Caring for elderly pet dog - arthritis and liver problems

Broken Hearted Road

I have an elderly pet dog. A staffy going on 12 and full of affection and love. She's a good pet and loved so much and brought the family so much joy.

Just within the past few days, the dog was diagnosed with arthritis. She did have trouble standing and walking. I had trouble organising transport to the vet. I had the dog on rest while waiting for the vet. She showed a huge improvement in the days coming up to the appointment, thank God! Vet diagnosed arthritis in the hind legs and hips.

She's on loxicam and she is showing a huge improvement with the way she's walking and standing. She has much energy around the house but much of that is boredom because her walks have been cut for now. She does enjoy a little ramble on the lawn when I accompany her to the toilet.

Vet said loxicam is hard on the kidneys and liver for long term usage and recommended blood tests to see how her kidneys and liver are doing.

I got results back this morning. The kidneys are good which I'm delighted about. The liver isn't as good as they should be. I don't know what the vet means by this and how damaged the kidneys are.

The medicine for arthritis has to be changed from the loxicam. There are two options available:
1) There is a tablet that is kinder to the liver, or
2) once a week injections for a month that has no effect on the liver.


Does anyone have any experience of caring for an elderly dog with arthritis and liver problems?

So hard to know what to go for.

I would like to go for the injections but transport could be a problem. How much would this kind medication cost? I did a Google and this information came up:

https://www.petethevet.com/seaweed-or-a-special-diet-for-dogs-with-arthritis-to-find-out-more-watch-pete-the-vet-on-ireland-am/

It says the injections aren't always effective. I presume it is the same type of injections.


Now, there is also diet now to reconsider. The dog is on dry kibble for senior dogs. The dog is a fussy eater and requires something small mixed in with her nuts. I usually give a slice of ham or a slice of chicken and scrambled egg. Unfortunately I'm not always at home. My mam is at home and she sneeks in canned food with the nuts. That is stuff is now banned from the house as of this morning and I think she understands just how serious this is.

Vet recommended a low protein diet.

I read conflicting things online about low protein diets during the weekend. Low protein is recommended by vets but some people say easy digestible protein is suitable.

What way to go here now? Am I causing damage with a piece of ham/chicken/some egg/salmon/tuna mixed in with the nuts.

I ordered a supplement online for joints. I read about ArthriAid. Something similar to that but Arthriex it's called. I think there are bottles for horses but I order the bottle of dogs. It's on animalfarmacy.ie site.

Broken Hearted Road

Despite all these health problems the dog is still full of licks and I get smothered. I have a bed time routine going now too. I have a mattress on the bedroom floor and my duvet is upon that and she sleeps there like in a nest. I lie down with her and pet and stroke her and I get smothered in licks for a while. I stick on some classical music and she settles. About half and later or there abouts I get up and she's like a toddler watching me leave out the door. Then she settles.

She sleeps well over night.

DBB

The injectable medication is Cartrophen... If you do a forum search you'll surely find many other posts extolling its virtues... It is super stuff. It actively maintains and even helps rebuild damaged joints, as well as being a good painkiller.
It is pricey enough, but hopefully she'll only need the course of 4 every 6 months.
The likes of Loxicam can then be used on bad days on an intermittent basis.
Diet-wise, meat doesn't contain crazy protein amounts, but it does provide easy-to-absorb protein... Perhaps avoid red meats and ham. I'd also suggest, if she'll eat it instead of the tuna, to try sardines, mackerel, herring.
If she won't eat the natural packaging, then adding salmon oil, with occasional olive oil, rapeseed oil, or cod liver oil to her food will help, or invest in joint-support supplements like YuMove.

Broken Hearted Road

Wow! There's some great reviews about Cartrophen. About costs, I was given a quote today for the other meds of 65 euro a month, but the costs would cancel each other out really.

Broken Hearted Road

I have to go to the vet later in the week to pick up a months supply of meds. I would like the injections but I decided to go with the tablets for now and I will consider the injections later on down the line. I got a quote for 65 euro for them meds.

I don't get paid a lot and it's a huge chuck of money before anything else.

