Too much walking ?

[SC]

Hi all:

We just received our 3 (almost 4) year old female. Her past exercise was pretty much restricted to a pen area. Yesterday we took her out on two walks, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. Each walk was about one mile in length at a very leisurely pace (lots of stopping while she sniffed out everything along the way.)

This morning she was stiff in her back leg area and was limping a bit. Did we push her too hard too soon with the walks ? Did you think the stiffness & limp was more of an age thing, or a lack of distance walking thing, or both ? Could this stiffness and limp be a sign of a physical problem?

Thanks in advance. This board is a great resource !

[Carol Burke]

An almost 4 year old should not have a problem with two one mile leisurely walks. Although if her exercise had been really restricted she might be a little stiff. I would watch her closely and take her to the vet if it doesn't clear up.

[SC]

Thanks Carol. I spoke with the previous owner who thought maybe the bottom of her paws were sore. Whatever it was/is, we took it easier yesterday and went for shorter distance walks. She didn't limp yesterday or this morning, but after laying down awhile, getting back up seems to be a bit of an effort, more like an older dog. I'm going to speak with her previous vet about her. Thanks again for the input.