arthritis in dogs hip

cena

So our guy has arthritis in his hips. Been to the vet twice for for stuff to help him.

Anyone else got this in there dog and what have you done to help them in there pain

Aru

Initially we started off with using Glucosamine and Chondroitin sulfate for our labs arthritis but to be honest the only thing that made a hugh difference to Jess was putting her on Loxicam(main ingredient meloxicam) which you get from the vets.

She has been on that and gets it when she appears stiff or sore or if going for an exceptionally long walk that day. Its unlikely that she will ever be off medication again in the future though.We have to give it more and more often as she's getting older though thankfully as she lost weight the dose shes needed has decreased.
Chronic problems are only ever managed, arthritis is not curable

Reducing her weight helped a lot as well though. She was very overweight initially and after a very strict diet is now getting close to normal and it has made the world of difference to her in general so much more energy and a much happier dog.
Ive heard lots of people say hydrotherapy and swimming helped their dogs to but our dog is a disgrace of a lab and is afraid of water!

The vets can give you a number of different drugs with anti-inflammatory and pain control properties...loxicam meloxicam rimadyl and previcoxx are the most common. If cost is an issue you could try geting a prescription from the vets and you may be able to order them online, though I havent checked up to see what irish sites are around to order from yet. Though if a site sells without a prescription they are to be avoided not just because they are illegal but also as there are no gaurantees you are getting the actual drug you ordered!

Human drugs tend not to suit dogs very well so I would avoid against giving any ..aspirin paracetamol etc as they can have severe side effects ie liver failure,ulcers in the digestive system...

Pain control gentle exercise and weight managment....its about all you can do for arthritis in an older dog.

How old is your guy? What did you get from the vet so far?

maggiepip

Our dog has arthritis and is on Cartrophen Injections from the vet (not Carprophen the NSAID) She was getting 2 courses of 4 injections (1 a week for a month) per year - she is now moving onto 3 courses. Its great and it actually helps to stop further degeneration of the joints by helping to increase fluid.

We also give her Salmon Oil, Glucosamine, Green Lipped Mussel and Hyaluronic Acid in her food. She gets Coconut Oil as well. The two I would recommend the most for Arthritis out of the natural supplements are Gloucosamine and Green Lipped Mussel (thats if you dont want to give all!) She is doing great and flying around!

cena

He is a lab 10yr and 7 months olds. We were given stuff to help him. Can't think of it now. Well look later when home. She said he is abit over weight.

cena

The vet put him on Meloxidyl.

sawfish

We have our dog on Synoquin.. it seems to work quite well. One capsule a day sprinkled over his food. (first six weeks its two capsules a day)

Its quite expensive (vet charges €120 for 4 months worth). But we have an insurance policy so we are able to get 65% of that back after paying €100 excess per year. Our dog is now 9.

Another option is to order it online which would be cheaper than the vets, if there is no delivery to Ireland then use parcelmotel.com who will forward it down to dublin where you can collect it.

ISDW

Green Lipped Mussel Extract is good, you can get it in health shops. Some foods have it in the ingredients already, so check with your food and see if it has anything in it to help.

DogsFirst

sawfish wrote: »

We have our dog on Synoquin.. it seems to work quite well. One capsule a day sprinkled over his food. (first six weeks its two capsules a day)

Its quite expensive (vet charges €120 for 4 months worth). But we have an insurance policy so we are able to get 65% of that back after paying €100 excess per year. Our dog is now 9.

Another option is to order it online which would be cheaper than the vets, if there is no delivery to Ireland then use parcelmotel.com who will forward it down to dublin where you can collect it.

Synoquin works out around €1.10 a tablet. It's a complete rip off. Human versions work around 7c each. Both contain Chondroitn and Glucosamine and a carrier, usually Vit C (ascorbic acid). Find cheapest source online (usually by buying two big bottles) and get them posted out. Then show them to your vet (doesn't stop them promoting the expensive stuff though).

Interestingly I have been pestering the makers of Synoquin for some time re their outrageous claim that their tablets are proven to work on their website, with no link to info. It's highly unlikely, no answer yet.

Your vet will panic re dose, don't worry you can't OD on ground up animal cartilage, and your (dry fed?) dog needs vit C in old age, and it's anti-inflammatory!!! Can't remember exact doses, get it off the back of the synoquin bottle. I give my shepard one human tablet a day.

Also recommend big bottle of fish oil caps from Lidl, three a day for a big dog.

Best, remove the dog from dry food, huge amount of inflammatory things in there (gluten, cooked protein, food chemicals, lack of vitamins) which all exasperate your dogs condition. Fresh food. Aim for fresh chicken pieces with nice cartilage and bone, which your dogs joints are crying out for (needed whilst young to avoid development of issue in first place). And oily fish, much as you can get. Highly digestible, excellent protein for failing joints.

Shorter walks, swimming, comfier beds etc!