How to keep a 9-year-old Springer Spaniel active and healthy?

Yes keep up with daily moderate exercise. As Lucy ages the length of the walks and exercise may decrease but should still be done at least twice daily. Many people stop exercising their dogs as they age. This results in muscle loss, and increased joint instability causing pain and arthritis. When you maintain the muscle mass it helps support the joints and keeps the tendons and ligaments strong. Dogs with arthritis actually have less discomfort when they are up and moving. So keep up the regular exercise and listen to Lucy and don’t push her when she’s had enough. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Lucy.

That's a good question. What I find is as long as Bailey wants to go and isn't sore or lame afterwards then let him go. I do recommend limiting jumping and severe rough housing with other dogs as those things are more likely to promote an injury. Keeping senior dogs fit and lean reduces the development and pain of arthritis. When they have strong muscles they support the joints and activity keeps the joints lubricated. Please listen to Bailey and as he ages he will not want to go as long and as far. I still want you to keep him active but don't push him, let him decide on his activity level. Having a day of rest between strenuous days is also helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Bailey.

If you can do 40-60 minutes of exercise once a day, then that would be great for a Springer Spaniel. These dogs tend to be a bit high-strung, so it's difficult to say if it's enough. Ideally these dogs would have some space to run around during the day. Having at-least one exercise period a day is great, but you also want to make sure they don't have long periods of being confined to a small area alone. This could result in behavioral issues even if there was a good exercise period during the day.

Keeping Josie thin and fit will increase her quality of life. Walking once or twice daily will keep her muscles strong and help reduce arthritis discomfort. I prefer to limit jumping and heavy physical activity. Keeping her thin can be a challenge as dogs age. I like to feed a good quality senior food and if she's heavy reduce the amount and add in vegetables like green beans, broccoli or canned pumpkin to fill her up. As far as supplements I recommend a high dose of omega 3 to reduce joint inflammation. She can have up to 6,000 units of fish oil daily, usually I split this morning and night. Other joint supplements are good too. If she's painful and reluctant to exercise then pain medication may be helpful. A big dog like Josie needs to be able to rise to maintain her quality of life so addressing her weight if needed and regular exercise to keep the rear legs strong is the most important thing. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Josie.

Given that this is a change to his behavior a quick check up to rule out underlying medical causes such as heart disease or early arthritis would be recommended. If all clear then limiting the exercise to 50-60% of the current time and reducing the intensity by throwing them less far should keep him interested and excited without tiring him completely

Sticking with the current diet, or seeing if there is a weight loss diet from the same brand can help in calorie reduction. You can also speak with your vet about if a prescription weight loss diet is needed at this time. As with any increase in exercise, you will want to start gradually, especially if Angel has any health issues such as arthritis. Starting with a quick walk just around the block, and then gradually increasing over time (to two blocks, or ten minute walks, etc) can help build muscle and strength without overtaxing the body. As with any change in routine or diet, it is always a good idea to schedule a wellness check with your vet first. They can rule out any health issues that may cause problems that you need to watch out for, and can also work with you on tracking weight loss progress over time.

Hi and thanks for posting! Managing activity and stress level is very important with cardiac disease patients. Short leashed walks to go to the bathroom and around the block should be okay. I would try and minimize long walks and running. A harness that goes around the chest should be used to minimize pressure on the trachea which could exacerbate her condition. Minimizing stressful situations can be helpful as well. For example, if going to the vet's office is stressful and causes her to collapse, then you may want to consider having a house call visit instead which may be much less stressful for her. I hope this helps!