She looks like a jack russel the way she jumps. Straight up off the floor a foot or so. She does it all the time, usually to get my attention or when she is excited. I know jumping is not good for doxies, but she is half beagle. She has never had a back problem in her life (she's 8), and she is very slender. Is it likely that she will develop back problems as she ages, because of her constant jumping? Or will all this jumping strengthen her back? Does the fact that she's 8 and has never had any back trouble mean anything? She also loves the stairs. She looks like a doxie, but her legs are longer and her body is a bit shorter, I assume this helps. I live in the basement and don't really like to carry her because previously (in her past home), grabbing her was usually for punishment. She just doesn't like to be picked up. If I built a ramp up the side of the stairs, I'm sure she'd ignore it.
I just don't know what to think. Stop her from jumping even though she loves it. Let her keep jumping and risk injury. Pick her up to go up and down the stairs, even though she hates that. Or let her run up them and hope it doesn't cause any trouble. She's pretty much grounded the rest of the time. She sleeps in her bed on the floor in my room, and usually sticks to the dog bed in the living room. She'll sometimes ask to come up when I'm watching a movie, but I pick her up for that.
any ideas?
Dawn
Hi Dawn
Buddha is so so so so cute! :heart:
Most doxie back problems are genetic, so the fact that she is shorter backed than most doxies probably helps some but isn't the whole story. Beagles also suffer from back problems (but not to the extent of dachshunds certainly). But the fact that Buddha is 8 and has been doing this all her life, it is very possible that she isn't strongly genetically predisposed to disc disease. Even if she's not though, of course an injury and contribute to it...with any dog. I would probably be more concerned about arthritis or spondylosis at this point, although you can't totally rule out the possibility of disc disease even at her age. Just like with people, dogs are more prone to problems as they age so the more you can inhibit the jumping the better. I have never believed that jumping can help strengthen a back any more than jumping off a roof every day can strengthen ours. Discs are like tires on a car. The more of a beating they take over time, the more vulnerable they can become. There won't be any signs of a problem with your car tire, and one day it can suddenly go flat. That is similar to a disc. With repeated stresses to it, if prone, they can get worn down (for lack of better way to describe it in a few words...there is more to it than that) and with enough stresses, they can suddenly herniate. The best way to strengthen the back is with daily walks, on a flat surface and a moderate pace, no sharp twisting or leaping. (I take Hallie for a 30 minute walk/run pretty much everday on a flexi at a park or somewhere the ground is flat).
If I were you, I would do my best to keep her from doing the pogo stick jumping. It sounds like stairs are going to be hard for you to avoid with her. Going down is worse than going up. Although ideally it would be best to not let her do either, all you can do is your best with that too. If you are really concerned you can use a towel or have a harness on her and keep upwards pressure on it as she is going down so all the jarring isn't hitting full force on her front end and compressing her spine. I always have felt that if I do the best I can in my situation, the rest is out of my hands so try not to worry beyond that point. Buddha sounds like a very sound and healthy dog!
She's incredibly healthy. Her teeth are amazing! They were feeding her canned pedigree and still she has gorgeous white teeth!
Thanks for your reply. I'll keep treats around to distract her when I first come home, that'll cut down on the pogo-ing. She does it to get my attention. That little dog is just so darn active! She flies around the house with my kelpie (leah), usually when Leah steals her toy. lol, has to get it back. When I play fetch with leah, buddha gets jealous and tries to grab the toy. Eventually she succeeds and runs with it as fast as she can to the dog bed. Those dogs are nutty :). Both are somewhat possessive of the toys but neither are agressive about it. Leah has had some issues with resource guarding, but doesn't do it with Buddha, ever. Occasionally if the cat gets too close to her food, she'll run over and "bop" him with her foot (I taught her to do this rather than chase or bite the cats - works well), but she never touches Buddha.
Dawn