Hi, my rescue lab is 9 years old and weighs 40kg, he's a big dog and not overweight. We had a lively walk on the beach 2 days ago with his lab friend, had a great time. Yesterday he didn't really want to go for a walk so we kept it short, the same again today. Did we overdo things on the beach? Have given him a once over and nothing seems to hurt to touch. The vet has to be the last option as he needs muzzle, sedation etc for them to get near him. Anything specific I should be looking out for? Sorry if this is a bit ramble, he seems quite happy in himself.
He might well have become a bit sore after the beach walk. Walking on sand is really hard work. I'd just give him a few days of taking it easy and then see if he's willing to head out for a walk again. If you go back to the beach at some point maybe make it a shorter walk and see how he pulls up after that. Is he on any medications for joint health - pentosan/cartrophen or a joint supplement? If not it might be worth chatting to the vet about that next time you're in for something.
Thanks for your reply. I do give him fish oil in his food, not sure if it does any good. Will give him a couple more quiet days and see. I dread the vet visits and I suspect the vet's do too!
Hopefully a bit of rest will do the trick Fish oil is a good addition to the diet but they do need quite a lot of it in order to get any therapeutic benefit. Your vet might be able to suggest some other options you can use as well as the fish oil to keep him moving comfortably. My dog is only 5 but our vet suggested to me last week that we start using a joint supplement as a preventive (something like green lipped mussel extract). I'm going to have a look into the evidence for this kind of thing.
We give our older dog Sky, Yumove tablets and feel they have helped her mobility issues. She also has salmon oil in her food daily. Find it hard to prove though so would be interested if you find any evidence you could share.
At last! Been out this morning and he seems back to normal. I now feel guilty that I let him charge around so much, and will keep beach walks shorter in future!.
