Yep, 5 is too early. Worth getting things checked out. Is she jumping after the frisbee or just chasing after it? If jumping, maybe slow that down a bit. Maybe even drop it to a couple if times a week.

Is this in the recent heat? Our 2 year old collie mix can’t cope this the heat and slows right down. (We obviously try and avoid it being too hot for her)

3 or 4 times a day? Sounds like maybe too much in these temperatures

It might just be the heat, 5 doesn’t seem that old to be slowing down. It’s not quite as hot up here as it has been but last couple of weeks when it’s been really hot we don’t take our cocker out until late in the evening, it at all. He gets properly hot just mooching about in the garden. Although the heat doesn’t seem to ever slow him down!

How is her weight and what do you feed her?

Sounds odd. I’d also add that 4 lots per day, particularly in the current temps, is a bit much. My boy is 11 this year and still has moments of mental energy, though he needs more rest now. I’d suggest 2 good walks a day, checkover at the vet and keep an eye on food and water consumption.

We’ve a chocolate who turned 10 in april. Last 12 months hes slowed down considerably. Heat has always affected him. Weight is spot on. What colour is yours? Golden seem to be less nuts than black and chocolate. At 5 ours was still tear arseing round gisburn. Last year was the first year he just watched the swallows rather than chase them round. I almost cried. Why do dogs get old so fast…..

Have you considered raw feeding? A lot of people say they see a dramatic change in their dogs when raw feeding.

She might tolerate a slow transition.

Hopefully it’s just the heat. My lab is 6 and not showing any signs of slowing down, however he’s definitely not keen when it’s hot – so have to pick my routes carefully to stay under tree cover mostly and also reduce the length of the walks.

Big advocate for this. Both of mine are raw fed. When you look into what is in most commercial dog food, it ain’t great.

Added bonus is tiny hard poop!

Also backing this, big change in our Old English on raw food, loads of tummy issues literally gone once she’d made the change to raw food. Got her energy back, tiny poos that don’t stink and just a happier dog.

She hates the heat though and will slow right down when its warm. She also had elbow displacia as a puppy which sorted itself out as she grew but were told it could come back as arthritis as an older dog, it came back when she was around 4 and we put her on Lintbells YuMove (Glucosamine) with the vets approval and it appears to have sorted her right out.

Maybe try a few lead walks without the frisbee and not in the heat, see if she improves.

Sorry – long post, but a subject close to my heart!

I grew up with labs and have had them myself for the last 15 years or so. I’ve got an 8 year old lab who will happily come with me on a 10-15km run, but we have been going out very early in the hot weather and around water so they can get a good swim. I’ve also got a 3 year old with elbow dysplasia who will also do similar runs with me but has had quite a bit of treatment – see below!

5 is absolutely too young to be slowing down and if she’s showing signs of stiffness then you should get her checked. Dogs are very good at not showing pain, so if you’re seeing stiffness then it probably means there’s something underlying. Stiffness isn’t related to hot weather.

First steps:
1. Get her insured (PetPlan are pricey but the vets generally say they are the least likely to quibble). If it’s worst case then there are definitely things you can do but it can get pricey.
2. See your local vet and get a referral to a specialist if any doubts.

I’m not sure where in the UK you are but Andy at Greenside Vets in the Borders does some brilliant stem cell and rehab work and I would highly recommend after seeing the changes he’s brought to our young dog – from possibly having to be put down to being able to do a 15k run or a full day as a working dog. It’s not a miracle cure, but it’s been very effective for us. She needs a stem cell top up every 18 months or so but well worth the trip up from Manchester for the improvement in her quality of life.

All of the above is definitely worst case but the sooner you get on top of these things the better. It might turn out to be something like a soft tissue injury and a bit of lead rest sorts but if it is something more serious like dysplacia (which labs are prone to) then there are things you can do to significantly improve quality of life and delay the inevitable arthritis that comes with it. PM me if you want any more info now or later – I’ve done quite a lot of research into this over the last few years!

I’d do a lot of things differently with my lab springer who is approaching 13 years old in Sept. I’d definitely have reduced the ball throwing and not taken him on mtb rides.

Of course he loved it all, but his legs are in a bad way now, despite metacam and yu move.

Drac ( and others ) make some good points wrt frisbee. Also recommend yumove as others suggest. Put my 13 year old spaniel on it a few weeks ago and it was like flicking a switch – she’s much brighter and happier on a walk.

Yet another vote for raw feeding here. Our Lab/Collie/Lurcher/who-knows-what was very sensitive to changes in her dry food. Tried raw on the recommendation of a friend and she’s happier, looks healthier and clean up is a much easier job these days.
We supplement the minced chicken with veg off cuts and leftovers, she loves broccoli, and she gets a least 1 raw marrowbone a week.
Treats are kept to minimum, but are usually just cheap dog biscuits.