Exercise My Dog

Exercise and Dog Dysplasia

Lately, when you take your dog to play in the yard or at the dog park or for a run, you may notice a slight limp later. It might not slow her down much, but you wonder if maybe you need to take it easier. What is Dysplasia “Off-and-on lameness is a common sign of degenerative joint disease,” says Dr. Ann Johnson, veterinary orthopedic specialist at the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Urbana. “Dogs show evidence of pain from degenerative joint disease by limping. Lameness can occur suddenly, or gradually increase over time. It can be persistent or intermittent.”

Canine hip dysplasia is an inherited condition where the bones don’t fit well, especially the thigh bone (femur) into the hip socket. This mismatch fit strains the cartilege that acts as a cushion between th bones. This strain leads to this progressive degenerative joint disease.

There are several ways a vet may deal with dysplasia including anti-inflammatory drugs, supplements, surgical procedures such as a total hip replacement, joint arthroplasty (removal of a portion of the bone), or arthrodesis (fusion of the joint). However, one of the first things vets recommend, especially when the condition is mild, is managing dysplasia with moderate exercise.

Why Should You Exercise A Dog with Dysplasia

Even though the joint is improper, you should still exercise your dog-moderately (we’ll talk more about that in a minute). First, exercise will strengthen the muscles around the joint, which lesses some of the stress on a joint.

Second, exercise helps you dog maintain a healthy weight. Extra weight adds stress to the joints and increases pain.

Exercises for Dysplasia

Moderation is the key for exercise. The key is a little exercise often. Even ten minutes, twice a day can help keep strenghthen your dog.

Good exercises for hip dysplasia

• Walks - casual, short walks
• Hikes - leisurely walks on easy trails
• Swimming - if you don’t have a pool or dog friendly pond nearby, look for canine hydrotherapy or rehab facilities
• Obstacle courses - tunnels/chutes, weaving through objects, balancing are fine–just no jumping
• Indoor chasing games - games like chase or hide-and-seek can provide rainy day fun, and prevent an energetic dog from running full out, which they would be feeling later
• Fetching games - easy, non-jumping games of fetch, chase, or catch

Not so good

• Running/jogging
• Sprints like squirrel chasing
• Jumping games

Exercise and Dogs with Diabetes

My stepmother wasn’t feeling well a couple of weeks ago and she asked me to pick her dog up from the vet. PIg had been a little lethargic and was drinking a lot of water. My S-Mom thought Pig might have picked up something from the boarding kennel when she and Dad were in Mexico last month. The vet told me nope, the dog has diabetes and started rattling off instructions and a follow-up appointment. When I got Pig home, I don’t think my stepmother really believed a dog could be diabetic and called the vet. I wanted to say–but didn’t–well, S-Mom with a name like Pig….

Even veterinarians are also seeing more pets with diabetes. And one of the major causes is obesity. Diabetes in pets is often controlled with a specific diet and medication including insulin. Careful portion control and timing of food intake is important. But exercise is crucial for a three reasons:

• weight loss - Eating healthy and moving more is the basic formula for losing weight. Weight loss helps lower elevated blood glucose levels.
• weight control - Weight control with diabetes is an essential part of successful treatment. Naturally, any weight gain can make diabetes worse. Managing a good weight helps keeps all the body’s systems, including blood sugar levels, in balance.
• better blood circulation - exercise generally causes the blood glucose to decrease as muscles pull energy from blood glucose. So, as the dog exercises, the blood glucose decreases. Exercise also helps your dog to absorb insulin better which also causes the blood glucose to drop. In fact, exercise can increase the rate at which insulin is absorbed.

Exercise Tips for Dogs with Diabetes

These are general tips, but please, always talk to your dog’s vet for the best course of action for your pet.

Pick an exercise your dog will find fun, but is low-key. The activity should be reasonable for your dog’s temperament, age, and health. Walking is always a safe bet, but hiking, swimming, and other low-key activities are fine and provide variety. A low-key activity is something you dog can do without panting.

But don’t go overboard with weight loss–a little bit of activity goes a surprisingly long way. If your dog has been inactive, you definitely need to start small, 10 to 15 minutes at a time. It is better to do a little bit most days, than to cram 30 minutes of workout in a couple of days.

It is important to keep their activity level the same from day to day. Try to exercise at the time of day for the same length of time. It helps you both get into the habit, but it also gives her body time to adjust to the changes. In fact, if your dog’s activity changes drastically one day from the previous, her blood glucose levels can surge and really endanger your dog’s health.

Always, take a little sweetener like Karo syrup with you when you walk or exercise. If your dog over-exercises and her blood sugar drops, you will see strange behavior, anything from dizziness to fatigue to convulsions. If so, give your dog a little sugar, and you should see a difference right away.

Remember, make changes one at a time. Go slow, go gradual. But do go!

Exercise and the Cocker Spaniel

The spaniel breeds dates back at least 500 years in the UK, originally bred to flush out woodcocks for hunters to shoot. The American Cocker Spaniel was bred in the late 1800s from the English Cocker Spaniel and was brought to Canada and the United States. This is the smallest hunting dog breed.

Breed type	Sport / Gun / Hunting dog
Physical characteristics	compact sized dog with strong, straight legs long ears, almost reaching the nos profuse, thick, silky medium to long coat
Personality	moderate-energy dogs friendly to people, good with children, can get along with other dogs sweet, cheerful and eager to please playful, but sensitive–they don’t take well to teasing or harsh training
Best exercises	Because these dogs are bred to accompany hunters, they do have a lot of stamina, but are only moderately energetic. They usually aren’t bouncing off the walls if they don’t have regular exercise, but you still need to let them burn off some energy. Walks – long, steady walks are great. Running – with conditioning, Cocker Spaniels are good running dogs for short times (20 – 30 minutes a couple days a week). Start slowly and consider keeping her coat shorter. Hiking – long, low-key hikes are great, just watch that his coat doesn’t get tangled in branches and bramble. Agility – Cocker Spaniels have enough energy for this sport and many do compete. If you think it’s right for your dog, you can train for fun or for competition. See more here. Dog Parks – because Cocker Spaniels are generally friendly with other dogs, if you feel yours if well socialized, let her romp with friends for a bit.
Suggested exercise plan	1 session / day for 20 - 30 minutes each