Slowing Down

[Guest longdogs]

William used to be a powerful walker but began to slow noticeably just before he reached 10. He developed a serious auto-immune condition and started to decline. This year Angel, nearly 11, has really started putting the brakes on. She is a happy little soul and skips and prances as far as the gate and for the first part of her walk, maybe 10 minutes, then gradually goes from a trot to a slow walk over the next 15-20. Like William, she often needs to be cajoled along for the last few minutes. Just over a year or so ago we would take long, fast, walks and she never missed a beat, trotting along like a little dynamo and always ready for more. In fact we often used to do a figure-of-eight so we could drop William off part-way. He used to be so disappointed if he didn't get his walk but it became too much for him to stay out for long once he became ill. Now I try to keep our walks a reasonable length of time but we only cover a third of the previous distance. In hot weather, even this is too much for her. Most of the time she is buried in her comfy bed, usually two beds piled together now we have dropped from three hounds to just one. Her health thus far has been excellent, just a few tooth problems she brought with her, and she is otherwise cheerful and glossy. Her appetite has dropped but is proportionate to her activity level.

 

I am nervous following our harrowing experience with William but am telling myself this is just age catching up with her. How much exercise are others giving their senior hounds? Does your experience match mine or should I be concerned about some underlying cause? There was nothing funny in her last general checkup a few months ago.

[CaliforniaGreys]

If she's healthy, I would guess the slowing is just her getting older. Maybe you're worried because of all you went through with William. I hope that's all it is!!

[duncan41]

If you're experiencing that hair-on-the-back-of-the-neck heebie-jeebies, I would take her in to see your Vet for a quick check and a senior blood panel. There are some things that can be so sneaky while developing, especially with seniors. Don't get overly concerned.............just follow your instincts. I'm sure you will BOTH feel better after getting the "all clear". Please keep us posted on how Angel is doing!

[Guest Scouts_mom]

My Tia is 13 and this past year she has really slowed down on our walks. She still loves them, but they are short strolls now, not exercise walks for me. She had a checkup at the vet last week and was declared to be doing great, so I think this is just age.

 

Because of her age, I do get her checked every six months now instead of every year and get a blood test each time. If and when something goes wrong, I want to catch it early when we still might be able to do something.

[ZoomDoggy]

How gradual has the energy change been? A drop in energy in my Sissy was the first overlooked sign that she was unwell near the end. She was a stoic brave little princess, so I didn't think to worry until she was clearly in pain (she had cancer). I had naively attributed her slow-down on our daily walks to age and/or stubbornness. The same thing happened to my Marla. She started lagging on walks and acting depressed after Chancy died, and I stupidly assumed she was simply mourning or sad at losing her housemate. Turned out she had lung cancer.

 

Point being if it seems less than very gradual, I'd be getting the pup checked over by a vet.

[Guest longdogs]

How gradual has the energy change been? A drop in energy in my Sissy was the first overlooked sign that she was unwell near the end. She was a stoic brave little princess, so I didn't think to worry until she was clearly in pain (she had cancer). I had naively attributed her slow-down on our daily walks to age and/or stubbornness. The same thing happened to my Marla. She started lagging on walks and acting depressed after Chancy died, and I stupidly assumed she was simply mourning or sad at losing her housemate. Turned out she had lung cancer.

 

Point being if it seems less than very gradual, I'd be getting the pup checked over by a vet.

This is of course my fear and she has been checked, just as I did with William. In fact I was taking William to the vet as much as twice a week because I had a strong gut feeling something was wrong. It was only when he finally collapsed and ended up in intensive care that it was absolutely certain something was seriously amiss. He too looked fine at first. We also lost Nugget just before he started to decline and he was clearly depressed by it, as were we all. Just like you, we attributed his early symptoms to the same cause. Rationally, I'm probably worrying too much but we are deeply fond of her and she is the last of our old pack.