"Tom C." <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:I have an 8 year old Aussie/Lab mix who weighs about 50 lbs. He's been a great running partner for
the last year and up until 3 months ago was
doing
Quoted message said:great. Now, when we get back from the usual 5+/- mile run on a flat fire road, his back legs seem
to have little to no strength left. I usually
run
Quoted message said:at noon and for the rest of that day and most of the next day, his back
legs
Quoted message said:are weak. He has a hard time getting up off the ground and really doesn't move too much. But after
that day and a half, he's ready and VERY ready
to
Quoted message said:go. He sees me in my running outfit and goes crazy waiting to head out. But I've been leaving him
home b/c I don't know if he has an arthritis problem or if this is common for a dog of his age.
I know that I can get a little sore after running and figure he must be
the
Quoted message said:same way. Has anyone else had this experience and if so, how long did it take for your dog to get
into "running shape"?
He's due for a checkup at the vet, so I'll be taking him sometime this
month
Quoted message said:to get looked at.
Let me get this straight--you ran with your dog for 9 months with no problems, then three months ago
he started getting so lame after your runs that he laid around and had a hard time getting up off
the ground for the day and a half. This has been going on for 3 months and you are only now thinking
about talking it over with a vet, "sometime this month," and only because he's got a checkup
scheduled anyhow? Sure, you get sore after you runs. If they left you lying on the couch for the
next 36 hours, though, how long would it take you to figure out something was majorly wrong? Now,
understand, I'm not one of those animal freaks who believes that dogs should be treated better than
people, but nevertheless, I do believe that pet owners have a responsibility to take care of their
animals when they show sign of injury or illness.
My guess is that your dog's injury is something not directly attributable to running--just about any
healthy medium-to-large dog should be able to quickly build up to 5 miles, several times a week, on
a soft surface like a fire road (dirt, I presume?). It's more likely that the dog has an injury or
illness that is being exacerbated by running (could be a strain or a sprain, intestinal blockage,
bad hips, cancer...any number of things). Your dog wants to run again after a couple of days because
he's a very high energy breed, not because he's necessarily "ok" or "all better."
For what it's worth, right now I'm running about 20 miles a week, a mix of pavement and trails,
almost always with my 8-yo beagle. I didn't take her with me nearly as much during the middle of
summer, though, since she gets balky when it's too hot. She lept right back into in Sept. and didn't
really need to "retrain" to get back to where I was at. And that's a beagle, which is not nearly as
athletic a breed as Aussies. An Aussie should be able to run 5 miles on soft surface at a moderate
pace with no special training at all, and still be up for catching frisbees in the back yard as soon
as you get home.
Out of curiousity, did you get your dog from a shelter? Do you know anything about his puppyhood? I
ask, because my sister's last Rott was a rescued dog that had been malnourished as a puppy, and he
had very brittle bones as a result. Got minor stress fractures a couple of times doing nothing in
particular, and then a very serious hip fracture just from cutting a tight corner running in the
yard. Had to put the dog down, 'cause the vet said he'd spend his whole life breaking bones. They've
got an Aussie Lab mix now--cute as the dickens, but crazy-hyper--if that dog spend a day laying
around and not wanting to get up off the floor, we'd all know something was seriously wrong.
