My dog stops during walks

I live in the Phoenix area and it's hot in the mornings and I have a 6 year
old Golden Retriever. The last couple of weeks she just want to stop about 3
or 4 times during her 3 mile walk. I take her early in the morning before
sunrise when it's in the high 80's. I don't know if she's just getting older
and don't like the heat or what. Anyone has any ideas?

Richard

On Tue, 8 Aug 2006 07:08:16 -0700 Richard Miller whittled these words:
I live in the Phoenix area and it's hot in the mornings and I have a 6 year
old Golden Retriever. The last couple of weeks she just want to stop about 3
or 4 times during her 3 mile walk. I take her early in the morning before
sunrise when it's in the high 80's. I don't know if she's just getting older
and don't like the heat or what. Anyone has any ideas?

If she is not showing signs of heat stress (lots of panting) I'd want a
veterinarian to give her a thorough check-up. If she is showing signs of
heat stress then I guess I'd want to check her weight and whether she is
hydrating normally. 6 years old isn't
old enough for that kind of issue in a normal healthy dog of her breed.
I'm assuming when you say "walk" you don't mean "run"


--
Diane Blackman
There is no moral victory in proclaiming to abhor violence
while preaching with violent words.
http://dog-play.com/ http://dogplayshops.com/

Richard Miller wrote:
I live in the Phoenix area and it's hot in the mornings and I have a 6 year
old Golden Retriever. The last couple of weeks she just want to stop about 3
or 4 times during her 3 mile walk. I take her early in the morning before
sunrise when it's in the high 80's. I don't know if she's just getting older
and don't like the heat or what. Anyone has any ideas?

Richard

My Shih Tzu doese that almost every time she goes for a walk. She will
walk for about five minutes, then she will stop. Just stop, sit there
for a second, then lay down. Normally when she doese that, I just pick
her up, and then she just comes home in my arms. The last time I tried
to picke her up, she just growled at me!!! Anyway, I think that is
natural for dogs to just lay down.

On 12 Aug 2006 13:52:19 -0700 krazywasabi78779 whittled these words:
My Shih Tzu doese that almost every time she goes for a walk. She will
walk for about five minutes, then she will stop. Just stop, sit there
for a second, then lay down. Normally when she doese that, I just pick
her up, and then she just comes home in my arms. The last time I tried
to picke her up, she just growled at me!!! Anyway, I think that is
natural for dogs to just lay down.

Your dog may do it, but it isn't "normal". Your Shih Tzu should enjoy
both walking and running for considerably longer then 5 minutes. One of
the reasons our dogs have gotten in such poor physical condition is the
acceptance of such things.

--
Diane Blackman
There is no moral victory in proclaiming to abhor violence
while preaching with violent words.
http://dog-play.com/ http://dogplayshops.com/

"krazywasabi78779" wrote in message
oups.com...

Richard Miller wrote:
I live in the Phoenix area and it's hot in the mornings and I have a 6
year
old Golden Retriever. The last couple of weeks she just want to stop
about 3
or 4 times during her 3 mile walk. I take her early in the morning
before
sunrise when it's in the high 80's. I don't know if she's just getting
older
and don't like the heat or what. Anyone has any ideas?

Richard

My Shih Tzu doese that almost every time she goes for a walk. She will
walk for about five minutes, then she will stop. Just stop, sit there
for a second, then lay down. Normally when she doese that, I just pick
her up, and then she just comes home in my arms. The last time I tried
to picke her up, she just growled at me!!! Anyway, I think that is
natural for dogs to just lay down.
==========
I am guessing she does not want to walk any further because of arthritis or
the heat.
Try walking her early in the morning or in the evening when it is cooler, to
see if her walking improves; if not, she could be in discomfort with
arthritis. Check with your vet.