Maintain an Active Lifestyle
It is important to keep those arthritic joints moving to prevent stiffness and decrease pain. Your arthritic dog may have less enthusiasm about walks, as well as decreased stamina. However, exercise is still essential. Instead of one long daily walk, try taking multiple short, slow walks a day. As your dog tolerates it, try short and steady walks up and down steep hills. This will help rebuild muscle loss in the limbs, increasing overall strength and stability.
Cover Floors for Walkability
Arthritic dogs may lose muscle mass and become weak, making it difficult to gain traction on hardwood, laminate, marble or other slick floors. Placing bath mats, rubber runners, foam mats or even yoga mats in the areas where your dog walks can give him the footing he needs to get around safely and comfortably. Lay down carpet or rubber treads on stairs. For all-day, all-surface traction, you might also try placing special socks, booties or shoes on your dogs feet that have grippy bottoms. Unfortunately, many dogs will not tolerate something on their feet and will have even more trouble walking in them.
Why dog walks changed when the dogs developed osteoarthritis
All owners described a change to their walks following their dogs’ diagnosis with osteoarthritis. Many recalled advice from their veterinary surgeon to reduce their dog’s walk length, to keep their dog on lead exercise only and/or to keep exercise levels consistent day-to-day. Many had tried to adhere to this advice, but some found it impractical.
Commonly, the dogs had also changed the nature of their own walks by walking more slowly and stopping more frequently, usually to sniff but sometimes apparently to rest. Some sat down or looked at their owners when confronted with large hills, rough terrain or after a certain distance or duration. Typically, owners took this as the signal that the dog had had enough and truncated the walk. Dogs were observed to have both good and bad days which impacted on their desire, and ability, to exercise. Some owners had restricted their dogs’ walk length or stopped engaging them in active play to reduce their stiffness the following day, despite sometimes knowing the dog would exercise more if permitted. Several described making daily assessments of their dog’s gait and attitude to decide how far, if at all, to walk them that day. Rarely, owners were keen that their dog went for a walk regardless of their willingness to do so.
How to tell if your dog has arthritis
Dog walking may have multiple physical and mental health advantages, but not all dog owners appear to benefit. Dog health is a described barrier to dog walking activity, but specific causes and impacts of reduced exercise in owners of dogs with health problems have not previously been reported. The current study used a qualitative methodology to explore the impact of canine osteoarthritis on dog walking activity.
Owners of dogs with osteoarthritis living in the United Kingdom (UK) were recruited through veterinary practices for semi-structured interview about life with an osteoarthritic dog. Participants were asked to reflect on walks that they had taken with their dog before he/she developed osteoarthritis, and to describe how those walks had changed. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematic analysis was used to construct key themes.
Forty owners of 35 osteoarthritic dogs were interviewed. Prior to their dog’s development of osteoarthritis, dog walking distance, speed and location were usually decided by the owner to satisfy the needs and enjoyment of dog and walker. A diagnosis of canine osteoarthritis led to both dogs and their owners altering the walks undertaken. Walks were typically slower, shorter and limited to locations where physical infrastructure, underfoot surface and gradients were perceived by the owner to be navigable by their dog. Most owners did not go on additional walks without their dog due to feelings of guilt and because walking without a dog was less enjoyable. Many owners described negative effects on their own physical health and diminished enjoyment of walking as a result of their dog’s condition.
Our research suggests that osteoarthritic dogs may reduce the walking exercise their owners are able or willing to undertake. Since osteoarthritis is a common condition in older dogs, this is an important finding for those advocating dog ownership as a positive public health intervention. Strategies may be needed to ensure that owners of dogs that develop physical incapacities can continue to enjoy the health benefits they previously associated with dog walking. Future studies investigating dog walking activity should ensure that the health status of the dog has been considered.
Walking with a dog is a complex public activity that involves negotiation between dog and walker [1]. Dog walking research has predominantly focused on health gains associated with walking exercise. Benefits to owners’ physical and emotional health as a result of dog walking are well documented [2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]. A meta-analysis of dog walking literature [10] identified that dog owners walk for more minutes per week than non-dog owners, and that acquisition of a dog could lead to a sustained increase in physical exercise. Subsequent research with similar findings has led some authors to suggest dog ownership, and dog walking, could be a positive public health intervention to tackle human obesity [5, 7, 8] and to improve physical and mental health [9]. Around 50% of dogs visiting veterinary practices in the UK dogs are currently estimated to be overweight or obese [11], and there is an ongoing dog overpopulation problem [12]. Therefore, an increase in dog ownership and dog walking could also have dog welfare implications.
However, the same meta-analysis [10] demonstrated that not all dog owners walked further than non-owners. Environmental and psychological motivators associated with dog walking include: a sense of obligation; support and motivation provided by a dog; an accessible, pleasant, safe and interesting environment; a desire to keep fit or lose weight; and positive interactions with other owners and their dogs [1, 4, 6]. Barriers may include: local legislation on how and where dogs can be exercised; ownership of a smaller, old, ill or unsociable dog; adverse weather; the owner’s health state; and poor relationships with others using the same dog walking spaces [1, 4]. Several studies [1, 4, 13, 14] also point to the importance for the owner that they perceive their dog to be enjoying their walk.
Whilst the dog’s health has been identified as a barrier to dog walking in several studies, its impacts on the dog walker have yet to be explored in detail. Osteoarthritis is estimated to affect the joints of 2.5% of all dogs in the United Kingdom [15]. It causes stiffness and pain which may directly impact the dog’s desire, and ability, to walk [16]. Owners of osteoarthritic dogs may be advised by veterinary surgeons to limit their dogs’ exercise to help manage their condition [17]. However, the impact of a change in the dog’s orthopaedic health status on their owners’ walking behaviour has not been investigated. Such research should enable stakeholders including veterinary surgeons, owners, and public health policy makers to better understand the complexities of interaction between dog and owner during walking exercise.
This study therefore aimed to answer the research question: how are dog walks affected when a dog develops osteoarthritis? The objective was to conduct semi-structured interviews with owners of osteoarthritic dogs to understand how dog walks changed before and after the diagnosis.
Fifty-eight owners of osteoarthritic dogs expressed interest in participation. Fifteen subsequently declined to be interviewed, five were unavailable during the study period, four expressed interest only after the study had closed due to data saturation being reached, and two dogs were euthanized before the interviews with their owners could take place. Thirty-two interviews were conducted, involving 40 participants who discussed managing 35 osteoarthritic dogs. Male and female participants of a range of ages and backgrounds were recruited from the rural Westcountry to inner city Scotland and fulfilled all aspects of the sampling frame (Supplementary Data 1, Additional file 1). Interviews ranged from 52 to 170 min in duration. Four themes were constructed. The data below comprise a subtheme of the theme relating to the impact on owners of their dog developing osteoarthritis. Illustrative exemplary quotes are included. Where more than one person was involved in an interview, their quotes are identified as interviewee a or b, as determined by in the order in which they first spoke during the interview.