Arthritic Dog

mags16

My 8 1/5 year old dog has slowing down bigtime on our walks over the last month or two. I brought her to the vet about a month ago and he clipped her claws and gave her some pain killers to see if it helped. It worked for a few days but then she slowed right down again. She has been having trouble getting up on the sofa and up the stairs too - especially in the evening. Other than that, she is in great form. She eats very well, is always keen to play and is in no obvious discomfort.

I brought her back to the vet yesterday for her shots and a check-up. The vet now thinks that she has arthritis in her lower back. She has given me Metacam to be given to her once a day for the next week.

My question is, do any boardsie dogs suffer from arthritis? How do they fare on the medication? Do they regain the vigour they had before? Do they take medication every day for it?

merryhappy

I know a 7 year old lab who has arthritis, she lost some weight, takes athri-aid on her food everyday for the past year and is like a new woman!

I'm surprised your god hasn't been put on arthri-aid, it contains glucosamine and something else beginning with a c it just won't come into my head right now. One of my dogs had a grade one luxating patella and I started her in arthri-aid a few weeks ago, I have noticed she is a lot more enthusiastic about exercise and more flexible.

mags16

merryhappy wrote: »

I know a 7 year old lab who has arthritis, she lost some weight, takes athri-aid on her food everyday for the past year and is like a new woman!

I'm surprised your god hasn't been put on arthri-aid, it contains glucosamine and something else beginning with a c it just won't come into my head right now. One of my dogs had a grade one luxating patella and I started her in arthri-aid a few weeks ago, I have noticed she is a lot more enthusiastic about exercise and more flexible.

Six weeks ago I put my little dog on a diet too and she has lost 0.5 kg. She only weighs 7kg so that is good weight loss. She is very greedy and could do with losing another 0.5 kg. I think shifting the gut will help her back.

Arthri-aid sounds good. I don't know why she didn't suggest it for Poppy. Maybe she is waiting to see it the painkillers will work first. After her first dose today, we went for our shortened walk but Poppy didn't want to come in the gate when we got back - we had to do another lap. That is a good sign. She is normally struggling at the end of our walks.

Can I get arthri-aid in pet shops? I'd like to try food supplements 'cos I don't like the idea of giving Poppy painkillers on a long term basis.

hadook

Glucosamine and chondriotin, those are the two you want. I've tried Arthri-Aid, Stride Plus and Sasha's Blend for my arthritic collie and the Stride Plus has helped him the most. Arthri-Aid and Sasha's Blend can be gotten from the vets or direct from the vet supplier once they've had a chat with your vet and we get Stride Plus from a petshop (Equipet).

NSAID's like Metacam or Previcox deal with the pain but gentle exercise, a good quality diet, keeping your dog at a decent weight and a decent arthritis supplement will help the underlying problem. NSAID's can have some terrible side effects long term (kidney, liver damage etc) so it's always best to keep in close contact with your vet while your pet is on them to identify any problems early on so that they can be treated.

The Sweeper

Try a heat mat for her bed as well. Don't know if she sleeps outside or in, but you can buy chew-proof electric mats to go under the dog's blanket - friend of mine uses one with her arthritic rottweiler, he's been a lot better getting up in the morning since she installed it (he sleeps in her garage at night - wears a huge dog rug, looks like a boiler lagging jacket, but the heat mat is helping).

Munster Gal

A relative of mine has recently opened a hydrotherapy unit in Cork which is very good for managing arthritis and also aids in weight loss. Your vet could decide if this would be appropriate for your little girl and then refer you to a centre near you. AFAIK it costs about €40 per session. The weight is a huge thing in arthritic dogs and once she loses a bit that should make a difference.

mags16

Thanks for all the replies. Any more arthritic tips would be appreciated - especially alternatives to a life sentence of liver-damaging painkillers for the poor girl.

Lauragoesmad

Hi Mags,
My 14 year old king charles died last September and she had quite bad arthritis by the end. I bathed her every second day and it really made a difference to her. She was much happier in herself and a lot more active. It made her last few months a lot easier. Try it with your doggie and see how you get on.

olaola

My parents in law have an arthritic labrador, and while she's on Metacam they've started using a magnetic collar which did seem to help. Worth a try.

flynnc

I use ubavet liquid formula glucosamine chlorhydrate complex for cats and dogs
i find it great my collie started last year and hes like a new dog

www.ubavet.com

fatmammycat

My friend has a large 13 year old basset, two year ago he started to slow down and she was worried- as he is a large boned dog- about arthritic problems too. She began giving him cod liver oil capsules daily- one in his evening feed. She also reduced his over all weight by four kilos, and to this day keeps his weight quite low, not thin, but definitely not heavy. This seems to have made a hugh difference to the stress on his joints and now he walks and trots around with nary a care in the world. Obviously all cases are different and individual and should be discussed with your vet, but the lowering of a dog's weight seems to be a considerably factor.
Good luck!

Irish-Lass

our rottie is about 14/15 months old, but due to the problems in her hips she has arthritis. We were given metacam to help with the reduction of swelling and pain management.

As she was so young I was very reluctant to keep her on metacam long term we looked at alternatives. She started hydrotherapy last October, in November she had a course of cartifen injections and then in December she did a course of accupunture.

We have switched her food to Hills J/D which is joint care but also a lite food so to help with weight management. We also have her on Cosequin DS.

She is off everything now except her Cosequin DS daily and she still goes to hydrotheraph once a week but we haven't had to give her a drop of metacam since December. She is doing great it took about 2/3 months to see an improvement in her but she is doing great at the moment and is well able to keep up with the other hooligans in the family.

I think its going to be finding what works for your dog as we tried Arthri-Aid, Stride Plus etc for our dog and they didn't appear to do anything for her, you may find that mixing a few things up might help your dog.

sarahkev

Hi,
My boarder collie had really bad arthritis in his back and hind legs for about three years before he died. I have to back up what other posters said already though. Arthri-aid and bathing definitely helped. I also used to mix small capful of cod-liver oil into his food every day and on bad days when he couldn't get up out of his bed without stumbling I'd rub his hind legs with alcohol. This really helped. But the best advice I was given by a vet was cut down on walks. Basically the cartilige that cushioned his joints was gone, this left bone rubbing on bone (if that makes sense:rolleyes:) and long walks just caused more pain and inflammation in the joints. It's heartbreaking when they get like this... you'd do anything to help.