My Girls Walking Stamina Lessening?

[SaintMommy]

Cassie gets daily walks, and they are the highlight of her day, other than when we come, dinner, treats,belly rubs, ear rubs, and playing chase the stuffed monkey, WALKS are the best! Cassie seems to be really not be enjoying her walks these days. She has had hip issues since a puppy.  But lately it seems she has really been pooping out about 15 minutes into her 35-40 minute walk.  She is not even 2 years old, and I know we are going to have to address the hip problem eventually, but at this time 10K+ is not in the realm of possibility.  Has anyone else seen this.  I will admit this winter she has filled in CONSIDERABLY although still the spritely puppy, she is about a 165 pound female.  I don't think she is really overweight, and I don't think she is overfed.  About 6-7 cups of premium kibble w/ 6 oz of chicken mixed in once a day.  She is panting so hard when we get home, she doesn't drink and just sacks out for a couple of hours(she has always done that) Any thoughts...
By the way I LOVE THIS BOARD and will post new Cassie pics very soon. Thanks to all

[newflvr]

Our Newf, Cowboy is actually exercise intolerant.  We got him at 18 months and although he is epileptic, the meds he's on now shouldn't be affecting him in this way.  He can only go a very short distance before he just can't go any further.  His heart is good, his hips are fine...the vet has no idea why he just can't handle much exercise.  If we do try to take him for a walk with Chester, he'll give it his best shot...but he'll come home an huff and puff for at least an hour after.  Obviously I don't have any answers for you...except to understand.  None of Cowboy's docs have any suggestions either!

[longshadowfarms]

I'll preface my suggestion with a warning.  I'm a woos about my pups!  If I had a young dog like this suddenly displaying this problem, I'd be off to the vet.  The vet can tell you if the hips are causing this, if she's overweight or if there is something else going on.  Hopefully it is nothing serious but such a dramatic change in behavior should not be treated lightly IMO.

[shangrila]

I am sure that Cassie's trouble walking is caused by her hips bothering her. 

Winter is harder on her hips than warm weather. Cold weather makes arthritic joints stiffer, so it is harder on dogs with HD.

The very best thing that you can do to help Cassie is to reduce her food intake to help her loose some weight. Even if she is not overweight, you actually want HD dogs to be slightly underweight. The more they weigh, the more pressure there is on their hips. Without surgery, reducing weight is the number one thing you can do to help an HD dog.

Also, do you give Cassie joint supplements? A good quality glucosamine/msm/chondrointin supplement will help alleviate some of Cassie's hip pain.

Another thing you might want to consider on particularly tough days is to give her a pain medicine like rimadyl (I am pretty sure I spelled that wrong)or an anti-inflammatory. My Zoey is a similar age (she is 21 months old now) and also has hip problems. When she is having a tough day we give her a mild anti-inflammatory and it really helps.