Older dog goes painfully slow on walks, but wants energetic play inside the house. (Arthritis and aging questions.)

[alfred1963]

Why does my older dog go painfully slow on walks, but appear to be really mobile inside the house? My eight-year-old lab mix had surgery on her knee last year and has only seemed to recover about 80 percent. The vet says she has degeneration and arthritis in her hip joints and possibly one knee.

The past few weeks, my dog has been going painfully slow on walks. By "slow" I mean this morning it took us 25 minutes to go 0.8 miles. About six months ago, we would regularly walk 1.5 miles in the same amount time. The walks start out at an acceptable pace, but she starts slowing down significantly after the initial excitement wears off. She clearly has pain in her joints; I am trying to be patient with her.

But here's the conundrum: When we're in the house, my dog is SUPER active. She brings me tennis balls and wants me to throw it for her so she can run after it. She dashes up and down the stairs; she bolts from room to room when she knows something exciting is going on. It's like she's a young greyhound when she moves around in the house, and an arthritic mastiff when she's outside. (I should mention she isn't excited most of the time; it's only when she's awake that she exhibits this behavior.)

I guess my question is: Is it normal for an aging (8+ years) dog to go painfully slow on walks but still be running around when she's in the house? And should I be letting her run around, knowing that she has arthritis? I know the carpet gives her extra traction inside. I want her to be happy and I want her to be able to play like she used to but I would rather her get moderate exercise outdoors while on walks, instead of risking injury by allowing high-intensity play inside.

 

[jewelpet]

@alfred1963 That's interesting, kinda sounds like she is maybe uncomfortable walking on hard surfaces such as pavements (more impact on her joints when walking?). A few of questions, how often do you try to walk her? at what times is she active within the house? And how often is she active? Can't give you a certain answer without seeing everything in person but I can give you an idea

 

[alfred1963]

@jewelpet Hi, thanks for responding.

We walk her three times a day, sometimes four. Walks range from 15 minutes to 45 minutes, totaling about 1.5 hours for the whole day.

She is most active within the house around 8am and 5:30pm. I got laid off a few weeks ago so I am home with her all day. Occasionally she'll try to get me to play fetch with her in the middle of the day, but it never lasts as long as it does in the morning and evenings.

She's generally a very active dog; it's just been the last few weeks we've noticed she is going really, really slow outside.

 

[jewelpet]

@alfred1963 No worries Are your walks outside purely on solid pavement or do you go to areas with grass?

 

[alfred1963]

@jewelpet Mostly pavement, though she (the dog) does tend to stay on the grass/lawns next to the sidewalk whenever she can. I always thought that was because she loved sniffing the plants, but maybe it hurts her to walk on sidewalk. What are you getting at?

 

[jewelpet]

@alfred1963 So what you just said kinda confirms to me that she finds walking on pavements more painful for her hips. This would explain the playing at home more, preference for grass and extremely slow walking on pavements. If it's possible you should alter your walking routine to only being on grass or short bits on pavement then the rest on grass.

This should help reduce her discomfort with walking. When she is out walking, if you don't already, play about on the grassy bits to help keep her energy lower at home I hope that helps you out.

 

[micarmstrong]

@alfred1963 Could it be possible she burns more energy while you're home? She may have lounged and slept all day when she was alone, thus burning up her energy outside. My dog just turned 11 and also has arthritis and joint pain. I would suggest keeping her away from stairs and jumping up on furniture to avoid risk of injury. As a dog ages try taking shorter walks more frequently and stick to flat grassy areas. It's also a good idea just to make sure you keep her claws trimmed to keep them from hurting while she walks. If you haven't already looked into it, some research shows human grade fish oil has benefits on joint pain and inflammation in dogs. Best of luck and as your dog ages, just adapt as best as possible to keep her healthy and happy.