abbey Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 Hi, I'm interested in members opinions as to a problem I'm having with a Sheltie, she's nearly two years old and appears very healthy apart from when we go on our daily walk. She's always very excited to go, as dogs are, and she obviously enjoys the first part of the walk but after about 25 minutes or so she slows down, sometimes to almost a stop, then we have to find a place to sit down and rest a bit then we go on. This behaviour is repeated several times until we get home again. This just seems to be happening with much more frequency than over the past year where it was occasional. The weather is not hot and I also walk my other Sheltie, a year older, and he has no trouble walking for the 45 - 50 minutes or so. I offer her water but she doesn't want any and I wonder if I'm expecting her to walk too far as she seemingly gets so tired. They both get regular heartworm treatment and she seems otherwise fine. So I'm really keen to get some ideas from others. Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InspectorRex Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 all dogs are different- some can walk for miles, others not If you are worried have her Vet checked. Have you checked her feet and pads for possible injury? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridgie_cat Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 welcome to DOL abbey! Come join the Sheltie/collie thread in the "breed sub forum" in general!!! Photos are a MUST This sounds odd, as being a working breed shelties should be up for a much longer walk than that - is she going nuts in this first 25mins or is it a leisurly walk? It is quite possible that she is just not as active by nature - but if she seems to be in any pain at this stage of the walk it could be worth seeing the vet about... how quickly does she recover after a walk? how often do you walk? has this always been the case, or a recent change? it is probably just her... it could be diet related (what are you feeding? although, considering your other sheltie is fine this is probably not the issue...)... if you are going on regular walks of a similar length then it is unlikely to that she is just unfit ... if not - perhaps you need to build up to longer walks gradually to build fitness ... what colours are your shelties? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbey Posted September 17, 2007 Author Share Posted September 17, 2007 welcome to DOL abbey! Come join the Sheltie/collie thread in the "breed sub forum" in general!!! Photos are a MUST This sounds odd, as being a working breed shelties should be up for a much longer walk than that - is she going nuts in this first 25mins or is it a leisurly walk? It is quite possible that she is just not as active by nature - but if she seems to be in any pain at this stage of the walk it could be worth seeing the vet about... how quickly does she recover after a walk? how often do you walk? has this always been the case, or a recent change? it is probably just her... it could be diet related (what are you feeding? although, considering your other sheltie is fine this is probably not the issue...)... if you are going on regular walks of a similar length then it is unlikely to that she is just unfit ... if not - perhaps you need to build up to longer walks gradually to build fitness ... what colours are your shelties? Thanks for the invite to the Sheltie/Collie thread! I'll do just that. I've been walking them both, the same distance approximately, for over a year now, but this behaviour is relatively recent and it seems to be getting more pronouced over the past month or so. I've thought about taking her pulse but can't seem to find it, but I'm not sure where is the best place to take a pulse on a dog. They're both tri's and my boy is a very good looking boy indeed, I'll upload some photos to show him off! Thanks for your help, I think I'll take her to the vet and see what they say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridgie_cat Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 ok - being a new thing (and from what you say is getting worse), definitely go get her checked out at the vet. hope you find out what is hapening - try writing down all the symptoms you are seeing, any changes in other areas of her life in the last few months, what does she look like when she starts slowing down? funny gait? what you are feeding. take the list with you to the vet as this will help you remember everything and help them diagnose any possible issues! looking forward to seeing pics! Bridget Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShesaLikeableBiBear Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 A trip to the vet is certainly in order if the behaviour has changed markedly in the last few months. Look forward to seeing you and your shelties in the breeed forums: here is a link http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=82604 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poodle wrangler Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 My dog recently started to limp and I was very glad that another DOLer suggested vet asap. You'll be kicking yourself if you could have done something earlier to address the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonniebank Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 (edited) Hi Abbey, Highly unlikely it would be a foot/pad injury if there is no sign of lameness. Like others on here, I've had Shelties for many years and none have displayed what you describe except for some of my oldies who had developed CHF (Congestive Heart Failure). I'm a retired vet nurse and if you want to take your dog's pulse, here are some hints: A pulse occurs with every heart beat. Sometimes, you can just place your hands low on your dog's chest (left hand side), near the elbow joint, and feel the heart beats. You can count how many beats you feel in 15 seconds and then multiply it be 4. That will give you the pulse. We usually check the femoral pulse however. It is high on the inner side of the thigh. Place two fingers on the middle of the thigh near where the leg joins the body. You need to record her pulse rate both before and after exercise and the most important info you can provide your vet with is details of the exercise (how long and how vigorous). If it's difficult for you to take her pulse yourself, take her to the vet before exercise and have the nurse record the pulse rate. Then take her for a walk and back to the vet to have the nurse take the pulse rate after exercise. Again, the length of the exercise and how strenuous it was will be beneficial to the vet. I take my Shelties camping and bushwalking ( some tracks we do are around a 5 hour walk) and even their daily trip to the park consists of AT LEAST 2 hours (walking/running/fetching etc). A vet check is my advice. What have you got to lose???? Hope all is well and nothing too serious. Edited September 22, 2007 by Bonniebank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShesaLikeableBiBear Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 Abbey have you any news about your shelties?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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