Got a question regarding our other dog, Tasha, our mutt, who is pushing over 16 years old. She's about 40 lbs in size and used to be very active. Over the past year, she has really slowed down, gotten stiff, and is usually in a certain amount of pain. We had her on pain and anti-inflammatory meds for several months now and they seem to help. Other than bad breath, her health as been good for a dog her age.

I used to walk her and exercise her daily and she still comes along when I walk our Malinois, Bailey. With Bailey, each walk is about 2 miles in length and we do it twice a day. Tasha accompanies us for about the first half mile and I drop her off and then continue on with Bailey for the rest.

Question I have is, at her age and now that she is experiencing pain, probably from arthritis and other problems with her back and hips, is it even wise to walk her at all? Or, should I let her live a life of retirement and take it easy around the house? What's heartbreaking is when I get Bailey ready for her walks, Tasha is right there expecting to be hitched up and taken along, but that's probably just the routine she's used to.

Your thoughts?

If it's not too much of a hassle I'd take her. Arthritis is made better by good muscle tone. Attitude improves with exercise, so does appetite. She will sleep deeper and better. I might not take her in a driving rain, and not too far.
One day she won't get up as you get ready to go. Then you'll know. Enjoy these last good days.

Exercising her would be better than not.

If she gains weight due to the lack of exercise that will be even tougher on her joints.

My last dog was 15 years old, had severe arthritis and was 80lbs in his prime but closer to 70 in his old age. He too was on meds to help with the pain. I still walked him everyday. Definately not for as long or as far as I did when he was younger, but he got out for a walk everyday.
And if there was a day that was particulary rough for him pain wise, I would drive down to the park instead of walking over and we would just meander around at his own pace.

Now, although exercise can be painful for the arthritic dog, doing nothing will only aid in the progression of the disease. Without exercise, the joints become stiffer, the nutrient flow is decreased and blood flow to the joint significantly drops. Obesity can also set in, which brings a lot of unwanted complications, including an increased amount of pressure of the joints.
I got the above info from this web-page:
http://www.dogquality.com/blog/tag/dog-arthritis/

How about swimming?
That's an awesome way to exercise an arthritic dog.

cant agree more! My old springer x is 14 and was getting stiff etc so we stopped walking him trying to be nice and he got worse and worse....he got depressed too. We started just driving him to the park and letting him waunder and now hes going for short leashed walks...he got up on his own for the first time in months! We finally put two and two together and realized the walks were stregnthening him and also he is back to his old happy self!!

Are you walks on concrete? That is something to consider and be avoided IMO. Walk on grass or dirt.

Can you take her somewhere to swim, to maintain muscle tone? Many cities have therapeutic dog pools now. Might be something worth looking into for her.

Another thing to keep your eye on as she gets more sedentary is her nails! Less activity = less natural wear on nails.

We try to get some gentle exercise for Nico at least several times a week, sometimes that just means wandering around the yard or park, staying outside extra so she can do her belly crawl/roll in the grass for as long as she wants, or just up the hill by our house and back down.

I also put a ladder flat on the ground and walk her through it.

When the weather is cold and/or damp and I know her legs are wobbly I sometimes just put Loki away and randomly drop treats around the room to get her up and moving.

I actually just asked my husband to build a ramp so I can get her in and out of car. She is too big to pick up and has a really hard time getting up in my SUV now.

One thing that might be important is to remember that their hearing and eyesight might not be what they once were. I used to let her off leash with no concern for her recall or her wandering off, but now she doesn't respond nearly as well to commands or to me calling her so I have gone back to a long line with her. She also won't have total freedom at the lake, I really worry she might get confused and lost in the woods.

Getting old sucks.

 Quote: Kelly Byrd

Getting old sucks.

Agreed. Goes for me too.

Actually, I appreciate the comments and suggestions. They kind of reinforced what I thought but I wasn't totally sure. Like Cat said, at first, we were trying to be nice and back off the exercise. That seemed to take the spark out of her though so we're back to our twice daily walks, just making them shorter. And, yes, we do mostly walk on hard surfaces so I might try letting her on grass more. Our weekend hikes are good because they're in the woods and they tend to turn her into a puppy again.

We've also taken to using a long lead more when putting her out. Her eyesight and hearing are definitely not what they used to be and her recall is also not good anymore. Otherwise, she'd just wander the yard forever or head off into the woods and get lost. Every once in a while you can notice her good days. She is more energetic and actually willing to play, even though she then loses interest quickly. Then, it's hard to believe she's so old.

Anyway, appreciate the comments. I'll keep you posted.