exercising dogs dogs with physical limitations

Question
hello, i adopted a bully mix about a year ago. he's a little over a year and a half and a sweet friendly dog. my question though is regarding how to exercise him. On adoption, the papers said he had muscle atrophy in his right rear leg. it's pretty obvious something's wrong because he's bunny hopping around for probably his first 10 minutes after getting up from laying around or sleeping.  i also recently noticed though that his lower joint in his other rear leg will hyper extend. when he runs around the yard and goes on walks he's just fine and on occasional jogs he's fine. his breed obviously needs lots of exercise and i'm an athletic person but how nervous should i be about running him regularly. i would just let him let me know when he's past his limit but those breeds will push past their limit. we walk daily but that's pretty light exercise and not all that he needs. any suggestions?

Answer
Check with your veterinarian about what all is going on with the dog's legs. Once you have an idea of where you are at, you can add in healthy exercise that your dog will be able to tolerate.

You may also want to check into water therapy and massage in addition to your gentle walks. Here is a link for a local place that I like. If he isn't close to you, there are links and referrals on the site to help find someone appropriate for your needs. http://www.k9hydrotherapyinc.com/

Good luck!

http://www.OutlawChinooks.com
http://www.k9hydrotherapyinc.com/