Starting to lose your ‘get up and go’? The same thing might be happening to Fido…
I have reached the age now when, as my friends lovingly predicted, “Ah! That’s when you start to feel the aches and pains!”
I’ve always shunned any idea that this was going to happen to me, but oh dear, how right my friends were!
If I sit and relax on the sofa, or spend an hour or two at my computer typing, when I get up there will be some part of me that is painful.
Now I’m increasingly finding that my dog is starting to have the same symptoms. She is a 9-year-old Labrador, slim and never heavily exercised in her life. I notice that, as we set out for work each morning, she is now just a little uneven on one front leg. There is a little dip, just for the first 20 yards or so.
She and I are both presumably experiencing some wear and tear arthritis. So when I sit still relaxing in front of the TV, or she is having a nap in her favourite spot, we’re not warming up very many muscles, nor causing enough gentle movement to keep all areas of all our joints properly lubricated and supple.
The good news for me is that I have taken up yoga and hope to see improvement in my suppleness and range of movement with time. For Jazzy, as much as I’m sure she’d love to join me in my yoga class, I can give her similar benefits with home physiotherapy and massage. You can learn this for your pet too! Watch out for my soon to be published new book on ‘Caring for Dogs with Mobility Issues’, or request an advance copy by going to www.caringfordogswithmobilityissues.co.uk.
We’re still accepting entries to our pet portrait competition! If you think your pet could be next year’s Miss October, send your best snaps for the chance to be featured in The Mewes Vets 2017 calendar and win £100 of pet food. The calendar will be sold in aid of Paws and Claws so email your photos, together with your name, to enquiries@themewes.co.uk .