With the liver issue as well. I expect I'll have to get a prescription food too. How much would prescription food like this be? Just working out a quick weekly budget. I would be able to afford 30 euro for food on top of the meds but then, that's it.

tk123

Is it prescription food? You might get it cheaper on zooplus but be careful buying in bulk - my friend's dog has kidney disease and refused to eat the prescription food even when she got her appetite back lol!

Latatian

If she can swim or walk in water, it's very good for arthritis. You'd have to find somewhere she can walk into the water though. Kept my dog going a lot better for a lot longer than she would have otherwise, because they need good muscle to stabilize the joints etc. and swimming will help keep the joints getting too stiff, without putting too much weight on them.

Broken Hearted Road

tk123 wrote: »

Is it prescription food? You might get it cheaper on zooplus but be careful buying in bulk - my friend's dog has kidney disease and refused to eat the prescription food even when she got her appetite back lol!

I picked up a small bag of hepatic food at the vets. Fed the dog earlier with small cup of nuts and she took to it well. I'm delighted with it so far.

Broken Hearted Road

Latatian wrote: »

If she can swim or walk in water, it's very good for arthritis. You'd have to find somewhere she can walk into the water though. Kept my dog going a lot better for a lot longer than she would have otherwise, because they need good muscle to stabilize the joints etc. and swimming will help keep the joints getting too stiff, without putting too much weight on them.

There's a beach near me but the dog wouldn't be able for the long walk to get there and back again any more.

I was checking online at the hydrotherapy pool for dogs in Ireland. There's a pool in Dublin. I would love to take the dog there. If I owned a car I would. I'll see if I can organise a monthly lift but I doubt it.

Broken Hearted Road

Latatian wrote: »

If she can swim or walk in water, it's very good for arthritis. You'd have to find somewhere she can walk into the water though. Kept my dog going a lot better for a lot longer than she would have otherwise, because they need good muscle to stabilize the joints etc. and swimming will help keep the joints getting too stiff, without putting too much weight on them.

I live near a beach but I think it might be too cold to take her into the water. She won't be able for the long walk to get there and back again either. I know there is hydrotherapy pool for dogs in Ireland. I was checking it up online. I would love to take the dog there but I don't have any transport unfortunately.

Broken Hearted Road

I started the dog on the new medicine this morning and she took it well. It's cimicoxib and a tablet.

The dog is doing great. She's in great form during the days. Her legs and hips are holding up well. She's little bored because she can't go for long walks any more and she's banned from jumping up into her favourite places around the house like the couch and my bed. She tried to destroy a shoe earlier but I saved it in time although there's loads of teeth holes in the shoes. She has loads of socks strewn about the place too. I started the dog on a joint supplement that she likes to lick of a spoon. Sleeping well at night too. Going to the toilet well a few times a day with no issues there.

aonb

If shes bored, you can help by coming up with new ideas/games. Our poor old guy who was super intelligent, suffered badly towards the end, missing the stimulation and exercise of his walks. We made a carpet covered ramp for the sofa, so he would get on there himself. We had a short walk outside several times/day - a dogs nose and scenting is such a stimulation for them. We used to play games every evening - a half hour, to keep him working and interested. A bit of kibble in a closed box to tear apart. Scrunched up lots of sheets of newspapers, in a laundry basket, with treats in some. Heaps of mess! You can buy little stuffed toys in charity shops for a few cents (tell them its for your dog, so doesnt matter if shabby etc) - good fun playing tug-of-war and tearing it apart. Tug of war with an old towel tied with a big knot in centre. A raw bone. A kong stuffed with peanut butter. A plastic peanut butter jar, smeared with peanut butter even. You can come up with endless ideas/games. Half the time its just the interaction that the dog loves - your sitting on the floor and having fun with her.

If you have a garden put an old cushion out there, and let her sit outside. With a raw bone, its even better. Bring her in the car everytime you go somewhere, leave the window open, just for a change of scene. If she can have a bit of a sniff around at your destination for 5 mins, all the better!
Meeting new dogs at friends home is lovely too, if your dog is the sociable type. We used to take our old boy everywhere with us, he loved to snooze in the warmth of the car, then off home again!

