Hi guys. As a forewarning I apologise for any issues with formatting etc.

I've recently fostered an 11 year old husky (Thor) on palliative care from the shelter. He has an inoperable tumour on his left foreleg. Otherwise he's a healthy dog for a boy his age and the tumor doesn't really seem to impair him. The shelter advid to monitor him on walks to make sure there's no limping, and as we get used to him we'll make sure not to overtrain him.

He's our families first husky. We currently have a 7 year old Staffordshire terrier. (Sophie) whom we exercise twice a day on average. One short 20-30 minute walk in the morning after breakfast, one longer 45-60 minute walk in the evening after dinner. This is ample for our staffy as she's content sleeping the rest of the day. I'm hoping Thor will also find this enough to to his age / condition.

I would love any input from anyone with a husky 10 and over about potential exercise needs, tips etc so we can give Thor the best home possible
Many thanks

Is this a tumor on the leg or cancer in the bone? Is the issue spot near a joint? I have a 9 year old with bone cancer and all he can do is a slow 10 minute stroll morning, noon, and night or he will be in rough shape. He thinks he can do more, but he can't. Cancer in the bone isn't quite the same as a tumor just on the leg though. The morning walk should be fine, but the evening walk might be too much. Not too much due to age but due to the tumor possibly. Treat him like a puppy. Start slow, stick to soft surfaces if possible (dirt trails and grassy areas instead of concrete sidewalks), let him set the pace within reason, be prepared to abort the walk at any point.

My 11 year old female can still do 10 miles a day, she just struggles to get up after she's done that and then lays down. Age doesn't mean much to these dogs if they are healthy. They do tend to get some arthritis with age that should be factored in but how it affects them depends on the dog and the severity of the arthritis.

Hey Jenn, thanks for replying. The lump itself is in the middle of his foreleg, and I don't believe it's near enough the joint to cause issue. The rescue centre did advise to monitor him for any signs of pain. With the evening walk we'll start of in the lower time frame (maybe half hour) and my partner can take Sophie out a bit further if we feel Thor is struggling. It's mostly flat surface, a mix of grass and concrete. If there's any examples of pain from him before we're home I can call someone to come pick us up.

My main worry is providing enough exercise so he doesn't become destructive. Sophie has never chewed anything, but in general doesn't show much interest in chew toys unless we can't get out to walk. It's early days yet but Thor doesn't seem particularly interested in chew toys (and the centre have asked we add some warm water to his food to soften it for him) so I don't expect any issue.

I'm just trying to plan ahead to do right by him

It's all dependent on dog. My oldies are pretty content as long as they get something. Used to back in the day we had to do 3-5 miles a day or chaos and mayhem would ensue. Now they just like to get out and do something morning and night. The distance isn't as important as it once way.

You're an absolute star, thank you so much.

I have to echo the previous comments, it's entirely up to the dog - but you have 'considerations'

All of mine are what you would consider seniour dogs (see my pitapata below) but only one acts like it. Sasha is probably around 12 but is developing problems with her hind legs. The strength she did have just doesn't seem to be there anymore. She's the only one I let off lead during the day where I can watch her, mostly because she doesn't get too far away from home. She'll go visit a neighbor, mostly I think just to irritate his terriers.

The other two, who are both 9 years plus a bit are still active and energetic. One I let run with me - er, him on foot, me in my jeep - I live in the desert of south Texas so no traffic to consider. The other gets to run when there're no people around, she tends to forget to come home.

I'm a very laid back person, there's little that excites me overmuch and I find that my dogs are as well. When Avalanche barks, I get up to see what he's barking at, that sort of laid back. My kids don't do toys, I've gotten some and decided that was a waste of money. Because they're so laid back, they also aren't destructive, don't get into the garbage, etc.

So, my answer to your question would to let him be as much as you and he can, within reason. The tumor is probably going to bother you more than he'll let it bother him but it does bear watching. If this is truly palliative care then you'll want to be more careful as time winds down. Even though I'm watching one of mine as she's winding down, I wouldn't take your spot for all the tea in China - you have my heartfelt respect.

It's so kind of you to take care of him!!

Our dog (about 10 now) has been getting some joint stiffness and is on carprofen.

For his long walk these days, I just clip on his leash and start walking along with him. He chooses the loop and chooses the way. On days when he doesn't feel good or he feels hot, he picks the "short loop" to the park in our neighborhood. On days when he feels well and the weather is cooler, he chooses a longer loop and we might walk for an hour. Since I have no idea how much exercise feels good to him these days, I just let him pick...

Once Thor gets familiar with your neighborhood and the distances/possible loops, maybe you can let him pick too.

Hi all

Thanks for all your help, it's been really appreciated. He's settled in very well, he only had a bit of a whine the first 3 night's but he's into a nice routine now. They're quite happy lying around the house in between feedings and walks, normally quite close to each other

If I knew how to add a damn picture I'd show you

Thanks again

On the top right there's a section called stickies and announcements and there's a topic title "how to upload pictures" that gives a step by step instructions.

But I'll go ahead and put my version on here for ya!
I'm on my phone so it might look different on a computer but the symbols are roughly the same.

First, start a reply or new topic and then click this symbol in the tool bar:


Then press select files, then select the pictures, then select send and once it finishes uploading, click insert.

Hope it helps! The stickies is more detailed and includes other ways too but that's the way I do it!

ETA I think I got all the steps in there! If I missed anything let me know!

There they both are. They might have the odd squabble over food or attention, but that's very few and far between and they're quickly told to stop, which they do

Beautiful pups. that is quite the tumor there but at least it's an independent tumor. This bone cancer stuff is awful. We had a bird dog that developed a benign tumor on her side that eventually got to about the size of a grapefruit. She lived many years with that tumor.