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Have you ever gone for a run with your dog only for him to face some difficulties walking afterward? This must have made you wonder, do dogs get sore muscles?
Could you be straining your dog with too much exercise to the extent that it ends up battling with sore muscles afterward? How would you tell the right amount of exercise that wouldn’t cause any muscle strain to your dog?
In this article, we will be looking at whether dogs get sore muscles, the common causes of sore muscles in dogs as well as how to help them relieve this situation, not forgetting the prevention measures to keep your four-legged friend happy and healthy.
Do Dogs Get Sore Muscles?
Dogs’ muscles work in much the same way as ours do. When exposed to heavy and strenuous exercises than they are used to, they’ll definitely get some sore muscles afterward. Dog’s may try to hide the soreness as much as they can but you may notice this from their change in behavior.
The change in behavior may include slower movement, frequent stretching, or even wincing. Other signs may include, limping, reluctance to get up or lay down, and whimpering due to pain.
It’s recommended to keep your pooch active each and every day. Exposing them to exercise to some level will help them release all the extra energy and help them build strong muscles. You are, however, advised not to overexercise them as this could lead to muscle soreness in your dog.
Are there any key signs you should be on the lookout for to help you identify muscle soreness?
What Causes Sore Muscles in Dogs?
Sore muscles in dogs can be caused by a number of reasons, with the majority of them being associated with bad exercise to your canine friend. It’s therefore critical for you to get a better understanding of the main causes to help you better prevent your canine friend from any future sore muscle misfortunes.
So, what are some of these key reasons? Let’s get to it.
- Intense exercise: Dogs have over 700 muscles. These muscles work in sync, when one relaxes the other one contracts leading to movement in your dogs. Intense exercises such as intense running, hiking, or swimming can easily lead to sore muscles in your dog. Taking your dog for longer walks than usual has also been associated with sore muscles in dogs.
- Exercising on hard surfaces: Exercising your dog on hard surfaces such as concrete can lead to sore muscles. Exercising your dog on the wrong type of surface, such as jogging with a dog on the pavement, will cause more harm than good to your dog.
- Weekend warrior syndrome involving your dog: Weekend warrior syndrome is when you are too busy during the week to exercising leading to overdoing it during the weekend. For pet owners, this means that their pet may also be deprived of their daily exercise during the week, leading to them getting intensive exercise during the weekend. This is a common cause of sore muscles in dogs.
Now that you know some of the key reasons your dog could get sore muscles, you should also be on the lookout for the main signs to look out for. In this next section, we’ll now dive into key signs to help you identify muscle soreness.
Identifying Muscle Soreness in Your Dog
Muscle soreness in dogs is associated with the muscle being tight and inflamed. The movement of such muscles can be quite painful.
If you notice your dog having some difficulties walking or not wanting to move at all, then your dog could be dealing with a muscle.
Other key signs to help you identify muscle soreness in your dog includes:
- Slower movement
- Refusing to climb up or down the staircase
- Whimpering due to pain
- Limping
- Change in body posture or movement
- Unwillingness to walk or run around
- More sleep than usual
- Over-grooming – licking certain spot more than usual could indicate pain
These are some of the key behavioural changes that you may notice from a dog experiencing sore muscles.
Now that you know how to identify sore muscles in dogs, let’s get to how you can help prevent this and ensure you have a healthy and happy pup.
Preventing Sore Muscles in Dog?
Prevention is better than cure, is what they say. Preventing your dog from getting sore muscles can be of great help to ensuring you have a healthy and happier canine friend.
Taking your dog every single day for their daily walks or exercise routine can play a key role in ensuring that you prevent your dog from weekend warrior syndrome. Daily exercises in dog help in releasing extra energy from your dog. This will also help them gradually build up muscles over time.
Built-up muscles are able to sustain even strenuous exercises preventing your dog from getting sore muscles.
To prevent muscle soreness from training in hard surfaces, always train your dog on soft surfaces. Surfaces such as grass or carpets are preferred over hard surfaces. Ensure to always warm up the dog before getting to anything intense.
You should avoid any strenuous exercises for your dog. Dogs that aren’t used to much exercise or haven’t been exposed to exercise at all during the week shouldn’t be involved in heavy exercise at all. Otherwise, this will be a clear cause of muscle soreness in your pooch.
Dealing With Sore Muscles in Dogs
If you are looking for ways to deal with muscle soreness, it means you’ve already failed your pooch and haven’t really looked at all ways to prevent this from happening.
No need to panic, the below options would help with relieving muscle soreness from your canine friend.
- Giving your dog a break: To help better deal with muscle soreness, you should consider giving your dog a break and not involve him in any exercise until he stops showing signs of muscle soreness. A break lasting just a few days should help your pooch recover from the effects of muscle soreness.
- Applying an ice pack or heating pad: Applying ice of heat to the affected area will also help in relieving the affected muscles. You should consider using this on spots you’ve seen your dog licking more than usual, as that’s normally a clear sign of sore muscles in dogs. Especially if this is happening after some intense exercise.
- Massaging the affected area: Massaging the affected area will also help with relieving the muscle soreness, leaving your canine friend pain-free and happy again.
- Using nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: Your vet may also recommend anti-inflammatory drugs that will help with muscle soreness. Be sure to get clarity from your vet on how to best apply this and the best brand that would work for your pooch.
Final Thoughts
Dogs certainly get sore muscles when exposed to strenuous exercises or exercising on hard surfaces. You should ensure your dog gets daily exercises to help relieve extra energy from your dog.
Paying a close attention to your dog especially after exercising will help you identify signs of muscle soreness and help you find the right preventive measures to take.
In case, your dog experiences frequent sore muscle signs, you should take him to your vet to get him checked.