Just some ideas - the oldies are the best really

Broken Hearted Road

aonb wrote: »

If shes bored, you can help by coming up with new ideas/games. Our poor old guy who was super intelligent, suffered badly towards the end, missing the stimulation and exercise of his walks. We made a carpet covered ramp for the sofa, so he would get on there himself. We had a short walk outside several times/day - a dogs nose and scenting is such a stimulation for them. We used to play games every evening - a half hour, to keep him working and interested. A bit of kibble in a closed box to tear apart. Scrunched up lots of sheets of newspapers, in a laundry basket, with treats in some. Heaps of mess! You can buy little stuffed toys in charity shops for a few cents (tell them its for your dog, so doesnt matter if shabby etc) - good fun playing tug-of-war and tearing it apart. Tug of war with an old towel tied with a big knot in centre. A raw bone. A kong stuffed with peanut butter. A plastic peanut butter jar, smeared with peanut butter even. You can come up with endless ideas/games. Half the time its just the interaction that the dog loves - your sitting on the floor and having fun with her.

If you have a garden put an old cushion out there, and let her sit outside. With a raw bone, its even better. Bring her in the car everytime you go somewhere, leave the window open, just for a change of scene. If she can have a bit of a sniff around at your destination for 5 mins, all the better!
Meeting new dogs at friends home is lovely too, if your dog is the sociable type. We used to take our old boy everywhere with us, he loved to snooze in the warmth of the car, then off home again!

Just some ideas - the oldies are the best really

Thank you so much for this. Loads of lovely ideas for me to try. I do have a few games that I play with her. Like I'd take one of er stuffed toys and hide it under my top with me sitting on the floor and she can sniff it out. A few more other games too. Like me playing dead on a floor and her licking me alive. I downloaded a mouse app on my phone meant for cats but it drives the dog up the wall. I had my phone on the floor and the dog managed to pick up the phone from the floor with her teeth and nearly chewed it. The cuteness. I allow her out for a little ramble a few times a day around the yard and I accompany her out too.

Loads more new ideas for us to try here.

Broken Hearted Road

God,. I don't think the dogs current medicine is as effective as the last medicine is was on.

She took her medicine well yesterday morning and was in great form during the day. She was more tired then usual yesterday evening and went to bed without protesting. She slept well overnight, thank goodness.

She was slow to get up this morning and she was sore and stiff rising this morning. She wasn't like this on the first medicine and she was full of energy often. Gave the dog today's dose of medicine this morning. I'm hoping she will perk up throughout the day. She's gone back resting and sleeping now. Possible side effects with the medicine is vomiting and diarrhoea but the dog is not displayed side effects, thank goodness.

I massaged the dogs legs during the week and she liked that and I thought she benefited from that. I'm going to pick up a massage oil later in town. There's a massage oil on the Holland and Barrett site so I'm hoping my local Holland and Barrett shop will have that. Mason's dog oil massage oil - I think it's called suitable for people and pets.

My mother nearly had a meltdown last night when she saw me put the dogs blanket in the dryer to warm it up for her. So I don't know if I can get away with that often.

loconnor1001

Broken Hearted Road wrote: »

The medicine for arthritis has to be changed from the loxicam. There are two options available:
1) There is a tablet that is kinder to the liver, or
2) once a week injections for a month that has no effect on the liver.

One of mine is 14 and he gets Cartophen injections. He does quite well on them! I would also think that the Cartophen would be cheaper than the tablets as you'd probably only need the course of injections a couple of times a year.

Broken Hearted Road

loconnor1001 wrote: »

One of mine is 14 and he gets Cartophen injections. He does quite well on them! I would also think that the Cartophen would be cheaper than the tablets as you'd probably only need the course of injections a couple of times a year.

I know of Cartrophen injections. Injections were offered as an option for me and the dog. I would have liked to have got the injections. I don't get paid a lot and I'm not flush with money. Costs of injections might appear to be costly at first glance but I thought the cost of injections and monnthly medication would cancel each other out to be honest.

Transport once a week for a month to the vet is a problem and that is stopping me unfortunately.

There is also some what of a unique issue at home. My mam was very fond of walking the dog even during the summer and the dog was limping the dog was taken on long walks. I asked my mam many times to rest the dog and give up on the walks to see if it helps her leg. That never happened and the dog was walked until she couldn't stand any more unfortunately. The dog was allowed rest then. My worry with injections is the dog will make an improvement with the way she's standing and walkig, just for her legs to be walked off her again and the benefits of injections might ware off over a few weeks.

