Hambone has spondylosis and I have been trying to figure out exercises (fun) that would help keep him in shape, mobile, and flexible.

I wondered if setting up agility poles in my back yard and walking him through 3 at first, then up it to about 10 gradually will be a good exercise? (If he does well, then trotting him. No running!)

( Obviously, I will have to teach him to do this, but that will be the fun part. )

Would this be an appropriate exercise? Would it make him push from his rear? Can anyone visualize a hazard doing this with him?

What about swimming?
My husky swims like a fish, and has from the first time we had him around water, which suprised me, but I'm glad as it is perfect hot weather exercise for him when he would otherwise overheat.

I know its cold right now but there might be a dog pool available near you.

But I don't know if it would hurt his hips and back, it does seem like mine primarily swim with their front half though.

If you do the swimming, which is great, what they taught me at the dog pool for Teagan was (I was in with her) to grab her at the hips and either hold her in place so she was treading water or pull her backwards while she tried to swim forwards. Otherwise, she swam using her front legs and not much power from the back legs, which would kind of roll back and forth - the weakness was really obvious in the water.

I'm not sure, but I would imagine that the polls would require Hambone to use his back end. I lazied out about making weave polls (also b/c I couldn't see how her leash wouldn't get tangled up), but I do similar stuff with Teagan with found objects in the summer, as well as very short jumps (might not be good for Hambone though) - I don't know why I stopped once the snow came. I started doing it as mental, not physical exercise, Teagan's weave-type work isn't as tight as weave polls would be, but I think it'd be great, and fun, for Hambone.

No doggie pool in my area. Swimming I will do this summer. He swims like a fish just like Jennifer's.

Good idea to watch him swim and if he is now using just his front legs, I will do like you Jennifer..er...Teagan's mama.

It's very cold right now and I just wanted something else for him to try.

Any ideas are welcome. He is getting bored just walking since he is an active dog...or rather is used to activity.

 Quote: jo harker

Hambone has spondylosis and I have been trying to figure out exercises (fun) that would help keep him in shape, mobile, and flexible.

I wondered if setting up agility poles in my back yard and walking him through 3 at first, then up it to about 10 gradually will be a good exercise? (If he does well, then trotting him. No running!)

Would this be an appropriate exercise? Would it make him push from his rear? Can anyone visualize a hazard doing this with him?

Teaching him weave poles isn't going to do much for his rear strength. It's a side to side, snaking kind of movement, which puts that kind of pressure on the spine.

If you do do this, you will want to put the weave poles about twice as far apart as is normal (normal is up to 24"). Otherwise, at his age and with his degree of spondylosis, I believe you'll be stressing his spine too much. However, if they're spaced far enough apart, about 5 poles, and he does them slowly, that's good for careful stretching/working of his back muscles.

Another thing that is similar is to have him weave/figure 8 around your spread legs. Slowly and going as wide around your legs as he wants to go. You do kind of a lunge action, where you push the leg he's going around out, then shift so you do the same with the other leg when he does the other side of the figure 8. This is a whole lot easier to teach than weave poles, too<g>. (Weave poles are the only obstacle in agililty that is not a normal action for a dog, and it's the most difficult to teach. Then again, you're not going to care at all about which pole he enters at, from which side<g>.)

Another similar kind of action is to have him weave around your legs as you walk (well, you'll be walking like Godzilla, very slowly, as he weaves around your legs at each step, but it's fun and the same kind of physical action<g>.)

Anyway, this figure 8 thing (or widely spaced weave poles) will be for flexibility in his back, not so much for his rear.

Another thing you can do to strengthen his back is build him a ladder-type thing (I used PVC pipe), and have him walk slowly thru the rungs. The one I use is 8" tall (for a dog that's 23"). You may want to make one that's a bit shorter, perhaps 4" - 6" tall. (A regular ladder has rungs that are too closely spaced together for the length of his back.) The point is that picking up his feet and walking over these rungs strengthens the muscles along his spine.

If he doesn't do it already, teach him to play bow. That is a great stretch for his spine, and he can hold it for 10 seconds.

If you don't like the rear strengthening things I suggested in the other post, I'm out of suggestions there. If I were you, I'd make sure to work on his spine in general, as well as his rear. You want to make the whole system as strong and supported as possible.

I agree that swimming is great; walking is good, too.

Have fun...
leih

Do you use a target stick to teach them to weave through your legs?

that might be a fun trick to try out this winter while we are bored and stir crazy.

No leih, I understand the principles in the other post, but when I tried them, he wasn't keen and he was very stiff.

The ladder thing I really like. The weave through the legs would be good exercise for me.

Thanks leih!

 Quote: jo harker

No leih, I understand the principles in the other post, but when I tried them, he wasn't keen and he was very stiff.

Well...then you are smart to listen to him!

I think the main thing, Jo, is to keep him gently busy, up to his own tolerance level. It may be that if he is able to do any of these stretches or easy things, he may build up enough strength to do some of the other, rear-end things.

I would definitely keep his ladder thing low...4" or so, given his reaction to the other exericises. And, rather than having to build an apparatus, you could always use fat poles of some kind and just have him walk over them. As long has he has to pick his feet up even a little bit more than he does for regular walking, you'll get the action you're looking for.

I think it's just great that you're working so hard to find things that will work for him and help him along here!

leih

Also...you are probably already doing this, but just in case (or for other readers)...

Warm ups and cool downs are as important for dogs as for us, when it comes to any exercise. So, some gentle walking, and then perhaps trotting around would be good before doing stretching or exercises, and the same in reverse; walking for 5 min or so to cool down after a session.

I'd love to hear how he does with any of these things if you try them...

leih

Its a deal!

And, thanks for the reminder of warming up and cooling down.

AND...massage...I finally got him to completely relax by using the TTouch book. He actually falls asleep snoring while being massaged and stretched!!!