I wasn't sure where to put this, but think Health is the right forum. Snowie is now 5.5 years old. Today we did a 10km walk! Well, my husband's iPhone measured 13km while mine measured 10km -- go figure! We were on the same walk!! I'm sure Snowie's pedometer measured 2-3 times the distance! I often walk with Snowie via a mountain trail from home to the beach -- 1.5 - 2-hr walk. But always make sure we have a lift home cos in the past, Snowie has been too hot to walk home. Today we did the round trip all on foot! And he showed no signs of heat exhaustion or any other kind of exhaustion. Although he did snore like a steam engine when we got home. We stopped midway for breakfast at a restaurant. Snowie shared half my breakfast: he got a poached egg, most of my potato rosti, and lots of perfectly ripe avo. Plus butter (from the table) smeared inside his hoof (I brought the hoof; no it wasn't on the menu!) to keep him occupied. He needed a lot of intervention; wasn't satisfied to lie quietly at the table. We walked back via the coastal route (on a pavement), a flatter route, and all on leash, so Snowie wasn't able to race around as he does on the mountain trail -- so I guess less tiring. Snowie was a champion! So relieved we can finally do the roundtrip walk. Before we got him, I regularly walked that route, roundtrip. So I was so disappointed when Snowie, as a younger dog, showed signs of overheating and generally just not managing such a long walk. I think a lot has to do with age: as a pup he'd overdo it at the beginning, racing around at a million miles an hour, and then flop and refuse to move. He's also stronger and leaner now, and I also think the epilepsy meds have cooled him down (the vet did say this is an effect of the meds). Of course it's Autumn now, not the very hot days of Summer. But I really didn't think we'd ever get to this point. Such a relief. And good to know that aging does have benefits!
We had the same with H on our first trip to the Alps in France. He ran up and bow. The steep hillside until he became quite overheated and exhausted but still wanted to run so we cut our walk short back to a mountain stream. Following year he had a much more steady pace. Still up and down but not as fast or high, following the path more. They do learn.
It was!!!! DELICIOUS! I'm actually pleased Snowie ate half of it because I would've polished it all off... and I'm meant to be on diet. So he kept me honest! And the restaurant was amazing. Big dog inside, packed for Mother's Day (we did a family walk, mother of 80 yo included!), and they brought Snowie a big bowl of water and fussed over him. It was really lovely. (Thank goodness Snowie didn't bark - his mouth was permanently full!!)
Sounds like an incredible idea for a family walk and everyone seemed to have a good time. What a good boy Snowie is to help with your diet