The dog is allowed rest now, thank God. Mam is eager to take her back walking however. I'm afraid the dog won't be able to go back to the walks that she was doing before. I started adding in a slow 5 minute walk and home again with the dog during the week and the dog was good with that. 5 to 10 minutes 2/3 times a day I think would be OK but I think mam would like to go back to how it was before. She even said as such yesterday, something on the lines of 'maybe next week the dog will be good again next week'.
Puke inducing stuff altogether.

Arthritis isn't going to go away with pain medicine. It's always going to be there. Pain medication isn't going to make it disappear. If my mam decides to over do it on a walk at some stage, the dog will let us know with her standing and walking around the house. I'm hoping she will be allowed rest days in between. Unfortunately I'm not always at home to supervise and control the dogs condition. I fear injections would be pointless. I read online with the injections for some people the dose is every 3 months, for others every 6 months and for another person once a year. Unfortunately mybdogs legs might be walked off her and knowing my luck it will be once every two months or so.

It's a difficult situation. I think my mam does mean well. During the week when I took the dog out for a short walk, the dog protested and wanted to continue but I wouldn't let her. I don't know if mam will be able to say no and stop the dog. It's like a child and a cookie jar. A child would like to raid it but a parent would have to say no and not allow it. The dog in her mind is able for the walk but her legs won't carry her any more.

Anyways the dog perked up in the hour after her medicine. Thank goodness.

Broken Hearted Road

The dog perked up yesterday a little while after breakfast. She remained to be good for the remainder of the day. I took the dog for a short walk too for 5-10 minutes and she held up well. A little bit after 7pm she did begin to struggle a bit walking around the house from time to time. I brought the dog down to her bed early at 8pm. She slept well overnight and was great rising this morning and was in great form. Gave her her medicine as usual and she took that well. She's been in great form all day. I took her out for a short walk earlier. Slow and gentle for about 5/6/ or 7 minutes and back home again. All in all a little under 15 minutes. She was tired after and she's resting. Her legs held up well.

When I came home, my mam said that's great for the dog. Maybe we can extend that every day and make it to the village with the dog. The local village is 15 minutes walk away usually. Then going to the shops will add on maybe 10-15 minutes and then back home again will be a little longer, maybe for about 20 minutes due to going uphill. My mam is so eager to take the dog back on the walks they were doing before but I think the dog won't be able for this.

Any advice or help in relation to this? Has anybody ever had this problem before? Or something similar where a member of the family is careless with additional needs.

Mam does like watching television and she likes Pete the vet whenever he makes an appearance on TV. His website has a piece on arthritis in dogs and managing arthritis. There it says exercise has to be tailored and a 15 - 20 minute walk twice daily is more beneficial than a 40 minute walk. Or something on them lines.

I fear I might be pissing into the wind with this and she will only take from this what she wants and take the dog for a 15 - 20 minute walk and then double back home. Which I think will be too much. Also the first piece of information on the Pete the vet site is about weight control. 'Helping a pet reach it's ideal weight is the first step in dealing with arthritis' - I think even that little piece of information might be even be dangerous here with my mam perhaps taking on the notion - the dog needs her walks to keep her weight off.

The dog was in an awful state a few weeks ago not being able to stand and looked like a drunk falling about the place. There's a huge improvement now thank God with her but that only came about with rest and pain meds. No amount of pain medicine will help her if her legs are going to be walked off her.

tk123

Honestly I think you're being a bit hard on your Mum. The dog was her walking companion, is getting older and slowing down which is hard for any owner to accept and probably upsetting her more than you think? Where are you based? Would she take the dog to hydro if there was one near you? This would really help with the arthritis and getting the weight down and it might help your Mum feel like she's doing something to help. I personally don't allow my dog in cold water if he's any way sore or stiff because it can do more harm than good - a cold river/lake/the sea doesn't compare to a warm hydro pool with jets. I've had my dog hobble into hydro and walk out like he was never even sore - the river beside us doesn't have that effect on him!
Your dog does need to be rested but you can slowly build the exercise back up as she improves to level that works with her and that she can enjoy with your mum and hopefully without being sore afterwards. Have you a coat for her - I found when my boy was injured last year the coat made a big difference keeping him warm and the damp out.

