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[kryptonite]

I have the best dog in the world, a 5.5 year old toy poodle. He's always been a very high-energy dog and still is, but this year I'm starting to notice that he's less willing to go for long walks in the hot weather, and sometimes he doesn't want to walk more than a mile or so (we often go for 3- 4 mile walks and have for many years). He's also getting just a little thicker around the middle though he's not overweight. I think my dog is becoming middle aged!

[inthelab]

Hmmmm, I say take him to the vet.  He's not yet truly middle-aged, his life-span should be 16 or 17 years or more.

My smooth-coated collie will be 8 in December, just had his check-up, he has the EKG of a youngster and the same agility and stamina as always. 

[kryptonite]

He has a vaccination appt. next week. I'll check with the vet.

As far as I know he's in good health. He had a booster shot a month ago and was checked then...hmm, now I'm a little concerned.

[inthelab]

Have the vet check him out.  Hot weather is bad for dogs anyway, maybe he's telling you that he wants to stay cool.
We keep the collies indoors when it is hot.

[swtrixie]

And poodles are supposed to be quite smart. It could be that little precious has caught on to the "let's go for a walk" act and decided that lounging is far more agreeable.

[eumaios]

When you say "hot weather," how hot do you mean? I see humans out jogging on 98-degree August days here in the South, but most dogs are too smart to punish themselves that way. You don't hear about many middle-aged dogs keeling over because they were exercising in weather that makes even reptiles crawl into the darkest, coolest places they can find.

Once the crazy exuberance of puppyhood and canine youth wears off, many dogs become smarter about exertion in the heat. On a cool autumn day, our dog wants to walk from here to Alaska. In midsummer, going far enough from the house to pee is quite enough of a hike, thank you. The dog looks out a window--the one near the AC register in the living room--while the specimen of Homo Sapiens risks heart attack or heat stroke pushing a lawn mower back and forth.

If your dog is getting a little chubby, try substituting canned green beans for about one-fourth of his dog food.

[kryptonite]

And poodles are supposed to be quite smart. It could be that little precious has caught on to the "let's go for a walk" act and decided that lounging is far more agreeable.

Hey!! I sense some poodle prejudice here! I'll have you know that my dog is small and cute, but he is not spoiled. I grew up with german shepherds. This little poodle had the same obedience training as the big guys.

[malcha]

Poodles are great.  My parents have one.  But poodles, what with those lovely woolly coats, are also particularly vulnerable to hot weather.  Does yours get a really short cut for summer?  Anyway, I wouldn't worry too much.  Most animals are languid in heat, and perk up when the weather cools down.

[inthelab]

And poodles are supposed to be quite smart. It could be that little precious has caught on to the "let's go for a walk" act and decided that lounging is far more agreeable.

Hey!! I sense some poodle prejudice here! I'll have you know that my dog is small and cute, but he is not spoiled. I grew up with german shepherds. This little poodle had the same obedience training as the big guys.

Au contraire, I sense people who recognize that poodles are smart, and that adult dogs no longer want to romp in the heat because they know better.  Seriously, dogs cannot deal with heat as well as humans.  You can ask my older D, who is a vet tech (nurse) at an emergency animal hospital.  She won't walk the boys until near sundown (we live near NYC).

[swtrixie]

And poodles are supposed to be quite smart. It could be that little precious has caught on to the "let's go for a walk" act and decided that lounging is far more agreeable.

Hey!! I sense some poodle prejudice here! I'll have you know that my dog is small and cute, but he is not spoiled. I grew up with german shepherds. This little poodle had the same obedience training as the big guys.

Au contraire, I sense people who recognize that poodles are smart, and that adult dogs no longer want to romp in the heat because they know better.  Seriously, dogs cannot deal with heat as well as humans.  You can ask my older D, who is a vet tech (nurse) at an emergency animal hospital.  She won't walk the boys until near sundown (we live near NYC).

Chill my friend. I have no prejudice against any breed of dog. You should hear how I refer to my own wiener dogs, spoiled that they are.

Walking our 2 dogs here in the Southwest can be beyond challenging in the summer months. We wait until sundown and even then we sometimes wind up carrying fat wiener dog part of the way home.

Even though they know it's hot they still get excited when it's walk time. Your dog, simply is smart enough to know that it may be too hot for a walk. My own precious creatures haven't figured that one out yet.

[infopri]

I agree with the others.  I have three dogs, aged 14, almost 10, and 8.  We've had the oldest one since he was about a year old or a little less (we think; he was abandoned on our property), and we've had the other two since they were 5 and 4, respectively.  Everyone above is right: Dogs definitely slow down in the heat, especially once they get past puppyhood.  Have you tried early morning or early evening walks?  Or even (a little) after dark?

Our oldest dog (aka White Dog) is of an exuberant breed.  When we adopted him and the vet pegged his age at 9-12 months, the age at which most dogs are just about full-grown (although they might fill out more), I replied, "Oh, good, then he should start calming down soon, right?"  The vet warned me that this breed has a very long puppyhood--and then goes straight into geriatrics.  She was right.  White Dog remained exuberant, excitable, playful, and generally puppy-like.  When he was about 9 or 10, though, we noticed the start of a drastic difference in his energy levels and general stamina.  He also began to develop arthritis (quite severe now).  From loving walks of half an hour to an hour when he was young, he can barely go a few houses down the block now.  He used to love to run; he hasn't run in years now.  And just this summer, the stairs (which have been difficult for a year or two) are becoming deal breakers for him, and I often have to help or carry him.

I agree with inthelab that you should have your vet check Poodle out, just to be sure everything is normal (good advice whenever anything seems to be "different"), but I'm guessing that you're right and this is just the very beginning of "getting older."  Maybe it's "middle age," maybe it's not, but Poodle is definitely older than he used to be.

[mirandaf]

I have the best dog in the world, a 5.5 year old toy poodle. He's always been a very high-energy dog and still is, but this year I'm starting to notice that he's less willing to go for long walks in the hot weather, and sometimes he doesn't want to walk more than a mile or so (we often go for 3- 4 mile walks and have for many years). He's also getting just a little thicker around the middle though he's not overweight. I think my dog is becoming middle aged!

Ours too. She's going on 9 yrs, and her pace on walks has definitely slowed down. Plus she cracks when she walks around the house. Here comes Mrs. Fluffkins, crack, crack, crack.

[prof_smartypants]

My six year old basset hound also isn't so interested in walks since we moved south. Well, she wants to go for a walk, but only for like half a block. Then, she enjoys standing at the end of the leash staring at me, alternating between drooling and panting.

Do poodles really live to be 17? That seems awfully old. I'm hoping for 13 or so out of the stinky beast.

[msparticularity]

My toy poodle is a rescue, so we're not completely sure how old he is; the vet is guessing he's 8-ish now. He, too, began slowing down a bit last summer, which we initially put down to the heat. However, in our case it turned into a nightmare because he developed a really acute case of pancreatitis and that led to kidney failure also. He survived, but with damage that means he now has Chronic Renal Failure (CRF).

Something no one ever warned us about: toy poodles are prone to pancreas problems, so you really cannot feed them fatty foods. We had been using cheese for training treats, and now we think that may have helped push him into the pancreatic attack.

[kryptonite]

I'm definitely going to renew that pet health insurance tonight. Just in case.