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  1. #1
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    Pain in the senior working dog

    This is more of a hypothetical question, especially for all of you field dog owners.

    Let's say you have a field dog that is ball/bird/bumper etc. crazy and has one of those personalities that runs, jumps, swims regardless of weather, heat, terrain, personal safety, etc. Loves to work! If the dog does not get hard exercise, he becomes anxious. Never tires regardless of age or work out. The dog gets on in age (10+) and has a pretty bad limp which turns out to be arthritis somewhere in a front leg. The dog is in good weight and good shape and is otherwise very healthy.

    Do you medicate heavily and keep on working as much as the dog happily wants to (within reason)? Even though you know that working that hard, while it makes the dog happy, could shorten the lifespan due to breaking down quicker and possibly that much medication taking it's toll.

    OR

    Do you medicate for comfort and try to tone down the work, the dog is not thrilled with this? The dog may live longer, but will not be as happy (not saying the dog cannot/won't settle into a new routine, but it may not happen after 10+ years of a strict schedule -- same time, same day, same place, same exercises, same people for many years -- of exercise and training).

  2. #2
    House Broken
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    I'm on my phone, so hope to type more later, but my "old" dog (just turned 6) has been thru hell the last few years. Cancer (huge surgeries, chemo, etc), hip surgeries, tplo, muscle injuries due to compensation, etc. He is truly a dog that NEEDS to work, it's really the only thing that makes him come alive, have a spark in his eye, etc. So (with the blessing of his surgeon and rehab vet) when he is sound, he works...and he is happy.

    Right now he is managed thru supplements, chiro, massage, laser and rehab, but NO DRUGS! WOOT! I try to make him take it easy, I don't let him do the work that is truly hard on him, but I challenge him thru obedience and tracking, easy agility and field work, etc. I still hold my breath every time I watch him jump or hop, but he is HAPPY! With this boy, it's all about quality over quantity of years at this point. He's been down and recovering more than not the last couple years so he deserves to play when he can.

    I've been slow to let loosen the restrictions and let him be a dog, but our rehab pro has kicked my butt telling me that it's good for us both to continue to work/train...and I know she is right!

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    Labradorks (06-01-2015)

  4. #3
    Senior Dog
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    We went through this with Scully as she had bad elbows. We kept her going with acupuncture and pain meds, but did try to allow her to exercise as much as she seemed to want to. She wasn’t quite as driven as you are describing though. The biggest thing that we did that helped, I think, was changing the balance of her retrieving to be mostly water and only a little land, where when she was younger it was the reverse. She still got the fun of retrieving, but swimming is much easier on the joints. She loved both equally so it didn’t matter to her, as long as there were bumpers involved. We are fortunate enough to have a nice, clean lake within walking distance from our house, and as long as it isn’t iced over my dogs swim year round.

    Mulder didn’t get joint pain until he was 12+ and was already slowing down in terms of his interests anyway, so we didn’t notice it as much with him.
    Annette

    Cookie (HIT HC Jamrah's Legally Blonde, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015
    Sassy (HIT Jamrah's Blonde Ambition, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015

    Chloe (HIT HC OTCH Windsong's Femme Fatale, UDX4, OM6, RE) 6/7/2009

    And remembering:

    Scully (HC Coventry's Truth Is Out There, UD, TD, RN) 4/14/1996 - 6/30/2011
    Mulder (Coventry's I Want To Believe, UD, RN, WC) 5/26/1999 - 4/22/2015

    And our foster Jolie (Windsong's Genuine Risk, CDX) 5/26/1999 - 3/16/2014

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    windycanyon (06-03-2015)

  6. #4
    Best Friend Retriever LucyTudeOn4Feet's Avatar
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    I agree exactly with what Annette said. We switched to much more swimming. It was possible for her to overdo it swimming, but if I tried to not let that happen, she was just as happy with a bit less. It seemed to satisfy her more, and she needed less to get the level of satisfaction that she needed.

  7. #5
    House Broken
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    I will say for my guy, meeting his physical needs thru exercise isn't enough, he needs to me challenged both mentally and physically. He swims, walks and runs everyday...but needs to use his brain to be happy. He's a smart dude. Puzzle toys, tricks, chewies, etc don't keep him busy enough, but WORK does. Not many dogs are like that but he sure is

  8. #6
    Senior Dog
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    We decided on quality vs. quantity of life for Kimber.

    Before her spinal injury at age 7, I would've challenged you to find a dog with more drive than Kimber. She calmed down a bit at age 3 so she didn't need hours (I wish I were exaggerating) of off-leash time, but she always needed a ton of stimulation. She needed to work. Agility helped immensely.

    After her injury, her endurance was shot. Her heart still wants to do stuff and you can see the hunger in her eyes, but her poor body just can't keep up. We treat with a low dose of daily Rimadyl and chiro/acupuncture therapy so that she's mobile and seems to be free of pain. She loves to go on walks and hikes, but she really starts to tire after 2-3 miles. When I bring out the agility equipment, she can only do a couple runs before lying down. She's not what we call "German Shepherd smart" but she's pretty smart for a lab; we try to play mental games with her a lot and she has little chores around the house.

    The vet told us with Kimber's injury, it could reoccur. We just don't know what caused her backbone to 'pop' and hit her spine. The safest thing would be to not let her jump at all, and keep her on leash outside at all times. But DH and I took deep breaths and decided we had to let her be a dog. She can't do the jumps or walks in agility, but she can do the tunnels. She can't twist around the weave poles, but if I set the poles far apart, she's allowed to weave. We let her hop off the bed and couch, but carry her into and out of the truck. And we let her run around the yard. We could wrap her in cotton and maybe she wouldn't need the Rimadyl, but she'd be miserable.

    Now, she's happy and mobile and while she's sometimes frustrated, she's mostly happy. That's our goal. Every day is a gift.
    Stormageddon, Princess of Darkness, aka "Stormy"
    Birthday 9-13-18, Gotcha Day 11-11-18
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    Miss Kimber, CGC, 6/15/2005-1/27/2018 forever in our hearts



 



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