We were a little worried that this summer camping trip would be too much for Maya. She had started to have some issues with her joints in the winter of 2015 and we started her on Metacam for her arthritis and then implemented a training regiment to help her build muscle around her joints for support. Swimming is the best exercise for dogs with joint issues and we got her out swimming as often as possible in the spring in preparation. We had already decided that we would probably have to go on shorter and fewer hikes during the trip and make sure she had lots of rest in between.
Well, the training paid off because she far exceeded our expectations. We continued to find every swimming spot we could for her and she did some difficult trails during the trip, with rest days in between. We had also borrowed a Boler trailer, from family friends, which made it easier to stay at multiple parks so that Maya wouldn’t have long travel days in the truck. She also really enjoyed the extra comfort, warmth and lack of bugs the trailer provided.
