Standing, turning, stepping over objects, and changing elevation can become physically difficult.
With Walter, the challenge is determining how much of each strange moment comes from his mind and how much comes from his body.
Getting Into the Pool Is Easier Than Getting Out
At first, that seems impossible.
The rim has not changed height.
Walter crossed it once.
Why can he not simply reverse the movement?
But entering and exiting are not identical tasks for an arthritic senior dog.
Walter approaches the pool facing forward.
He can see the rim.
He takes his time.
One leg crosses.
Then another.
Once inside, he has to reposition his long body before leaving.
That requires turning.
Balancing.
Shifting weight.
Then lifting one of his very short legs high enough to clear the plastic wall.
For a Basset Hound with painful joints, those extra steps matter.
His Body Is Built Close to the Ground
Walter's short legs are part of what makes the scene so striking.
The kiddie pool is shallow.
Yet the rim reaches relatively high against his limbs.
His long torso adds another challenge.
He cannot simply hop over the edge without placing considerable demand on his joints and spine.
For a healthy Basset Hound, the obstacle might still be manageable.
For Walter at 11, it has become something different.
But Arthritis Doesn't Explain Why He Sometimes Just Stands There
This is where Walter's cognitive condition becomes important.
After entering the pool, he may remain motionless.
He appears to look around.
Sometimes his body points toward one side while his head slowly moves in another direction.
There is no obvious attempt to exit.
It can look as though Walter has temporarily lost the next step in the sequence.
He entered.
Now what?
No one can know exactly what Walter is thinking.
But disorientation is a recognized feature of cognitive dysfunction in older dogs.
Senior Dogs With Cognitive Changes Can Become “Stuck”
Families and caregivers sometimes notice elderly dogs standing in corners or behind furniture.
A dog may walk into a narrow space and seem unable to work out how to reverse.
Some stand on the wrong side of a door.
Others wander without an obvious destination.
Walter's pool behavior has similarities to that kind of spatial confusion.
The difference is that his arthritis makes the situation physically harder once he becomes uncertain.