# Old Gold 5K?



## Michele4 (Oct 28, 2012)

Does she do 1.5mi on a regular basis? If your not walking her every day or every other day i don't know if she could do 3mi at one time. I guess you would know your dog best, i've heard walking can help with arthritis but unless she used to it i wouldn't do a stretch that long.


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## Finn's Fan (Dec 22, 2007)

I have a 10-year-old golden boy whose previous owners broke his back and therefore, he had major spinal surgery at almost four years old. We regularly walk over 3 miles, and on the occasions that he's sore or mincing up the stairs afterwards, he gets a Rimadyl. If your pup isn't used to that distance, you should build up her distance and stamina gradually. Being on a good joint supplement, such as Glycoflex III, would help, too. For me, long daily walks are good for Finn and me, so it's only too much if your dog's in pain or exhausted at the end.


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## GoldieMommie (Feb 18, 2013)

Michele4 said:


> Does she do 1.5mi on a regular basis? If your not walking her every day or every other day i don't know if she could do 3mi at one time. I guess you would know your dog best, i've heard walking can help with arthritis but unless she used to it i wouldn't do a stretch that long.


 
I've only had her since Wednesday, but she has done 1.5 miles each day since I've had her. She's also been hiking and does well. What the vet has recommended is some pretty serious weight loss (10-15 lbs!) but it's too cold to swim right now, otherwise I'd have her doing that. I've reduced food intake and am giving lengthy walks and doing some in-house activities like hide and seek just to keep her moving. I almost just feel like she could do 2 miles or even 2.5 but that 3 might be stretching it. I'll talk to the vet, her old foster mom, and see other responses from here. Our other option is the 1-mile, but that's just so short.


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## Michele4 (Oct 28, 2012)

Good luck either way with the 5k


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## GoldieMommie (Feb 18, 2013)

Finn's Fan said:


> I have a 10-year-old golden boy whose previous owners broke his back and therefore, he had major spinal surgery at almost four years old. We regularly walk over 3 miles, and on the occasions that he's sore or mincing up the stairs afterwards, he gets a Rimadyl. If your pup isn't used to that distance, you should build up her distance and stamina gradually. Being on a good joint supplement, such as Glycoflex III, would help, too. For me, long daily walks are good for Finn and me, so it's only too much if your dog's in pain or exhausted at the end.


 
Oh my. Well then I think I'll start slowly increasing her walks and see how she does with that.  

Thank you!


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## GoldieMommie (Feb 18, 2013)

Michele4 said:


> Good luck either way with the 5k


I won't do it without her.  lol. It's either the 5K or the 1-mile, but either way, we're doing it together. 

BUT! Thank you!!  I will probably need the luck more than she does.


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## Michele4 (Oct 28, 2012)

Whens the 5k? If you are walking her regularly i don't foresee a problem, if she does well on her 1 1/2mi walks she should be ok.


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## GoldieMommie (Feb 18, 2013)

Michele4 said:


> Whens the 5k? If you are walking her regularly i don't foresee a problem, if she does well on her 1 1/2mi walks she should be ok.


 
It's April 20. I think we can do it.


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## GoldieMommie (Feb 18, 2013)

Mollie can do a 5K, no problem. We hiked 6 miles today with no issues until the last mile, she got tired. But no limping, laying down, whimpering, or anything. She did great!


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## Jim and Hank (Jun 29, 2011)

Good for you. Great to have a dog to get out and exercise with eh? (yes I am Canadian - LOL!) I have three oldies - Hank is 10 and been with me almost three years and walks great. Recently Millie and Nikki, two seven year old sisters arrived. Millie and Nikki are past a few extra pounds so I have taken the go slow approach and will build up to 6km walks every day. I am pretty positive that they will make to that level of walk by the end of March - arrived here end January. The one thing I am sure you are thinking of is having some water for Mollie part way thru the warm up walks - thinking Alabama may be getting warm and humid by April - we will likely still have snow on the ground here Mid April!


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

I'd build very, very slowly up to the 5K. If you're doing 1.5 miles together, just up it by a little bit each day until you're doing 3 comfortably. That should also help her lose some of that weight before the big day. Good luck!


