Senior Dog Stretches

Today, my brother Chubbs turned 10. I'm 12. These ages are definitely considered senior dogs. In fact, when your dog is 7 or 8, depending on the breed, it is probably considered a senior. This comes with problems that you are familiar with: disorientation, deafness, blindness, arthritis. Chubbs and I both suffer from some arthritis in our hips/lower back.

This week, my mom read an article about stretches for senior dogs, and boy am I glad she did! I don't really like to be touched. I can take some pets and all that, but I'm not super cuddley, and I hate being handled. But I loved these stretches.

The very best one was the backrub. She read to rub your dog in between the hip bones in a circular motion. She did it with a flat palm, but you can also rub down the spine with fingers on either side of the spine. Not only does this increase mobility, but it also increases spinal fluid flow, reduces anxiety and helps balance. Both Chubbs and I loved this one. We'll stand there and let this happen for several minutes.

The other stretches are rear and front leg stretches. For the rear legs, you stretch slowly straight back. For front legs, you stretch slowly straight forward, cradling the leg in your hands. These assist with freedom of movement as well as decreased arthritis pain, improved breathing capacity and increased blood flow. If your dog lies on his back, you can also stretch the front legs out slightly to open up the chest and rub the stomach i the circular motion.

There are lots of massage techniques for your dogs, but we can tell you that these are very popular around here! So spend some time rubbing your senior dog. He/she'll be very grateful! Love, Fenway