When Are They Too Old To Run (or Should I Say, Jog)?

[sandgrubber]

I've graduated from walking to granny-style running my dogs. Or do they call it jogging? I have three Labs, aged 9 mo, 4 yr 3 mo, and 9 yr 8 mo. I do about three miles a day. The dogs rarely get out of a trot and we stop a few times each mile. My concern is with the old girl. She's ok now, and I think the exercise probably does more good than harm. But I know how good dogs are at hiding their pain and how much they HATE being left out. What do I look for to decide when it's time to reduce her exercise?

p.s. Yes, I know many of you think younger dogs shouldn't run that much, but I've exercised all my pups and have consistently ended out with excellent hips and elbows. The only high score I've gotten was from a pup that I had a friend raise . . . and she didn't exercise heavily. One of my vets told me that gradually increasing exercise that doesn't involve shocks was generally good . . . develop muscle along with bone. I've worked on that supposition and it's proven good.

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

You aren't giving her too much of a chance to show you she is showing down perhaps.

I never jog or run with my dogs any more because of my arthritis, it's not possible.

I walk them and sometimes you'll see that the older dogs are desperately trying to keep up. If this happens for a few days in a row then I start taking them on a shorter walk (I have more than one dog) or I do what I call relay walking.

Always take the youngest fittest dog and then go and get dogs of different abilities and go shorter distances which means the youngest dog gets sufficient exercise and so do the others who are almost twice his age.

I think you can safely say that at some point soon the distance you are travelling and the pace will become too much for the older dogs but the key to it is being very in tune with your dogs and watching them very closely in order to pick it up. There could be a slight dragging on the lead.

One of my old dogs walks away from the front door when I get the leads out if she is having an off day.

Edited April 18, 2014 by Her Majesty Dogmad

[dee lee]

I have wondered the same about my 7 year old GR. We have run together for years but she has started to lag behind in the last year.

Like Dogmad says, I just watch her & adjust our exercise according to her. I've stopped running her longer distances two days in a row.

I find the temperature makes a difference too. Now that it's cooler, she seems better able to keep up.

[Loving my Oldies]

The cooler weather has definitely made a difference to one of my dogs. All of us are old, including me, and so we don't jog, but rather go at a snail's pace around the neighbourhood.

I know exactly what you mean by dogs hating to be left out: sometimes if I want to just take the two who are most energetic and to give them time without the really slow ones, I have employ strategies :laugh: :laugh:

I've never had big energetic dogs, so I can't really make informed comments on them, but with the littlies, the first thing you notice is the lagging. If it is possible, drop your dog's lead, continue to jog/walk at your normal pace and you will have your signs if the dog falls behind.

That's just a start - doesn't cover the days when your dog might be feeling a bit tired, or full of the joys of spring. And you may have to end up taking dogs out separately.

[Wundahoo]

Perhaps use her cardiovascular fitness and recovery time as a measure.

Take her pulse rate before you start (and when she isnt anticipating the exercise) to get a base line. Check her pulse rate when you stop to rest during the run and then at the end check it periodically to see how long it takes to return to her baseline normal.

Although she might maintain her fitness level her pulse rate could be affected by the amount of discomfort she might feel while exercising.

It may be that she is coping quite well at the moment but it may also be a useful tool to assess how she copes at a later date. It's important to try to establish a baseline for her because comparison with the other dogs may not be useful simply because of the age difference... the exuberance of youth and the tempered approach of the middle aged dog. The important thing is to try to get some parameters by which you can measure how she is coping.

Apart from this I guess that common sense and general observation of how you feel she is reacting will be useful.

[Little Gifts]

We had a thread about dog prams not long ago for this very issue. I had a pram for an ancient sbt myself who just hated missing out when everyone else was going for a walk but her slowness really messed up the exercise for our other two dogs. So we got her a pram and she started out the walk and when she got tired I'd put her in the pram and we could all continue on.

I saw an old lab in a three wheeler type thingy last year. It was the kind of thing you pull behind a bicycle that you might have your kids in. I posted a pic in the other thread but can't lay my hands on the pic now. So there are options regardless of the size of your elderly dog.

