Dogs in the hills

[johnkaysleftleg]

I was just wondering, in people's experience, at what age does a dog start to slow down and find hill walking a bit more of a challenge? Hughie the redoubtable westie seems to be finding our hill walks a little more tiring of late, he turned ten in October.

[KatTai]

It varies a lot depending on individual and breed. Millie was 13 when she retired, though she still managed to do Ben Lomond with her younger sister Moss. Fly barely got started because she had arthritis when I got her (she was 7). Moss is now around 7 and showing no signs of slowing down.

[tweedledog]

As KatTai said - very difficult to generalise. Azul the Whippet will be 15 in April but is still capable of decent hilly walks of 7 miles or so. Slowed down, of course, and it's more of an effort, but then the same applies to his human companion. We don't head for the Munro summits any more.

[wee black dug]

I'm pretty much just echoing what others have said, but if you've started to notice a wee difference yourself then that's probably the best indication you can get.

I didn't see any real change in Jorja's ability on the hills until she was about 11 or so, and even then she could still go all day, but it was the slower "recovery" over the next day or so that was the big thing - she was like myself(!), kind of stiff and sore, which had never previously been a thing.

I decided to consciously cut down on the miles thereafter (6 or 7 seemed to be the sweet spot) and she has kept going. We got to the 50% Munro mark at the end of last October, and she turned 13 today, as it happens.

I also found that the terrain made a huge difference to her both on the day, and afterwards. Grass/bog/softish paths were much preferable to consistently rocky stuff.

Hopefully Hughie's got a wee while yet on the hills!

[Graeme D]

My lab Lucy officially retired shortly after turning 11. I had known for a year or so that her hill days were pretty much numbered but one day on Cat Law brought it home to me that she was done with the hills. She made it to 14 but wasn't on another hill after that day. I now have a new labrador pup aged 11 weeks and I cannae wait until she is able to do hill days by my side. Hopefully Hughie has a few hills left in him yet.

[Janiceanddog]

Hi,

I really think your dog will tell you. You just notice little differences over time.

My dog will be 10 in August, but next year we are planning to do probablyour last LDP, the Pennine Way. We will both be getting on (I will be 66 with a 4 year old Knee replacement). Because of these factors we shall be taking it easy doing it over 25 days. She is still climbing the fells happily here in the Lake District and is used to walking Long Distance Paths, but obviously not as long as the PW. She has done Offas Dyke when she was much younger and more or less done one every year for the past 6 years.

So I would just watch Hughie and adjust the walks as he gets older. However, if he seems to suddenly get tired over a short space of time, then I would just get him checked over by a vet. I will ask my vet to check Harlie out anyway, before we undergo the PW, just to give me peace of mind that she is fit.

Janice & Harlie (Dog)

[OpenC]

Of my three cockers, Milllie went until she was 11 (last one was Sgor Gaoith from Glen Feshie, and she was fine - she died just a few weeks later after a three or four hour day in the Cheviots). Maisie was always a lazier dog and although I had her around Cairn Gorm by the Goat Track when she was about 10 she limped for days afterwards so that was the end for her. I recall taking her to Seathwaite once, where we'd been out for six hours to climb Scafell Pike the week previous, and she just jumped back into the boot of the car when she recognised where she was

[CharlesT]

I recall taking her to Seathwaite once, where we'd been out for six hours to climb Scafell Pike the week previous, and she just jumped back into the boot of the car when she recognised where she was

My old Cairn did something similar once. We had a very long walk the day before (Scafell Pike and Scafell by coincidence) and we were off up Blencathra the following day. At least I was, Duffy curled up on the passenger seat, and stuck his nose between his hind legs in a clear "I'm going nowhere" pose. He was still asleep in the same same position when I returned.

[Ibex]

Been ages since i've been on here, but I have been looking through some of your walk reports for some of the Wainwrights I have left.
Glad to hear Hughie is still going.

[Uncle bob]

my 2 last Dogs Jack Russels ...i retired both of them at 12 yrs ...Jess and Josie ...Jess is long gone (best dog i ever had )......Josie is now 12mths retired to my daughters , she rescues older dogs from rescue centres .

they came everywhere with me even on my M'bike.

You'll know in your heart when its time...You can see there joints getting arthritic and they noticeably get slow ....as we all do.

check your dog daily when hiking for ticks ....my dogs got lots of ticks both in UK and Ireland.

dont run out of dog food in Tyndrum .... a few yrs ago they charged me £2.10p for a can .

[johnkaysleftleg]

Many thanks for the feedback, Hughie isn't falling away too quickly, I just wanted to know just what others experiences with there canine companions were. I think I'll ease him down and leave him for a few longer walks with stony ground over the coming year.

Been ages since i've been on here, but I have been looking through some of your walk reports for some of the Wainwrights I have left.
Glad to hear Hughie is still going.

Good to here from you, good luck with the Lakes relocation