How bad is arthritis in dogs?

LD 50

My collie/lab is 15 or 16. She has arthritis in her hind legs. She can find it hard to stand up, or to lie down, and has difficulty with her paws slipping on our laminate floor. We have rugs down but we cant cover everywhere and she still manages to fall now and again. Other than the arthritis though, she's fine. All her major organs are functioning.
At a recent vet visit, the vet said arthritis is especially difficult for dogs. She's seems to be in constant, but prob small pain, especially when she's getting up or trying to lie down. He suggested that perhaps it was time to put her down.

andreac

Is she on any medication for it at the mo? there are plenty of treatments and drugs that can be given to ease the pain for them so i would explore these before making any rash decisions to see does it help improve her quality of life first.

You also have to think of the dog and how good its quality of life is. 15/16 is a great age for any dog and the last thing you want is the dog suffering in its last part of its life.
These decisions are the hardest ones to make, believe me, ive been there with a family dog a few years ago. Her hind legs just basically gave up and we had to think of her quality of life, she had 16 wonderful years with us so in the end we had to make the decision to have her pts but it was the best thing for her.
Talk to your vet first and see if they have any medication to help ease her pain and go from there. Theres a drug called Metacam and its very good for that type of pain so try and see if they give her some painkillers and see does that help her.

iora_rua

I know a couple of people who have been reasonably successful in treating their elderly dogs with Glucosamine type products - similar to what we humans would take. I can check with one neighbour tomorrow and let you know exactly which product he used.

In the meantime, I'm sure another member else will suggest something similar.

LD 50

Metacam is the stuff she's on at the moment, but she's been on it for a year or two now. 20mg daily.

You're right, it is really difficult. I don't want her to be in pain, but then I don't want to pts. And she's my pet, so its my decision, which is worse.

Kalahari

We give our old dog metacam too, but we also use ArthriAid, which has glucosamine in it as well as a lot of other joint-nourishing goodness. It really does do wonders lessening the stiffness of the joints. If your dog is in good form then i'd go for it, even as a trial run to see how she fairs with it. I'd say if we hadn't gone for ArthriAid we would have had to put our dog to sleep by now, but she's still going strong and in great form. A point will come where you look at the quality of life and see that it is time, but if your dog is still happy, otherwise healthy, and glucosamine can improve her situation it is worth a shot. Also, it would be no harm to re-check her weight regarding her metacam dosage. If she's been on it for 2 years her weight might have changed and the dose should change accordingly. Best of luck.

lorebringer

+1 for ArthiAid and SeniorAid are very good products for dogs with stiffness and general arthritic symptoms. You can get them in vet practices and online. Also, have you had her weight checked recently? Any excess weight can make a huge difference to the dogs ability to move around and losing a few kg can have a big impact.

toadfly

Our family dog Cody is about 16/17 he is on Prednoleucotropin 1 a day. He is also on a senior dog food that has glucosamine in it. Its called ProPac Senior (green bag).

He was in a bad way a few years ago before the vet prescribed the meds and he is like a new dog now. Has such a good quality of life. Hope you can get something sorted for your dog.

iora_rua

Just following up on my earlier reply. My neighbour's female collie is around 13 yrs old and had bad arthritis up to a year ago - didn't want to go on walks etc. He was recommended to try a GSM/MSM/Vit C tablet and a 1000mg capsule from the 'for humans' products supplied by a company called Healthy Direct. After a few weeks he noticed that she was becoming much more active and has since joined the other dogs on the usual walks, although at a more sedate pace! Having seen her for myself, she does appear pretty active and not in any visible distress.

I've had a look at that web site and I see they now also do an animal supplements section called 'Vets Vits'. As I haven't tried any of this myself (I only have very fit cats!), you will understand it's just a suggestion as to what's out there and anyway, you've had lots of helpful replies already.

Anyhow, maybe it would be worth trying out a few different things to give your pet every chance before having to think about anything too final. Good luck - and hope you find something that works.

olaola

When she can no longer get up to go outside to relieve herself, I think that is about time when you have to think about her quality of life. And is it 'that time'.