A question about older dogs.

Take her for a shorter walk in the rain. You know she will suffer pain after a two-hour rainy walk. She doesn’t. So you have to be the voice of common sense here. She can’t tell the time. So if you take her for a 30 minute walk, she will be happier than if you didn’t and she won’t suffer the same pain the next day.

Take her for a longer walk when the weather is better.

I agree, truncate the walks. She may not understand why, but you will.

Shorten the walks. Half an hour tops.

Is she on Rimadyl? If not, that could help. But yes, shorten the walks.

Does she play with toys? If I can’t take my dog (who is also 9 years old) out for a walk then I make sure I have a good play with her inside so she is still getting some kind of stimulation. I play tuggy with her, play “find it” with her toys (ie: hide them and send her to find them) or give her some kind of puzzle feeder. Sometimes mental stimulation is as good as physical.

I second Rimadyl or some other NSAID. Is that what you’re using? My 10yo giant breed girl is on etodolac for HD, and I have tramadol for pain if she needs it. (As she’s gotten older, the NSAID isn’t always enough anymore.) Also, I give my big dogs a glucosamine/chondroitin supplement; my vet tells me that studies don’t support its use, but I believe that it has helped. It can take 6–8 weeks before you notice a difference in your dog, though. Fish oil also helps by reducing inflammation. Exercise in moderation is very helpful, but it must be consistent… you can’t go for 10 minute walks for three weeks and then expect her not to be sore when you suddenly go for an hour-long hike, for example. And if she’s overweight, that makes it worse. Is it doggie diet time?;-)
I have noticed a weather connection with my girl, as well; but with her it’s the cold that makes her hip act up. Also if she’s been lying down for a long time, she acts as though her leg has gone to sleep, and wants me to massage her hip, which seems to help a lot. Maybe your dog would like that, too?

Thank you, everyone who’s answered up to now.

@Bellatrix , @syz and @marinelife: Thanks. I think I’ll have to.

@Leanne1986 Yes, she does. I’ll have to think up some new games, though.

@ccrow and @janbb She is on something called meloxicam, which belongs to the NSAIDs, as I just found out. Also, I’m trying out green-lipped mussel at the moment. Our walks are always more or less the same length – about two hours, maybe half an hours less. But no great differences. And according to the vet, she could lose another kilo, but she is not overweight. I massage her hip when she gets stiff, yes. And she does like that.

I wish the weather was better.

My lab mix had problems with Rimadyl, so took Metacam. It cost more, but I could easily adjust the dose because it was in liquid form. You need movement every day to prevent the joints from freezing. Sucks when a joint freezes. Reducing weight is also good. I did it by reducing amount of food, but the dog was always hungry. He lived to 14½, so not too bad.

I still have the fancy harnesses for when he could barely walk. Yours won’t get to that stage for a long time. Some day I will sell it on eBay.