Though winter is upon us, it is important to know the signs of pain when exercising your dog.
Even though exercise is one of the best things you can do for your dog, there is the possibility of over doing it. Just like we can overdo it with our own exercise, the same can be said for our little ones, but unfortunately they can not tell us they are hurting, but they show us.
Shih Tzu Pain During Exercise
(this also applies to all other dogs too!)
Movement
- Limping
- Stiffness
- no or partial weight baring on limb
- shaking or trembling
Posture
- Guarding of painful area
- Hunched back
- Tucked tail
- Head hangs down low
Behavior
- Agitated
- Growling
- Change in character
- Loss or decreased appetite
- Inappropriate urination or defecation (if previously trained)
- Continuous liking of injured area
As your dogs personal canine fitness coach, it is up to you to make sure they are safe and healthy during each exercise session. Make sure each session starts with a warm-up and ends with a cool down and stretching (or massage session). And though the temperatures are dropping, there are still some areas in the US that have temperatures in the 80’s. Remember that your dog can also become overheated in winter too. To find the signs of heat exhaustion visit our post Heat Exhaustion in Dogs.
It’s been a while, but we are very happy to be joining FitDog Friday!
Great tips. It is important to be aware of signs of pain or injury.
2 Brown Dawgs recently posted…Test Driving The New Toy
This is great advice! Sometimes we forget our pet’s need to be conditioned just as we do.
Rachel Sheppard recently posted…Don’t Forget to Stretch
Henry and I participate in agility classes. Knowing these signs is invaluable! Thank you.
Sadie recently posted…“if you can’t fly then run,
Thanks for joining us again at FitDog Friday! Great post and reminder! I have to watch Rocco closely since all his fur can mask things sometimes. On the other hand, he won’t walk at all if he has a leaf or twig stuck under him!
Diane @ To Dog With Love recently posted…Dog Walk Through Hugh Taylor Birch State Park
That is so funny! Our girls always seem to get leaves attached to them, but since I keep them cut short, it’s dragging behind in their tails 🙂
What a great reminder for our humans! Thank you for sharing! 🙂
Good information – you gotta always be watchful, and it’s super important to watch licking…we learned this one the hard way!
Mr. N limps when something is stuck in his paw so I have to really watch him.
yes I am always amazed at how so many little things can get caught in their paws.
Goodness thanks so much for sharing this – so important and especially these little fragile bodies.
Carol Bryant recently posted…10 Touches To Save a Dog’s Life
Hi Y’all!
My Humans know when I’m not quite right when I’m not carrying something or when I’m walking and not racing on the trails.
Y’all come on by,
Hawk aka BrownDog
Hawk aka BrownDog recently posted…My World is Beautiful!
Great post. It’s so hard to think of our pups in pain. 🙁
Rama’s Mama recently posted…FitDog Friday–Siren’s Back!
This is a great reminder about the importance of letting our best friends warm up & cool off when exercising them!
Barbara Rivers recently posted…Enjoy your walks during wintertime! #walkyourpetmonth
These are great tips! Thanks for sharing.
Excellent post – too often people don’t pay enough attention to these signs, but it’s the only way our dogs have to communicate with us.
Slimdoggy recently posted…Fitness Tips I Learned from my Dogs: Value of Rest
Welcome back to FitDog Friday! You are so right, one needs to keep an eye on us to make sure we aren’t in pain or doing too much for our conditioning level. Many humans wrongly assume a dog can just magically exercise, but we need to build up our muscles just like humans.
Emma recently posted…One Year Of Nose Work