Dog with Arthritis – Hiking/Camping Tips, Other Activity Ideas

I will tell you what I have done starting with easy and obvious and graduating to overkill.

Make sure  she always has a warm soft place to sleep

ask your vet about adequan injection.  This is a huge help and you WILL see results. It can get expensive if your vet does all of the injections but they are easy to do at home.

Ask a veterinarian orthopedic surgeon about Acell matrix joint injections

lastly, I built a 14″ deep pool for my dog to walk laps in for physical therapy.

Sadly, eventually they need to stop or really slow down.

I imagine the best advice would come from a vet with the appropriate specialty.

I would think that a lot of up/down walking or jumping over rocks and logs, or even getting in and out of cars should be avoided. It is my understanding that working scent dogs typically get bad joints from climbing over stuff for hours a day, every day, and the recommendation is for the handler to use a handle on the dog’s vest to lift them up and down to minimize the wear and tear on the dog.

Consider trying some scent work. It can be very stimulating and rewarding for the dog while also being very low impact physically by staying on level ground and working it at a walk or trot.

But after you’ve done everything possible to help and are avoiding everything that will hurt you still want your dog’s life to be stimulating and enjoyable, even if that means some amount of pain and discomfort.

My girl’s 10+, so I feel your pain. Two simple (if not easy) things that have made a difference were weight loss (yeah, she’s less active, but I didn’t reduce her diet or snacks… lesson learned), and keeping her nails short. Too-long nails forces the toes up at an awkward angle when walking on hard surfaces, which throws the whole posture off and leads to pain in the joints further up, like wearing poorly-fitted shoes.

Massage after a good run also seems to help. She tends to gimp a little in the evening after a good romp in the afternoon – think the stiffening happens during the post-exercise nap. Swimming is great, if you have a safe place to do that.

Good luck!

My 11 yo is happy at home, on the sofa. Was had not to bring him, but harder to watch him be uncomfortable.

Interesting idea about the scent work. That might be fun to try

I’m optimistic we will be able to manage some form of backcountry travel or activity for a few more years, but will see how things go

We’ve already started trying to get her to lose some weight. Glad to hear it can really help. I also plan on talking to her vet about Glucosamine supplements (seems to be a pretty common treatment) and the Adequan injections (had not read about this, need to learn more)

I have a dog that is now 11 and has backpacking with me for 9 years now. I have had to slow his trips down a ton and I am content with short miles and more camp time if I take him. His last trip was 20 miles over nights which allowed lots of recovery time both afternoons. I try to take him swimming in the creek behind my neighborhood as another outdoor activity to keep him (and I) outside.I also use give him glucosamine  to help with his arthritis.

Absolutely 100% recommend Adequan injections. I’ve been a veterinarian for 20 years, and working with folks to keep their senior pets comfortable and active is one of my favorite things.  Adequan is not a  drug, it is similar to glucosamine,  but is easily broken down by the digestive tract, hence the injection into the muscle. Starts out with injections more frequently,  then gets down to 1 injection per month or so.  I also recommend Duralactin as a supplement,  helps to reduce inflammation naturally,  fish oil capsules  (must be high quality and high enough dosage), and glucosamine/chondroitin. These will all help reduce deterioration.  Other non pharmaceutical techniques are cold laser therapy,  acupuncture, proper pre-trail conditioning, especially underwater treadmill work (if you can connect with a veterinary physical therapist/rehabber, they can help with a program), and, of course,  weight management.  Definitely have cushioning for her to sleep on at the end of the day.  High protein food to help with muscle recovery, if appropriate for her general condition, may also be helpful. And if necessary,  don’t stint the pain meds! They do your dog no good sitting on the counter, and if they let her do the things she loves most longer, then they are worth it. I prefer nonpharmaceutical methods if possible, but it’s all about the quality of life.