Senior Samoyed hip stiffness in a multi-dog home

A 12-year-old Samoyed sharing a home with a young, bouncy Husky — that's a setup with real tension built in. Senior dogs need adjustments in several areas: nutrition, joint support, dental care, and sometimes sleep quality. But how much and when depends a lot on the individual dog and breed. Samoyeds are a big, active breed, so hip stiffness at 12 is very common and worth taking seriously. To give you the most useful advice, can you tell me a bit more — how long has the stiffness been showing, is it worse after rest or after activity, and has your vet had a look yet? Also, is the Husky pushing your Samoyed to do more exercise than feels comfortable for him?

That morning stiffness after rest is classic arthritis — the joints stiffen up overnight and need time to warm through. The Husky situation is really common in mixed-age households and it's genuinely worth managing, because a Samoyed at 12 trying to match a young Husky's pace is going to keep aggravating those joints. Separate walks are the simplest fix — your Samoyed needs shorter, gentler outings at his own pace, ideally on soft ground where possible. On the supplement side, since your vet has pointed you in that direction, I'd go with YuMOVE Advanced 360 for Large Dogs. It's one of the best-evidenced joint supplements available in the UK — it combines glucosamine, green-lipped mussel, and HA in doses that actually move the needle for a large breed with diagnosed arthritis. The Advanced 360 formula is the step up from their standard version and is specifically designed for dogs with existing joint conditions rather than just prevention. Most owners see a meaningful difference in morning stiffness and willingness to move within six to eight weeks. It's worth flagging to your vet that you're starting it so they can track progress alongside you.

Yes, both of those are worth looking at. On the bed front, an orthopaedic memory foam bed makes a real difference for arthritic dogs — it reduces pressure on the joints during those long rest periods, which is exactly when stiffness sets in. If he's currently sleeping on a thin mat or a regular dog bed, upgrading that is probably the second most impactful thing you can do after the supplement. On food, if he's at a healthy weight you don't need to overhaul his diet, but if he's carrying any extra — and Samoyeds can be chunky — even modest weight loss reduces the load on arthritic hips significantly. Some senior-formula foods have added joint nutrients, though the doses are usually too low to replace a dedicated supplement. Keep him on a good quality food and let the YuMOVE do the heavy lifting on joint support.

Good news on the weight — that really does help. For the Husky, the main thing to watch is frustration and under-stimulation. Huskies are high-drive dogs and if their exercise needs aren't being met because the household has slowed down, that energy has to go somewhere — usually somewhere you don't want it. Separate walks, as I mentioned, solve both sides of that: your Samoyed gets gentle exercise at his pace without being dragged along, and the Husky gets the run she needs. Mental enrichment helps too — sniff walks, puzzle feeders, training sessions — because Huskies need their brains worked as much as their legs. The two of them can absolutely still share time together, just on the Samoyed's terms: pottering in the garden, calm indoor time. The key is making sure the Husky has other outlets so she's not relying on him to burn energy.

That sounds like a really solid plan. Give the YuMOVE a good eight weeks before judging it — the effects are cumulative and it genuinely does build up over time. If you're not seeing any improvement after that point, it's worth going back to the vet to discuss whether prescription anti-inflammatories make sense alongside it. But for early to mid-stage arthritis with a dog who's otherwise healthy and at a good weight, you're in a good position to manage this well. He's lucky to have someone paying this much attention.