Senior Dog Comfort & Care

If you’re going to do some energetic activity with your senior dog, like playing a game where they’ll be running, it’s best to warm them up first. Warm up your dog by stretching their hips, massaging their back and legs, or going for a 5-to-10-minute slow walk. Alternatively, they can lie on a heating pad made for animals for a few minutes.

Warming them up raises blood flow to the muscles so that they have better movement, and it increases the elasticity of their ligaments. It also allows for a gradual increase in their heart and respiratory rates and stimulates their brain to prepare for activity. Slowly ramp up their activity level by level.

Cooling down is also important! Do it by slowly walking or stretching your dog for 5 to 10 minutes. You want your dog’s heart and respiratory rates, along with their body temperature, to gradually decrease rather than rapidly decline. A post-exercise cool-down means your dog’s body can better flush lactic acid from their muscles. We feel sore due to lactic acid the day after a workout. It’s similar for your dog, so cooling them down will reduce soreness and improve recovery time.