Exercise for older dogs - canicross etc

tobiano1984

tobiano1984

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Currently having the debate with my OH about our 9yo lurcher, and what level of exercise she should be doing. On the one hand, an older dog needs to be kept fit and healthy, on the other hand as they get older and develop arthritis etc are you shortening their active life my doing a lot of exercise? Exercise in question is OH taking her running - canicross etc. He's coming back from a year off with injury so isn't doing anything too extreme. She's extremely healthy but does suffer occasionally from various aches and pains being an OTT lurcher. Usually caused by chasing deer/jumping off things - I guess for a dog jogging at human pace isn't quite so taxing!

Would be interested to hear what level of exercise others do with veterans, particularly with similar breeds.
 
I wouldn't personally start running with a nine year old that's already achey. It's quite a high impact pursuit even for a younger animal. To be honest with a nine year old I would be winding down and doing walks only, really.
 
CorvusCorax said:
I wouldn't personally start running with a nine year old that's already achey. It's quite a high impact pursuit even for a younger animal. To be honest with a nine year old I would be winding down and doing walks only, really.
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no expert but my neighbours lurcher likes a quite burst of speed then a lay down-sprint not stamina. of course,they are all different.
 
tobiano1984 said:
I guess for a dog jogging at human pace isn't quite so taxing!
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its more taxing than you might think as its a constant pace, rather than stopping and starting which a dog would do naturally off lead. Pulling also works a dog something like 4 times as hard I believe-there's a reason it attracts owners with hardcore dogs! you do see the odd lurcher doing it. jogging with her on lead but not in harness might be preferable-at least to see how they get on-depends on what your OH plans really.

there's other things which are more cross trainey and can help with core strength- a bit of parkour for example.
 
It wouldn't be unusual for a Siberian to still be working in harness in double figures but they have a much greater sense of self preservation than your average gung-ho pointy dog, and are for the most part designed for a constant pace rather than sprint 'n bust.

Is she an off-lead suitable dog? I agree that there's a difference in impact between competitive style canicross and running off-lead allowing natural changes in pace, direction and sniff breaks, and would be inclined towards the latter if she can be trusted off.
 
There is a man who runs round here with his two sibes, lovely to see, they trot out in front of him, loving every minute and looking as though they are exerting no energy whatsoever. (sorry - off topic!).
The hard ground would worry me with an older long dog, mine had all sorts of old foot damage by 9 and didn't like hard surfaces.
 
We often have border collies still working at 9 and older but it depends on the dog. I wouldn't see any harm in doing some low impact off lead jogging, slowly building up and see how he goes.
 
from my experience of lurchers i cant imagine they would like continuous jogging... the like to hunt in short bursts and then go home if there is nothing else to chase... age 9 i would want to be careful not to overdo the exercise...
 
Islay greyhound was having regular walks until the day before I lost her, a few weeks short of her 14th birthday. Current greyhounds Flick and Hoover are 11 years old, and still have daily walks and enjoy racing around like maniacs - ditto Amy the theoretical lurcher aged about 9. So I would always advocate proper exercise for as long as the dog wants it - and they will soon make it clear if they don't

Having said that, none of them would have enjoyed going out running with someone - I tried once with Hoover when he was 6 years old, and gave up after a mile because he was so miserable! As everyone else has said, they are dogs who enjoy short bursts of speed not continuous slog.
 
Muscles support bones.
Keeping fit and not losing muscle mass is a large part of the battle with arthritis.So exercising the elderly is always a good idea....but it really does depend on the dog. their build,breeds and what drives them and if theres any underlying issues-structural or injuries.

A 9 year old lurcher might not be the best running companion if its on hard surfaces-the repetitive motion on hard ground can be quite jarring for dogs and humans alike. If the dog is slim, reliable off lead and its on soft surfaces it could be worked up to the fitness required if its done carefully.

Old age isn't a disease...it just predisposes us to them.
A 9 year old lurcher who isn't showing active signs of Oa or having any ongoing lameness issues really should be able to run,at least in bursts(which is why the off lead qn is important) as long as the fitness level is build up appropriately and at the dogs pace.
 
Aru said:
Muscles support bones.
Keeping fit and not losing muscle mass is a large part of the battle with arthritis.So exercising the elderly is always a good idea....but it really does depend on the dog. their build,breeds and what drives them and if theres any underlying issues-structural or injuries.

A 9 year old lurcher might not be the best running companion if its on hard surfaces-the repetitive motion on hard ground can be quite jarring for dogs and humans alike. If the dog is slim, reliable off lead and its on soft surfaces it could be worked up to the fitness required if its done carefully.

Old age isn't a disease...it just predisposes us to them.
A 9 year old lurcher who isn't showing active signs of Oa or having any ongoing lameness issues really should be able to run,at least in bursts(which is why the off lead qn is important) as long as the fitness level is build up appropriately and at the dogs pace.
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exactly, they run in bursts and not continual jogging, whilst old age is not a disease we have to keep it in mind and exercise accordingly if we want a happy healthy dog for a long time.. none of my lurchers would have liked jogging alongside a human even when they were in their prime. if they are off lead its not so bad as they can keep up if they want to (or go after some wildlife)
 
I do canicross with my lurcher she's Staffie x greyhound I think. She's only 4 though but she does find it tiring, in fact the reason I started it was in an attempt to find something to tire her out!
I think it's a matter of treating every dog as an individual as others have said rather than just going by breed.
We did a 6k Santa dash at the weekend I had a full Santa suit on (including beard 😂) and she did the whole thing with mini Santa on her back and appeared to love every minute!
 
paisley said:
In that case, having my whippet run with me is perfect- whole load of stopping ('admiring' the view) and very little starting! ;)
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ha ha, so much depends on the runner-I dont think any dog other than a brachy breed would find the speed at which I run all that taxing lol. but for proper runners and canicrossers-well there's a reason you see alot of husky/pointer/hound types doing it.
 
MotherOfChickens said:
ha ha, so much depends on the runner-I dont think any dog other than a brachy breed would find the speed at which I run all that taxing lol. but for proper runners and canicrossers-well there's a reason you see alot of husky/pointer/hound types doing it.
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i must relate to you an incident last week--my sbt done a 4.5 jog/walk/jog/walk.when we had finished he was not puffed at all and could have gone around again.
it was rather ironic that while out we met a couple with a pair of huskies who were lunging and leaping as we went past,the owners could hardly hold them,i know for a fact that they only do lead walk around the block.
poor doggies, s`pose they look pwetty though.
 
Cahill said:
i must relate to you an incident last week--my sbt done a 4.5 jog/walk/jog/walk.when we had finished he was not puffed at all and could have gone around again.
it was rather ironic that while out we met a couple with a pair of huskies who were lunging and leaping as we went past,the owners could hardly hold them,i know for a fact that they only do lead walk around the block.
poor doggies, s`pose they look pwetty though.
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plenty of staffies do CaniX, pugs not so much.
 
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