Arthritis And Walks

[Guest AndyUK]

Hi all

 

I adopted Sarah when she was almost 7. When we first got her she would occasionally wince or yelp if you touched her shoulder. Our vet said she probably had arthritis or was likely to develop it in the future. Anyway, two years have passed without any problems until two weeks ago.........

 

We were out walking when an offlead bulldog approached us. It wouldn't take my hint to go away and its owner was quite useless - the bulldog ignored her as much as it ignored me - and Sarah started to leap around like crazy. I eventually got the bulldog to go away. Sarah was a bit spooked but otherwise OK - she even had a zoom around the garden later that day.

 

The next day, however, she was in a lot of pain - winced every tim she stood up. I knew it was bad when she couldn't jump up onto the sofa! The vet said the leaping around on lead had probably pulled a muscle or, more likely, made her arthritis flare up. She prescribed Rimadyl and 2 weeks of rest - no walks (no chance, Sarah could have 4 broken legs and she'd still want to go walking). This seems to have worked and she is getting back to normal. Her last Rimadyl tablet is today.

 

She is keen to go on her walks and I was planning to get back to normal over the next couple of weeks- a brisk 20 minute walk in the morning and a brisk 30 - 40 minute walk in the evening but my wife thinks this will be too much for her and I should go on shorter, slower walks which we are doing at the moment. Sarah loves her walks and I feel I am letting her down by not walking so far but equally I don't want her in pain.

 

Any advice?

[Hawthorn]

You could try building up the length of her walks gradually to your "normal" length, adding 5 minutes every few days or every week even, and watch closely for any signs of discomfort after the walks or next day (good idea to keep a diary or log). If she's OK with the length of the walks, you could then gradually increase the speed of the walks, again watching for any signs of discomfort.

 

Have you got her on any joint supplements, such as glucosamine, chondroitin or MSM?

[Remolacha]

I'd keep an eye on her, but if she wants to walk and doesn't seem to be in pain, let her walk Just watch her pretty carefully, if they love their walks, the signs may be subtle. I didn't cut back on Sugar's walks until I noticed her hesitating/slowing down about half way through the walk. Now, I let her say if she wants to walk or not, and we only go a few houses down the street, but when she wants to, we still walk!

[silverfish]

On the whole I think quality of life is important and if she wants to go walking she should be allowed to. However, 30-40 minutes for a dog with arthritis issues may well be too much, especially at a fast pace.

 

It's a difficult thing to judge, because on the one hand, it's good to keep them moving and exercising. With arthritis, it's definitely a case of use it or lose it, and it keeps muscle strength up, and excess weight down, both of which help to reduce the load on sore joints. But on the other hand, too much, even just once, will probably set her back a long way and give her substantial amounts of pain for a few days.

 

As Hawthorn says, it's probably best to take it very slowly and very gradually build up to the level of exercise she can tolerate without getting stiff later that day, or the next day. There is absolutely no advantage in overdoing it, so watch carefully for signs of discomfort and remember, while you're out, that you're aiming for her to be tired when you're nearly home. If she's tired halfway round, she'll be exhausted by the time you make it home, and that's counter-productive.

[Guest JenZ]

My 11 1/2 year old Lucy has osteoarthritis and several bone spurs down her lower back, and was just diagnosed with two areas of osteoarthritis in her neck.

 

Her orthapedic specialist says that it is important to keep arthritic dogs up and moving... no running, no trotting, no fast speeds... but definitely daily walks. Lucy now wears a harness ( to alleviate stress on the neck) and we go for walks that are slower than molasses, but she loves them! She picks the speed (slower than slow... I think a 2 legged dauchsund with a broken back could out-walk us) but she has such a great time!

 

Lucy has been on Glucosamine for several years, was on Metacam for a couple weeks and now we are trying Duralactin, a new milk protein supplement that is supposed to do wonders for osteoarthritis (fingers crossed, it is supposed to arrive today!).

 

Good luck with Sarah... I would definitely start walking her again... just slow and steady... and build up from there.

 

Jen

[Guest paulamariez]

We walked our first grey Chief daily, all the way until he went to the bridge. He even went out in our yard and raced around the day before he passed. Chief was 1 and 1/2 months shy of his 14th birthday! He had arthritis and was on medication for it. Our vet said to let him run and take walks all that he wanted. He said that just like humans, exercise is very good for arthritis.

[Guest AndyUK]

Thanks for your replies.

 

At the moment we're on slow, short walks - I naturally walk fast so its a challenge for me! She's just finished her rimadyl and goes back to the vet next week so i'll keep them like that until then.

 

The vet recommended a harness so i'll get one of those - i've been putting it off as it means a trip to the pet shop for a fitting (exciting for her, stressful for me and all the other animals).

 

I don't give her glucosamine (I must admit I never occurred to me even though I take it) - but I do give her cod liver oil once a week. Is it OK to give her glucosamine intended for humans?

 

[NeylasMom]

I agree, just build back up somewhat gradually, but if she's tolerating the walks well after she's off the Rimadyl, I see no need to deprive her. I would definitely recommend the glucosamine/chondroitin in addition to the fish oil, both are useful for joint fluids/cushioning, or so they say.