Hello again friends of BVC, Becky here to update you on my adventures with the wonderful Blaze. Blaze has been doing very well with his hips since his diagnosis earlier this year. He has been continuing with his Dasaquin and catalyst daily and they are keeping him feeling young and spry. Now that it is hot weather Blaze and I like to spend our days cooling off in some water, I can rarely keep him out of any body of water and his favorite thing to do is swim.

With a dog diagnosed with hip dysplasia I do worry every day that he will over exert himself and although I don’t want to hold him back from doing the things he loves the most, I also don’t want to allow him to, in case he hurts himself. Luckily, exercise is one of the most important things for dogs with this condition, and swimming is one of the best physical therapy exercises for these guys.

Swimming can actually help reduce some of the pain in his joints, as well as increase tendon and muscle strength. Since in water there is the ability to float it takes the pressure of the dogs’ hips. The water can even be quite soothing for them; I know Blaze enjoys it tremendously.

If you have a dog that has hip dysplasia and you’re not sure if he can swim or not please remember to purchase a life vest just in case. Always introduce them to the water slowly and in a nice shallow area. Once they become adjusted to the shallow area and seem comfortable, you can begin to go deeper and deeper and see how they do. You can encourage them by calling them across the water, using treats, a ball, even sticks to get them to really have fun and enjoy it.

Always remember not to over-due it. Blaze could go in the water for hours; back and forth, back and forth, but I am very alert to his fatigue and know when he needs to settle down and take a break or when that was enough for the day.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy these great photos of my boy Blaze swimming like a champ!