We have a 9yr old lab. He was a rescue that we got around 12 months old, so we never knew breeding or joint scores. He's always been a high energy, hyper and athletic dog. From the age of 4 he started going lame occasionally. Initially it was after swimming in cold water, so we stopped him swimming in winter. Then he'd be lame after playing fetch (he is totally retrieve/ball obsessed), so we've stopped throwing balls for him. Then he was stiff after longer walks, so we shortened walks and kept him on the lead so he wasn't running around as much. Lately he's been really stiff in the evenings even after shorter walks (1 mile).
He's currently on a glucosamine and chlondotrin (sp?) tablet and omega 3 capsule, plus a dose of metacam. Our house is very cold, so he has a fleece on at night and an extra fleece blanket in his bed. He wears a waterproof rug outside if it's raining/snowing and we towel him off.
Any other suggestions? I was wondering about magnetic rugs perhaps.
Sorry for the long post. We lost our other 11yr old lab recently, and I guess I'm worrying that we're getting closer to losing this one too. He could hardly walk this evening when he first got out of his basket.