Jake and Walking

Jake with Splint - 2007

Until 2008 our golden retriever Jake was a good walker, often logging six or more miles with us. Then around age eight he suffered a broken foot. He walked less with us in the Adirondacks that year and never regained the stamina we had seen earlier. We suspected arthritis, and since have kept him well-dosed with remedies. 

By 2009, abetted by cool temperatures, he managed the four-mile loop around Star Lake on two or three occasions. However by 2010 his walking had deteriorated to the point that we didn’t even attempt to walk him around the lake, settling for half-mile out-and-back walks. As summer turned to fall and we were back in Florida, he was good for no more than a half-mile in all, often signaling the desire to return home after a few hundred yards. His walking days were over, we believed.
 
More recently, close to his eleventh birthday (December 5), Jake surprised us by rediscovering the pleasures of walking. Several times since he has led us on three-mile treks, staying in front and leading us onward (if we had known how far we would be going, we might have worn stouter shoes).
 
We are led to wonder whether Jake’s joints and muscles have veered between sickness and health in yo-yo like oscillations, or (more likely) can it be our incompetence as dog doctors that is responsible? His physical strength may (like ours) be somewhat diminished with age. But maybe his joints-muscles-bones-tendons-ligaments-etc. are in fine shape, and he just doesn’t like to exercise when it is warm out. We think maybe that’s it; his physical prowess is far better than we believed, and our diagnostic skills are far worse than we imagined. We lament our failings in that department a bit, but are pleased that Jake can again accompany us on long walks—if only when it is cold out and we thin-blooded humans find it miserable.