# Not jumping up readily



## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

It sounds like she is either having a hard time now or she could have had a bad jumping experience lately. They sell steps for the end of your bed and ramps to get into vehicles.


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## BayBeams (Jan 3, 2010)

Jumping in and out of a car is hard on any dog's joints but particularly the seniors. All my dogs use a ramp to get into and out of the car, even the 10 month old. They make them telescoping and folding styles and are light weight and fit easily into any vehicle.
It is easy to train your dog how to use them.
I would suggest you look into them.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

First, a thorough senior vet check just to be sure there's nothing going on with her! Then, if you haven't already done so, you might want to talk to your vet about putting her on some supplements.
My vet is a HUGE proponent of fish oil supplements for all dogs 7 and older. It has very strong anti-inflammatory properties. Also you might want to consider a glucosamine/chondroitin supplement for her.
It's much easier to prevent damage to the older joints than it is to fix it!


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## CarolinaCasey (Jun 1, 2007)

^ Agree with this!

This is how Casey started acting with the car. He now puts his front paws up, and we lift his back-end into the SUV. I think it might be time to start supplements and make some adjustments at home to make life on her joints easier!


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## Elisabeth Kazup (Aug 23, 2008)

Okay, all of these ideas are kind of what I was thinking. She's due for her annual vet check up/vaccs, so I'll be sure to bring it up. I had been thinking it was time to go to a ramp set-up.

I agree that treating symptoms early is way better than waiting until they are more severe. I didn't do it right with our Angel Polly; I sure don't want to make the same mistake with Penny.


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## coppers-mom (Jan 9, 2009)

I started my old guy on glcoflex III and duralactin right after christmas. he was showing obvious signs of discomfort and was very stiff.

His gait and stiffness improved in 2.5 - 3 weeks. I believe the initial improvement was due to a massage/heating pad routine and then the duralactin (anti-inflammatory) took effect after a couple of weeks.

I think the glycoflex III(chondriotin/glucosamine) is helping too now. He even sleeps better. I guess he was in more pain than I knew. he had stopped going for hikes and now looks forward to them with his old zeal.
He has had pancreatitis and elevated live enzymes so we couldn't go the standard route with Deramaxx or Rimadyl and I like these supplements better since I could not find any side effects associated with them.

I hope your vet has some good suggestions for you and Penny.


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## tennisball (Oct 14, 2009)

Everyone else has given great advice, but I just wanted to add, if you have stairs in your home, you could buy one of those Lift-N-Aid pet harnesses. I wish I knew about those when my bridge golden was having trouble getting up the stairs.


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## kwiland (Aug 27, 2009)

I just wanted to say that my boy Winnie recently had trouble standing up and stopped jumping on the bed. I started him on fish oil and the 'healthy powder for dog's' (you can google it). They helped amazingly! I started him this week on glycoflex 3 this week, and am already seeing results. His energy level is up, and he's even been sneaking into the swimming pool! We live in TX, so it's not TOO cold right now. I couldn't recommend these supplements more highly, it's made a big difference to Winnie.


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## paula bedard (Feb 5, 2008)

It does sound like she's starting to feel a little arthritic. I put Sam on supplements also. At one point the Vet tried a prescription pain med but he did better on coated aspirin. It may just be age is catching up with her and her best jumping days are behind her. You might think about getting a folding ramp that you can take with you when you're in the car. We used a ramp rather than have Sam put more pressure on his hind end.

I hope the Vet check doesn't find anything more than a gracefully aging Penny.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

Everyone has great advice, but the best is a vet check to rule out anything else potentially more serious than arthritis. In January we noticed Barkley (age 12 yr 8 mo at the time) was having some issues jumping on the sofa, and even climbing the stairs. I caught him "resting" (sitting on a stair) coming down stairs one day and then I caught him "resting" going up the stairs with his head on the landing. I should have gotten a big clue from this but I didn't. Despite arthritis, hip issues and old age he's always been very agile at jumping on our sofa and climbing our stairs. A few days after the last stair incident he collapsed and we ultimately got the hemangiosarcoma diagnosis. He stopped his normal climbing and jumping due to exhaustion from low blood counts, not his arthritis. I don't mean to imply anything or make you afraid but.... a vet check is an important first step just to rule anything else out. Barkley's annual exam was scheduled for the following week and we probably would have gotten an indication something was off with his blood counts but we didn't make it that long. Since his splenectomy he's gone back to jumping on the sofa, climbing the stairs (a little too quickly at times) and even jumping on our bed. He's also pulling again on walks.


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## Elisabeth Kazup (Aug 23, 2008)

Thank you everyone. You are all so generous with you experiences and advice. Getting in and out of the car is important because we go to the barn 2 or 3 times a day, plus other rides. We didn't go anywhere yesterday because of the snow so today I'm going to teach her to put her paws up and wait for me to lift her back end. 

I sure don't know how people can give up a dog because they get old. :no: I miss her puppy days but as she goes into her senior years, I love her all the more and want to take exceptional care of her. They ask for so little. :smooch:


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## paula bedard (Feb 5, 2008)

Sam started showing real signs of arthritis at age 10, stiff back end, not wanting to play fetch for very long, balking at a long set of stairs. We started the gluco/condroitin sups then at the suggestion of our Vet and also gave a daily aspirin (lower dosage & coated), within a few months he was much better. The aspirin helped with aches and pains immediately, but it can take 3 months for the supplements to kick in fully. 

Aside from a these aches and pains, I hope Penny gets a clean bill of health at the Vet's.


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## magiclover (Apr 22, 2008)

Same story as most people have said here. My girl is 10 and I noticed the stiffness and slow to get up, hesitation at getting in the truck. X-Rays showed mild hip dysplasia and mild osteoarthritis. We have her on supplements and are currently weaning out Rimadyl. She is currently having a series of injections that are making a big difference and giving us the option to not use the Rimadyl unless she is having a bad day. We also just started hydrotherapy which I believe will make a big difference for her and keep her limber as long as possible. Good luck with the vet check.


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