by Traceylynn Hommel
(Middlebury, VT U.S.)

Stella watching over Mom

Stella watching over Mom

Stella watching over Mom

I took my Mom's dog to the vet for a routine check up. Her name is Stella, and she will be twelve years old in February (2012). She is a medium size dog and mixed but we see a lot of Akita in her.

I let the vet know that Stella will walk with me very well in the beginning, and that is just about a yard or so, then she starts to slow down and it seems like I am pulling her instead of her going gung ho ahead of me.

I know that she limps a little when she walks - actually her hips sachet back and forth and it looks kinda cute, and that is because her hips bother her now, but I was always told to keep them moving and walking or running to get the kink out.

My vet told me that any pet will want to be with you at any time so they will try and keep up with you or they will walk or run as you ask them, but they are actually in a lot of pain and will not let you know that for fear of having to give up their time with you.

My vet mentioned that when you see your older pet slowing down while walking or running, do not try to get them to keep up with you or exercise them more, they are trying to tell you that they are hurting at that point but still want to be with you.

My vet let me know to bring Stella to a stopping point and get back to a resting area when I see her slowing down. It will her her pain and condition more by not putting her through strenuous activity, at her age, it is just the way it is.

To me, that made a lot of common sense, and you would not have to revert to medications, which can be worse for them. Just stop the pain with relaxation.

Do you have any experience with this? Please click the "click here to add your own comment" link below to share...

Comments for The Myth of excercising your older dog

Average Rating starstarstarstarstar

Click here to add your own comments

Rating
starstarstarstarstar
NEW NEW
by: Anonymous

Very nice article, exactly what I needed. Very useful post i really appreciate thanks for sharing such a nice post. I wanna thanks to a great extent for providing such informative and qualitative material therefore often.Master of Science in Information Assurance


Rating
starstarstarstarstar
My older dogs always 'walked' with me NEW
by: Bshane

My older terrier used to slow down at a certain point in our walks -- sometimes after a few yards. I always respected her judgement by stopping. We adapted my other terrier's need to continue walking by placing the ailing dog in a baby jogger I had brought along for the purpose.

The first time I put my cairn into the baby jogger, she took to it instantly, sitting as if on a royal litter as I pushed her along. A bonus for her was the extra attention she got from curious passersby who were surprised and delighted to see a hairy dog where they expected to see a baby.

The baby jogger was purchased second-hand and transformed into a senior-dog jogger by adjusting the seatback so it went back as far as it would go, at which point the profile of the seat was a very broad "V." I then filled in the valley of the "V" with a bedpillow and some dog blankets until the surface was horizontal. When necessary, I was able to fit my cairn terrier and west highland white terrier side by side.


Click here to add your own comments

Click here to go back to the Ask a Vet Online Library of questions.

Do you believe in holistic pet care? If so, please tell your friends about us, and visit our Organic Pet Digest social media accounts. Thank you for supporting our efforts!


Also see…

Share This