I would consider 8 years to be far too young to be showing issues getting up. The medium size Japanese breeds live on average up to around 13-15 years.
Not Kishu, but my Shikoku boy is going to be 8 this year and he's in great athletic condition.
Have you had her checked for Lyme? My previous dog had a bad case of Lyme disease that slowed him down a whole lot. My dad thought it was that he was aging premature, but the joint pain and issues in his back legs was from Lyme-related joint pain.
I'd get the hips and knees checked, there is potential that your girl could have Hip Displaysia or Luxating Patella and that could be causing the difficulty when getting up. Also, if your girl has ever suffered a major injury in the past it could be the cause of the current pain/issues.
Just an update on Kimi. I had her checked out shortly after posting the initial post. Everything came back normal, even the bloodwork. I have been giving her Traumeel, but honestly don't think that has done much. She has a big ortho bed that I took away for the summer (I let her keep the smaller one), and we have been quarantining her occassionally from one of the neighbor dogs when we see her act gimpy. Those 2 things seemed to have helped a lot. Not sure why this past spring she developed problems standing up. She's had that bed for a few years, and the neighbor dog has been around for several years. No new variables. Guess she's no spring chicken anymore. (I'm so sad.) But I'm glad she's getting up better.
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Have you had her checked for Lyme? My previous dog had a bad case of Lyme disease that slowed him down a whole lot. My dad thought it was that he was aging premature, but the joint pain and issues in his back legs was from Lyme-related joint pain.
Either way, I'd get her checked out by a vet!