If all else fails would she come along to the vet with you - she might listen to them more than you if she thinks your being overprotective/exaggerating - not that you are but I'm still assuming she's finding it hard to accept the dog is getting older. My vet is not somebody you mess with lol - I know if I had this problem she'd knock sense into my mum/dad :pac:

Dtp1979

Get your mam a sheepdog to bring for walks. See how she likes it getting the legs walked off her for a change

Broken Hearted Road

tk123 wrote: »

Honestly I think you're being a bit hard on your Mum. The dog was her walking companion, is getting older and slowing down which is hard for any owner to accept and probably upsetting her more than you think? Where are you based? Would she take the dog to hydro if there was one near you? This would really help with the arthritis and getting the weight down and it might help your Mum feel like she's doing something to help. I personally don't allow my dog in cold water if he's any way sore or stiff because it can do more harm than good - a cold river/lake/the sea doesn't compare to a warm hydro pool with jets. I've had my dog hobble into hydro and walk out like he was never even sore - the river beside us doesn't have that effect on him!
Your dog does need to be rested but you can slowly build the exercise back up as she improves to level that works with her and that she can enjoy with your mum and hopefully without being sore afterwards. Have you a coat for her - I found when my boy was injured last year the coat made a big difference keeping him warm and the damp out.

If all else fails would she come along to the vet with you - she might listen to them more than you if she thinks your being overprotective/exaggerating - not that you are but I'm still assuming she's finding it hard to accept the dog is getting older. My vet is not somebody you mess with lol - I know if I had this problem she'd knock sense into my mum/dad :pac:

Thank you for your lovely reply. I'm being being harsh with my mam. I know she means well but there is such a thing of too much of a good thing regarding walks. The dog wasn't able to stand up on her legs around the house for more than a minute a few weeks ago. With rest she did make a slight improvement before our appointment with the vet. Since starting on meds the dog has shown a huge improvement. I feel a long walk will reverse any improvement the dog has shown and the dog will be back to square one falling about the house on her legs.

I told my mam of the information that came up online on Pete the vet site regarding arthritis in dogs and exercise. I read it out to my mam. I think she understands long walks won't do the dog any good and only short and frequent walks will be more beneficial. She said that herself, thank God. I don't know what will happen now when it comes to implementing that regarding a walk. She might take it upon herself to take the dog further. The rearing will be rearing to go and won't know when to stop.

I read the information out to my mam and mam repeated it back to me and said 'so, 20 minutes on the clock and then back home again'. I said a 20 minute walk and back again will be 40 minutes and more than likely too much.

Anyways, I took the dog out for a 10 minute walk this evening and her legs held up well. She lied down on the kitchen floor tired, thank God and I was delighted. Mam saw the dog was tired too after such a short walk so hopefully she knows there's no need for something longer.

Unfortunately we're no where near a hydrotherapy pool for dogs. I wish we were.

Broken Hearted Road

Dtp1979 wrote: »

Get your mam a sheepdog to bring for walks. See how she likes it getting the legs walked off her for a change

I thought about this. A new dog would be great. A puppy or a young dog. Mam could walk the new hound and leave our dog to rest when she needs. Unfortunately, it's not a good time to take in a new pet.

Broken Hearted Road

The dog was fantastic for me so far today. She rose in the morning, not a bother on her. She was a little stiff until she got moving about the house. I was cooking her breakfast - baking a fresh fillet of cod to share between herself and the cat. She's taking her medicine well for me with no side effects. I took her out for a short walk about an hour and half after breakfast. I wanted her to digest her meal before we got moving for her walk. She was good.

We came home after her walk. At about 1pm or so she was resting and got up then when she saw me pottering about. She was a little stiff moving about for a few minutes. There was no obvious sign of pain though with that like yelping or whimpering or whining. Once she was moving about the house she was ok again. I know that is what arthritis causes. When I was going to work mam came with me and took the dog for about 6/7 minutes walk and back home they went. Looking at her walking you wouldn't know there was anything wrong with her. She perked up and was full of beans. I'd be terrified of extending her walks all the same. She looks depressed looking in between her feeding times and walks. I played with her for a bit this morning and she played with me but then she returned to her blanket under the table.

