One Walk A Day?

[Guest Loki]

Hi everybody,

 

Here is a little background on our big beautiful boy a loki

 

1.For most of Loki's life we've been going for three walks a day.

 

2. Loki has always had a very strong Bladder and been able to hold his Pee and poop for 14 hours easily..... His choice not ours. I work from home and often try to get him to go out but he would just rather lay in bed than pee :-)

 

3. Loki has had multiple foot and leg problems over the years . his acute issues are mostly resolved but I'm sure there is some underlying pain Due to arthritis etc. He is on a couple of different pain medicines.

 

4. Loki is almost 9 years old

 

5. In the last few months Loki has started sleeping very late and not wanted to walk or pee until the afternoon. And that will be the only walk of the day. The colder or hotter the weather, the more extreme his insistence on staying in bed seems to me. He has never been an early riser, but when he was a little younger and the weather was nice he would be frisky in the morning and we would take three walks a day, of his choice !

 

And here is my question…

 

Do you think this is normal for an older greyhound? I mean, I know they're lazy but this seems kind of extreme?

 

Any thoughts would certainly be appreciated

 

Many thanks

[vjgrey]

It could be that the pain meds are making him sleepy, but I'd be concerned about a medical issue if my hound slowed down that drastically and that suddenly. I don't consider a nine year-old (or not yet nine) an "older" hound. Might be worth a "wellness visit," with your vet.

[Time4ANap]

I would definitely have him checked and see what your vet says about doing a Thyroid panel. Could be something out of whack.

 

As far as one walk - that's not really a problem as long as he is able to go out otherwise when he needs to. In extreme weather we only do one walk a day (or no walks) but we also have a fenced area that is just for turnouts. Quick trip outside to do whatever, and he comes right back to the door.

[Guest Gemma]

I agree that getting him checked out is a good idea considering his previous energy levels. If everything comes back okay, I don't think one walk a day is a bad thing. That's all my boy gets at age 10 and he is happy and healthy.

[Guest grey_dreams]

One walk a day, if he has pain from arthritis, is not out of order if that's what he wants. But only one elimination a day is out of order. That's not good for his kidneys. His energy level as you describe is also a concern (at least for me it is). I would definitely get him in to the vet for full blood chemistry panel and full examination. Depending on the results of all those tests, if you still don't have an answer, it would maybe be good, as others suggested, to also run a full thyroid chemistry panel to check his thyroid levels.

[sobesmom]

Are you talking about one "walk" per day, or one "elimation" per day?

 

If it's one exercise walk per day, that's fine. But - If your dog is only peeing and/or pooping once per day - that is NOT ok. Not at all.

 

My grey is almost 9, and I would not consider her a senior. I understand your grey has medical issues - but something doesn't sound right. I would get this checked out. Either something is wrong - or the meds have to dog in a stupor.

[Koyotekyle]

Sam (8)has stenocis. He was put on medicines which "slowed" him down and he was not real active before. The vets suggested surgery, but even my own orthopedic doc said DON'T DO IT. He had trouble walking longer distances. I posted and got a lot of response that said get him to a dog chiropractor. I did not believe in Chiropractic care, but with so many suggestions and desperation I tried it. Sam started with one Chiropractic and lazer treatment a week, and now is every other week. He is now off the meds completely. Sam is now much more alert and spry. He loves his walks and is ready to go anytime we go to the closet. Mimi always "led" on the walks, but now Sam is leading on a lot of the walk. We walk at least two miles a day, once or twice a day. He occasionally plays with toys which he did not do before. We do have a yard that he and Mimi go out and play during the day, so more walks are unnecessary. Check out a dog chiropractor and see if you can get him off the meds. Ours is a regular DVM but specializes in holistic treatment for the last 15 years.

[Guest Loki]

Thanks so much to everybody who has replied to this thread. I took Loki to the vet on Friday.We did a full blood workup including lime disease, thyroid panel, heartworm, etc.

 

Some of the results we had done that day and came back negative for Lyme disease and heartworm… More results to come hopefully on Monday.

 

Thanks again