[Esky the husky]

My friend still runs his old sibes in harness. The oldest are 11.5 and 13.5. Still going very strong.

If they're fit and healthy then keep going, I think you know to keep an eye on them and will rest them if they are looking a bit lame.

[Loving my Oldies]

We had a thread about dog prams not long ago for this very issue. I had a pram for an ancient sbt myself who just hated missing out when everyone else was going for a walk but her slowness really messed up the exercise for our other two dogs. So we got her a pram and she started out the walk and when she got tired I'd put her in the pram and we could all continue on.

I saw an old lab in a three wheeler type thingy last year. It was the kind of thing you pull behind a bicycle that you might have your kids in. I posted a pic in the other thread but can't lay my hands on the pic now. So there are options regardless of the size of your elderly dog.

I think the thread was started by westiemum and ended with the Macmobile :laugh: :laugh:

[sandgrubber]

Thanks for replies.

Wundahoo, what's the best way to take a dog's pulse?

a pram for a 32 kg Lab may be out of my pushing capacity . . . if I could find one. Maybe I can rig a buggy and let the pup pull. By the time the old girl starts loosing it, she should be hitting full strength. She's inclined to pull even now with a flat collar. Give her another year and a harness, I expect she'll be fit to work like a husky.

[Wundahoo]

Thanks for replies.

Wundahoo, what's the best way to take a dog's pulse?

a pram for a 32 kg Lab may be out of my pushing capacity . . . if I could find one. Maybe I can rig a buggy and let the pup pull. By the time the old girl starts loosing it, she should be hitting full strength. She's inclined to pull even now with a flat collar. Give her another year and a harness, I expect she'll be fit to work like a husky.

To find a pulse there are several easy ways. Probably the easiest is using a stethoscope placed over the left side of the dog's chest just behind the point of the elbow when the foreleg is slightly flexed so that almost a right angle is formed by the shoulder blade and the upper arm. This will give the true pulse rate. Sometimes the pulse can also be felt at this point too. The other way is to feel for the femoral pulse on the inside of the hind leg almost at the junction of leg and body. With some cardiac problems there is a condition called pulse deficit. If the heart rate and the femoral pulse rate are checked at the same time it might be noticed that there is a difference between the two. This means that not every beat of the heart is effective in pushing blood and so that ineffective pulse is not felt at the extremities. If a dog has an obvious pulse defificit it shouldnt be exercised and veterinary attention needs to be sought. Some dogs will have a pulse deficit only on exercise and will have normal pulse rate at rest. This also needs to be checked out.

It's also possible to get quite a good pulse just below the stopper pad on the foreleg or just above the heel pad on the hind leg.

Small stethoscopes that are suitable for checking heart rate are easy and cheap to obtain and can be bought via the net for under $20.

Edit to add..... if feeling for a pulse, never use your thumb as it's possible for you to be able to count your own pulse rather than the patient's !! Never press hard because this can reduce blood flow so the pulse cant be felt. Just a gentle touch is needed. It might take a bit of pracrice but once the technique is mastered it's easy to know the points and the pressure needed.

Edited April 20, 2014 by Wundahoo

[korbin13]

I assess my dogs by their recovery. If they start becoming a bit stiff and sore after a jog, I cut back to taking them for a walk.

[Little Gifts]

Thanks for replies.

Wundahoo, what's the best way to take a dog's pulse?

a pram for a 32 kg Lab may be out of my pushing capacity . . . if I could find one. Maybe I can rig a buggy and let the pup pull. By the time the old girl starts loosing it, she should be hitting full strength. She's inclined to pull even now with a flat collar. Give her another year and a harness, I expect she'll be fit to work like a husky.

If you look for the type of pram/buggy that is designed to take your kids and pull behind your bike you shouldn't have problems pushing it because it is designed to carry weight and be made mobile from a dead start. I never used my dogs to pull our doggy pram but I must admit I have always used whoever is on the lead to pull me up hills! I'm not stoopid....