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## Jennifer1 (Mar 31, 2012)

I think you should be ok. My 12yr old lab has arthritis in his elbow and can easily do 2-3 miles.

What I would suggest is to build up slowly-you've got time. Just add an extra block or something short like that every day. If she shows sings of pain then back off and be happy with the 1 mile!


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## GoldieMommie (Feb 18, 2013)

tippykayak said:


> I'd build very, very slowly up to the 5K. If you're doing 1.5 miles together, just up it by a little bit each day until you're doing 3 comfortably. That should also help her lose some of that weight before the big day. Good luck!


Well, like I said, we did a 6-mile hike on Sunday, and she totally rocked it. She has more energy than I even knew possible. She didn't even slow down until mile 5, so we ended shortly thereafter. A 5K won't be a problem at all! And I had a check up with the vet- she only needs to lose about 5 pounds  The rescue said 10-15 because they are overly worried about people not keeping their dogs at a healthy weight. We are going to be hikers once a week probably. She loved it. I found out she LOVES the water. So once it gets just a bit warmer and sunnier, we'll be swimming too! I've got quite the athlete, and I didn't even know it.  I was going easy on her because I was worried, but boy, she showed me!


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## Wendy427 (Apr 4, 2009)

Something else that would help alleviate the arthritis symptoms would be to add 1 teaspoon of turmeric to her food each time you feed her. It greatly reduces inflammation in the body. 

You can buy it real cheap, in bulk, at either Whole Foods or at an Indian (India) store.


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## GoldieMommie (Feb 18, 2013)

Hank & Jim in NB said:


> Good for you. Great to have a dog to get out and exercise with eh? (yes I am Canadian - LOL!) I have three oldies - Hank is 10 and been with me almost three years and walks great. Recently Millie and Nikki, two seven year old sisters arrived. Millie and Nikki are past a few extra pounds so I have taken the go slow approach and will build up to 6km walks every day. I am pretty positive that they will make to that level of walk by the end of March - arrived here end January. The one thing I am sure you are thinking of is having some water for Mollie part way thru the warm up walks - thinking Alabama may be getting warm and humid by April - we will likely still have snow on the ground here Mid April!


I definitely think they'll be able to accomplish those walks by then. Mollie surprised me by being able to do the 6 miles. She wasn't even sore the next day. Honestly, if anything, she was significantly less stiff than usual. So I think it was really, really good for her arthritis.

Funny that you're Canadian. I have family in Boston and I sometimes go up for Spring Break, and there's almost always snow still hanging around! 

I keep a collapsable water bowl in my pack for Mollie and several bottles of water.  I drink about 70 oz of water per day just for myself, so I keep plenty of it around for her also.  

Good luck with your doggies! Oldies are so awesome


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## GoldieMommie (Feb 18, 2013)

Wendy427 said:


> Something else that would help alleviate the arthritis symptoms would be to add 1 teaspoon of turmeric to her food each time you feed her. It greatly reduces inflammation in the body.
> 
> You can buy it real cheap, in bulk, at either Whole Foods or at an Indian (India) store.


Alright, good to know. For now, the glucosamine and daily walks are keeping her from being stiff. But if it starts to be less effective or if it seems like she's uncomfortable I'll definitely get some! Thank you!


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

GoldieMommie said:


> Well, like I said, we did a 6-mile hike on Sunday, and she totally rocked it. She has more energy than I even knew possible. She didn't even slow down until mile 5, so we ended shortly thereafter. A 5K won't be a problem at all! And I had a check up with the vet- she only needs to lose about 5 pounds  The rescue said 10-15 because they are overly worried about people not keeping their dogs at a healthy weight. We are going to be hikers once a week probably. She loved it. I found out she LOVES the water. So once it gets just a bit warmer and sunnier, we'll be swimming too! I've got quite the athlete, and I didn't even know it.  I was going easy on her because I was worried, but boy, she showed me!


Hooray! Always best to take it conservatively, but I'm so glad she's having such a wonderful time with it!


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