As Titan ages, he becomes weaker, tired, and sluggish. In his youth he was a very energetic dog who always wanted to be around you, he liked to be talked to a lot, petted and pampered. In recent years he is slowly fading into the background of our family.

I’ve noticed his silent passivity for a while now, and the same question has been nagging me: “How can I provide this bored old dog with the emotion that challenges him and enhances our bond?” I want him to be excited about doing something, a new experience, without too much stimulation. A chance for him and me to make up for the time we used to have. Where he was the only focus and he got all the praise.

While thinking about what he could do to help Titan, give him a better quality of life. Something to look forward to too. I thought about the exercise that he could do with his limitations: swimming. The buoyancy would relieve the strain on your muscles and joints. He hadn’t swum in years, but he liked to swim when he was younger.

I started looking for dog spas. Was he really on board with this trend? this fashion? Not really, but my desire to find a new way to bond with Titan means more to me than not.

I found a spa that has a dog pool heated to 32 degrees. The warmest dog pool in town! And use natural salt water like the ocean for cleaning and book only private appointments. So I called the vet to make sure they felt Titan was fit enough for such exercise at his age given his social and medical history. Since he only goes for short walks and is very attached to the neighborhood and he has some chronic health problems that affect his heart and mobility. The vet said he would be fine to try.

Will we get the desired results that “aqua-therapists” boast about? Stronger muscles, stronger legs and hips. More mobility, less pain and more ease of movement? Who knows. Most dogs that benefit from aquatic therapy have more predictable and more common ailments. Hip dysplasia is one of the common diagnoses where aquatic therapists and owners notice improvement.

However, Titan has a bilateral proprioceptive block. A condition brought on by aging in dogs when the brain can no longer communicate effectively with the spinal cord. It has a progressive degeneration. Nothing is said about the benefits of swimming with this condition.

So I’m curious to see if it will physically benefit Titan, since his hind legs are very weak. I think he will be able to strengthen the muscles. I’m not sure he can improve coordination because it’s affecting his entire central nervous system. If nothing else, it at least gives him a new experience, he meets new people and other dogs and keeps his mind going with new experiences. Only time will tell. Follow Titan’s progress to see what happens!

Some people have chosen to monitor their dog’s health with the FitBark, a discreet, wearable device attached to a dog’s collar that constantly monitors their dog’s activity, sleep, and nutrition, and is breed-specific. FitBark easily pairs with your Fitbit, Apple Watch, HealthKit, or Google Fit device to track progress. Researchers and veterinarians have developed a unique algorithm to provide you with real-time quantitative data on your dog’s health. Great for finding out how your dog is really feeling and facilitating communication during follow-up appointments with the vet. We believe that if this type of technology had been available when Titan was aging, it could have been very useful in monitoring his mobility, activity and sleep as indicators of pain. So we could have effectively communicated with the vet as needed.