Get Your Rear in Gear! Why older dogs are wobbly
It may be due to arthritis or a genetic disease such as hip dysplasia. The majority of relatively healthy dogs however, will become more wobbly as they age because their rear ends have not been regularly strengthened. Approximately 70% of a dog's weight is in the front half of the body therefore the rear legs don't have to hold up as much weight but the rear legs are critical for propulsion and stability.
As the dog ages he will lose muscle mass and the rear is one of the first places muscle will diminish. This is why it is important to start building your dog's rear muscles when they are a young adult and then continue altered exercises into their senior years. By having strength in their rear legs dogs of all ages will have better stability and mobility.
Adult Dogs
Once you have the green light from your vet to start an exercise program consider incorporating slight hill work into your dog's exercise program. By walking, trotting or galloping your dog up low incline hills you are targeting the rear muscles. Be careful to use slight hills with low inclines when starting out and then you can switch to medium inclines as your dog progresses. The hills can easily become part of your Trotting regimen. When you are out trotting your dog and there are hills on your route you can do 10 to 15 reps uphill and then continue on your route.
Senior Dogs
To work the rears of senior dogs you can start by walking or slow trotting the dog 3 times a week for 20 minutes. Once your dog can easily do this then start adding slight hills into the routine. Begin your hill work by doing 3 to 5 reps of walking up and down the hill and again don't use wet grassy hills. Dogs can slip and pull muscles on wet grass and older dogs whose eyesight may be deteriorating can become frightened by the unsure footing.
IMPORTANT TIP #1: You should always WALK DOWN the hill. So you move uphill in a walk, trot or gallop but walk down the hill so as to not put too much pressure on the front end. If you need a refresher of the various gaits (walk, trot, canter, gallop) see my Get Your Trot On! blog entry.
IMPORTANT TIP #2: Refrain from doing your hill work on wet grass. Wet grass is slippery and just like people, dogs can injure themselves by losing their footing.Other ways to target your dog's rear muscles are low jumps. The jumps don't need to be more than half the dog's height at his withers for fitness training. So if your dog is 20 inches at his shoulders then the jump height can be 10 inches or less. Remember the purpose of fitness training is to improve your dog's overall heart health and strengthen muscles for stability and endurance so he can benefit from living a Healthy Canine Lifestyle.
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