Video Transcript

Hi, I'm Dr. Q from drquesten.com. And I want to talk a little bit today about how to exercise a dog with hip dysplasia. If your dog has been diagnosed with hip dysplasia, your veterinarian will probably outline some kind of an exercise medication program that will really help keep your dog comfortable. The most important thing to remember is that these dogs need to keep moving. So, just because your dog might be a little bit sore or a little bit reluctant, talk to your veterinarian on ways to help keep your dog comfortable. But, if you don't use it, you lose it, whether you're a dog or a person. So, it's definitely best to keep these dogs up and moving. If your veterinarian has prescribed medication to help with the pain, it's definitely best to give these medication about an hour or so before you're going to exercise. That's so important. It's, works so much better and it's so much more effective for your dog to have that medication in the system before you exercise. The other thing to keep in mind about exercising dogs with hip dysplasia is to keep it slow and steady. Much better to walk three blocks five days a week than to only once a week go out for three miles. So, definitely use common sense, if your dog seems more sore the next day, talk to your veterinarian about increasing your medication, maybe decreasing the distance that you're going and increasing the frequency so that we can keep these dogs moving and that's really the best for their joint health in the long term. Swimming is another good option; if you have that as a availability in your area for your dog to go swimming, but, if that's not an option, just slow steady walks are really the best thing to do. The most important thing to remember about that is that if your dog never learned how to walk in a leash, now is the time for them to learn how 'cause we don't want them lunging for the squirrels or at passerby or cars or things like that and causing more impact on those joints. So, now is the time to definitely have your dog just walk nice and quietly by your side several times a week and this is the best way to keep those joints in good condition. I'm Dr. Q and hopefully these tips will help you a little bit today. The rest is up to you. Thank you for tuning in today.