Dog Arthritis. Anyone have any helpful tips?

[ufkacbln]

Is it just arthritis?

Sorry if this is bad news but I am afraid that many of the Labrador pedigree have shallow go sockets due to poor breeding practices over time

 

[Saluki]

My 18 year old gets Forever Living - Forever Freedom aloe drinking gel in her food every day. Just 1 fl oz and it's doing her very well. I take it myself but a little more than she gets to aid my wrist. I've given the Forever Freedom to my horses and to various dogs over the years and it really helps. Not cheap at just over £30 for 1 litre but it'll last a month or so for a dog.
The 8 year old gets those joint aid stick treats from Morrisons and they seem to do her rather well.

I have found that for arthritis that the 'freedom' is awesome. Forever Living offers a 60 day money back guarantee so if it doesn't help at all you can return the empty containers and the receipt for a full refund. No quibble either. Awesome company to deal with.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Our (sadly departed) Weimeranar had arthritis in his front left leg from the age of 9 onwards (he lived till he was 12). Initial treatment was Metacam daily. When he was about 10 and a bit this stopped working. He was switched to Tramadol - apart from being spaced out for the first few days of taking it it worked very well. He was still pounding up and down high mountains until about 3 months before he died (spinal tumour).

@Smokin Joe Very sorry about your dog - what a horrible weekend you must be having.

 

[Saluki]

Our Welsh Springer is being put down on Monday. She's 13, got chronic arthritis and is losing control of her motions, in addition she's now got a problem keeping food down. We'll be very sad to see her go but can't let her go on suffering like this.

On the subject of arthritis, it's quite common in older dogs and in my own experience there is very little you can do once it sets in properly. We've tried all sorts with previous dogs, the aforementioned cod liver oil tablets, copper check chains etc, but none seemed to have done anything. It's worth trying though as some people have found one or two of these remedies have made a difference.

So sorry to read about your dog. We had to have our Saluki PTS just before Christmas and it was a horrible weekend before we took him. You are in our thoughts.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Thanks to both of you.

It's very sad when a dog reaches the inevitable end and being a dog family we've had it on a few occassions. At least with an animal you can put them out of their pain before it becomes unbearable, something we humans don't get the option of.

 

[oldfatfool]

We lost our last foster Grey to Arthritis, but for the last couple of years he was on cod liver oil on his food (buy large containers from equestrian shops much cheaper) and also a supplement called inflamex, the liquid, that really seemed to help him.

 

[Learnincurve]

One of our dogs got it in his hips very young. The meds the vet gave us, plus cod liver oil work well if you combine them with a exercise routine. No meds will work if you don't. What he needs is gentle but consistent walks on a lead and it needs to happen every day because if he has a day off then his back end will get stiff, if we let him rush around or go for more than half an hour then it will be the same. If he has a string of very good days then we have to resist the urge to take him out for longer or let him off the lead to have a rush around or he will just go backwards again. We don't let him jump up or down from stuff without supporting his weight either.

 

[oldfatfool]

Jusr remembered when the inflamex stopped being as effective we moved Hank onto 'cortaflex' but it is a tad expensive at upto £80 ltr.

 

[Littgull]

Hello all.

My lovely old labrador (age 9) suffered a slipped disc almost two years ago. He gradually recovered, though hasn't ever fully recovered, having continued to have a limp in his back left leg.

Anyhow, over the last 2 -3 months, he seemed to age quite dramatically. He's stopped jumping up to steal things off the kitchen counter top, started lagging behind during walks and just seemed generally glum.

I took him to the vets, thinking that he may have developed arthritis in his spine as we were warned he was more at risk after his slipped disc. Was surprised when the vet after examining him said he's got arthritis in his spine and his front two legs.

He's been started on metacam, a canine anti-inflammatory which seems to be working well for him. I was wondering if any CycleChatter's had any experience with arthritic dogs and have any tips for helping my old pal feel more comfortable?

Hi Sara
I might be able to suggest something with really good potential for your dog.

We have a much loved 12 year old lab cross who has struggled badly with arthritis over the last 3 years. Like your dog it was sad to see as she was full of vitality and mobility before that. She was on metacam for about 12 months which gave some relief but she still struggled badly. Then our vet recommended laser treatment. She has a monthly session at the vets. The session lasts approximately 45 minutes and uses a sort of electric shaver sized device on a cable. The dosage is administered over all her leg joints, hips and spine with set minutes per joint. She seems to love it as their is a soothing warmth whilst it is being done. The results have absolutely transformed her beyond belief! She seems pain free and can now easily manage a 2 - 3 mile steady walk. We are still very cautious and certainly no more ball play sessions (regrettably as she still craves this) but it would be silly to put needless stress on her joints.

The monthly laser sessions cost £38. Not cheap but she is now off the metacam (so a saving there). Also our pet insurance refused to cover arthritis so as there were far more exclusions than actual cover I cancelled the insurance as it was a waste of time. So currently the saving in that (albeit a risk) can be offset against the laser treatment. Our vet did say that as the results are so good it may be ok to drop the frequency to bi-monthly in the spring and summer months if our dog appears to not need it every month. Apparently, in warmer less damp months the arthritis is not so debilitating. But we have kept the monthly sessions going. The vet also said that prolonged use of metacam can have a bad effect on some dogs, especially their digestion. It did with our dog - runny poos. This has ceased once the metacam was out of her system.

Anyway, obviously consult a vet first but it may be a good option for your dog.

Good luck.

 

[Learnincurve]

@Littgull did you buy her a infra red heat lamp? I'm linking this one because it's swivel http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=1AQKCW3MV3N7F9WKFK8H
You can make your own much cheaper by using a desk lamp and a infra red vivarium bulb for £7
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reptile-Vivarium-Infra-Heat-Screw-In/dp/B001U4WP3A

 

[Littgull]

@Littgull did you buy her a infra red heat lamp? I'm linking this one because it's swivel http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=1AQKCW3MV3N7F9WKFK8H
You can make your own much cheaper by using a desk lamp and a infra red vivarium bulb for £7
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reptile-Vivarium-Infra-Heat-Screw-In/dp/B001U4WP3A

Hi Learnincurve..that's very interesting, thanks for the links. I'll look into that further. I never thought of getting one of those.