By Meredeth Barzen
It’s official: The season of the dog is upon us. That means the reemergence of swimming, running, walking, patio dining, ball-chasing, picnic-mooching and more in your dog’s life. And since we all get a little couch-potatoey during those cold winter months, we at Sidewalk Dog wondered, “Do dogs need tune-ups to get back into shape for summer?”
No one’s comparing your Shih Tzu to your Schwinn, but … OK, we are. Just like your favorite bike, Spot might need to have his wheels greased, so to speak, to get back into the summer spirit.
Pet Crossing's Dr. Cheryl Roth with two of her fur kids.
“After six long months of hibernating, a spring physical is an excellent idea,” says Dr. Cheryl Roth, a vet with Pet Crossing Animal Hospital & Dental Clinic who’s credentialed in pain management (and one of only a handful of vets in the country to hold this distinction, though the field of pain management is growing.) “Let your veterinarian know about any changes you noticed over the winter—weight gain/loss, energy/activity, appetite, behavior—these may be related to medical problems and not just a change in the seasons.”
Adds Betty Waalk of Twin Cities Animal Rehabilitation Clinic (TCARC), which works with post-surgical, injured, old, arthritic, and physically weak animals to help them gain or regain strength: “Depending on the level of activity during the winter, spring can make us all a little crazy to be out and overdoing things. Warm seasons tend to offer more opportunity for the average pet—outdoor wildlife, hunting, Frisbee, games of fetch, long walks with owners, and playtime in the dog park, to name a few.” TCARC, headed up by the lovely and talented Dr. Julia Tomlinson, worked with Original Sidewalk Dog Luc to strengthen his back legs.
Dr. Julia Tomlinson of Twin Cities Animal Rehab Clinic
Waalk advises that pets, just like their people, need to slowly work up to full, exuberant exercise after a winter of sluggishness (though TCARC does offer a winter exercise program to prevent that in the first place). “Canine exercise should include warm-up and cool-down periods,” Waalk says. “We generally recommend a 10-minute warm-up period of a walk or slow jog, and a five-minute cool-down walk after exercise is complete. This applies to all strenuous activities.”
And remember that swimming is a strenuous activity for your pooch, Waalk says—no matter how easy and free Fido looks while paddling after a stick. Slowly work your way into the activity, being careful to look for signs that your dog’s tired.
Dr. Roth, who was part of the team that took such compassionate care of Luc toward the end of his life, also cautions against a legion of potential summertime hazards, including heartworm. “’Heartworm season,’ as it’s known in the biz, is notoriously busy for northern U.S. vets for a reason,” Dr. Roth says. “Heartworm testing is best done at this time of year, approximately five to six months after the end of mosquitoes the year before. Heartworm is spread from one infected dog to another by mosquitoes, and treatment of heartworm positive dogs is painful, expensive, dangerous, and potentially deadly.”
Sidewalk Dog loves Minnesota-based Stunt Puppy's hands-free leashes. This duo is sporting the Stunt Runner™.
During the warm season, she runs into a greater number of “sports” injuries—ACL ruptures and sprains, for instance—as well as eye injuries, bite wounds from other dogs or wildlife, poisonings from newly lush gardens and the fertilizers that make them that way, and curiously enough, allergies, which are often spread through contact with their paw pads. “Seasonal allergies plague our four-legged friends as much as they annoy those of us on two legs,” Dr. Roth says. “Licking, chewing, or scratching could mean anything from fleas to a bacterial infection to allergies to pain.”
“If you don’t use it, you lose it,” Dr. Roth says. “This applies to all sorts of things in life, including muscle. The lazy lab who slept in front of the fireplace all winter is no more ready to run in his favorite 5K without working back into it, than I am … well, maybe he is, but you get the idea. Start with some slow neighborhood walks, and work back into the crazy marathon season slowly. Some dogs know when they’ve had enough and will sit down and quit, but sadly, some just keep going and going to please us, and end up paying for it for days with bloody pads, aching joints, and sore muscles.”
So as you’re digging the running harness and the floatable bone out from storage, remember to take it slow.
Sidebar: Is your dog trying to tell you she’s in pain?
Did you know pain can even change your dog’s behavior? Dr. Roth told us a story about a Yorkie she treated who, due to pain in his spine, became “mean and bitey.” Once his illness was treated and his pain was gone, he became a happy, sweet dog again.
As an expert in pain management, Dr. Roth points out that it’s important to listen any signals your dog might use to indicate she’s in pain, such as:
- Being unusually quiet, listless, restless, or unresponsive
- Limping, stiff gait, shifting weight away from one limb
- Biting
- Constantly licking or chewing at a particular part of the body
- Acting funny and out of character, either aggressively or submissively
- Flattening ears against the head
- Having trouble sleeping or eating
- Seeking a lot more affection than usual
- Unable to get comfortable (constantly changes positions to find the most comfortable position)
If you notice any of these traits in your dog, it’s time for a visit to the vet.
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