Stopping To Stretch Your Senior Dog's Mind and Body

As your dog gets older, you’ll notice they might not be as comfortable taking long trips in the car. This is probably due to the fact that most senior dogs, like senior people, start experiencing aches and pains that come with age and with the onset of arthritis. It doesn’t mean that your favourite travel companion can’t still go on trips with you, but they are going to need you to change some things to make it easier and more comfortable for them.

Our dog, Maya, is 13 and a half years old (and counting) and she is definitely experiencing arthritic pain and stiffness on a daily basis. We’ve have had to make a variety of changes in her diet, medicines, exercise and in the way we travel with her in the vehicle.

Here’s what we do to try to make her life more enjoyable and less painful during trips to family and friends’ or during our camping trips:

Before we leave for any driving trip that’s much longer than an hour, we always take her for a walk. This helps her warm up her joints and muscles for the day, let’s her do any “business” she may need to do, and it gives her exercise which always makes her happier and calmer.

We give her a lot more space in the vehicle than we would have in the past. This allows her to stretch out and to get up and move around freely while we’re driving.

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Five years ago, on a trip to the east coast, Maya shared her space with a cooler. Now she gets the back of the truck to herself.

She has a comfortable bed and something soft to lean against. Dogs love to put their backs up against something or lean their chins on surfaces. Its a hood idea to give them something soft to make them feel comfortable and safe, especially if there are any hard or pointy surfaces they might hit.

Maya has a few food toys that she can work on while we are travelling. This gives her something to keep her mind busy and in the process it tires her out a bit too. (Kongs full of peanut butter bread or chew toys with little treats in them are ideal).

She has access to water when she wants it. Older dogs need more water. Have you noticed yours drinking more than usual? It is perfectly normal for them to drink more, too much more can be a symptom of some underlying issue, though. We make sure Maya has water because she prefers to drink on ‘her own time’ and not always when we offer it to her. I have built an upraised ‘drinking’ station that she won’t step on and spill all over the place.

We make sure she is warm or cool enough since she has the entire back area of our SUV. This isn’t a problem in the winter since we can control the heat specifically to her area. In the summer heat we have had an issue with our rear AC so we put a powered fan in to suck the cool air from the front of the vehicle back to her area (it helps circulate the air and keeps the back area cooler for her). It worked great this summer, but certainly isn’t as effective as rear air conditioning.

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Here you can see Maya’s fan and, below it, her ‘drinking station’. The pool noodles act as bumpers and protect her from hard surfaces.

Make sure she can safely get in and out of the vehicle. Our SUV is taller than your average vehicle and this causes a problem with Maya getting in and out, especially since she has an elbow/shoulder injury to one of her front legs. Picking her up (56+ lbs) isn’t preferred. So, after a lot of online research, and one failed attempt to get her to use a dog ramp, we purchased a set of PetLoader steps. She took to them very easily, since she already knows how to go up and down stairs. The steps have been awesome, even though it is a bit of a pain having to set them up and then take them down and put them in the vehicle. It also takes up space, but it was the best solution for us and for Maya.

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Pet Loader steps are keeping Maya’s joint from getting worse.

Finally, during our driving trips, we find parks or rest areas to stop at and let her get out and stretch her legs. The great thing about this is that not only does she get to sniff a new place, but we also get to relax and take a break from driving. It’s a win-win for the whole family. Stop for a bathroom break, a picnic, a short hike or whatever you can find along the way.

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Maya stretching her legs at Monkton Lions Park.

Making a few adjustments to the way you used to do things will make travelling with your senior dog easier and more enjoyable for the whole family.

What changes have you made as your pet ages?

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