

In addition to what vetgroomer said, try brushing Annie a couple times a week to help the fur situation. And with the frequent bathing, that is fine, but take care that you use a good dog shampoo, and thoroughly wash it out, so she doesn't get skin problems from it.

Also, here's a thought. Words are sometimes more meaningful when they're read rather than heard. Perhaps you could write her a thoughtful letter (on paper, not email) explaining the difficulty you're feeling about the situation and what she could do to make it a little easier on everybody before a friend of yours leaves this world.