Is there anything else I can do to make the dog as comfortable as possible? There was a lot of expense on my budget during the past fortnight with the vet and a supply of medicine and a joint supplement for the dog. Will need to buy a big bag of dog nuts this week too. She's liking her new nuts. Along with a bank loan payment this week, that's my wage nearly all gone.

I was looking online at so much that could possibly help, like
a magnetic collar - I wonder would this help or would it be a gimmick?
a memory foam bed, - looking at getting a mattress made from efoam.ie,
a heating pad,
Even a dogs pram from England - not a flimsy thing either etc

So so much with little money.

loconnor1001

A memory foam bed would be great if the dog will use it! I bought one and he still just throws himself on the rug. You can get them pretty reasonable, I think I got mine at aldi for around 20 euro. If you were in Kerry you could have it

Latatian

Magnetic collars and joint supplements are at best unproven and unlikely to do much. Save your money for the cod. I do white fish fillets for my girl. That and lots of gentle exercise (as in, frequent gentle exercise, as you say- often it's actually literally five minutes from the moment we leave the house to the moment we are back in the door).

I feel for your difficult situation regarding your mam and the walks. Nothing helpful to say except you are dead right to stand up for your dog.

Broken Hearted Road

loconnor1001 wrote: »

A memory foam bed would be great if the dog will use it! I bought one and he still just throws himself on the rug. You can get them pretty reasonable, I think I got mine at aldi for around 20 euro. If you were in Kerry you could have it

Thank you so much for your lovely kind offer. I think I read that the aldi memory foam beds are thin. About 3.5 cm or something. I'd be looking for something with more thickness. I doubt I'll be going down the route of a dog bed either. I checked online for many possibilities and alternatives. Like a came across a memory foam cot mattress I think on the boots site but unfortunately the recommended weight was up to 15kg. The dog is 25kg. I found a site online efoam.ie so I think I'll be order a piece of memory foam from there cut to size and I'll think I'll be going with a cot mattress size so that I could get bedding like sheets easily. Currently I have a mattress on my bedroom floor by my bed for the dog. It's not very ideal because it's taking up so much space. Also she has my duvet too. She likes to dig around with that and make a nest for herself before settling to sleep.

Broken Hearted Road

Latatian wrote: »

Magnetic collars and joint supplements are at best unproven and unlikely to do much. Save your money for the cod. I do white fish fillets for my girl. That and lots of gentle exercise (as in, frequent gentle exercise, as you say- often it's actually literally five minutes from the moment we leave the house to the moment we are back in the door).

I feel for your difficult situation regarding your mam and the walks. Nothing helpful to say except you are dead right to stand up for your dog.

Thank you for your kind reply. Ok, I think I will give the magnetic collar a miss especially considering I'm fairly skin at this stage. I have a joint supplement for the dog. Started on that last week and she likes it so I'll will keep up with that in the hope it helps. I was considering adding a salmon oil supplement but I think I would prefer if the dog gets nutrients from a fresh source.

Things are going well thank God with the dog and also with my mam and walking. I am anxious a bit though and pray the dogs walks won't be extended. The dog loves her walks and taking her for 5 to 10 minutes you wouldn't see anything wrong with her at all. She walks well and is full of beans. So that's a worry I have in case my mam takes her further on a walk and the dog suffers a setback.

tk123

OP I use Riaflex for my boy after reading good reviews from people who use it. They often have 10% off. I'm happy to spend €1 a week as his supplements make a big difference to him. (I haven't told him yet that he might be taking a placebo)

Broken Hearted Road

tk123 wrote: »

OP I use Riaflex for my boy after reading good reviews from people who use it. They often have 10% off. I'm happy to spend €1 a week as his supplements make a big difference to him. (I haven't told him yet that he might be taking a placebo)

Currently this is what I'm giving my dog:

It's a beef flavoured supplement and she loves it. It doesn't have the hyaluronic acid though. I went searching online for just a hyaluronic acid and there's a few of them available from Holland and Barrett and evergreen.ie but they have vitamin c. I'd be terrified of overdosing. I will finish the current supplement and see the dog is after that. I might get a supplement with hyaluronic acid added like this one you recommended or the Stride Plus.

tk123

Haha you'll drive yourself mad trying to figure out which one is best and has a better % of this and that! Also if you do a search you'll find lots of suggestions for cheaper orthopaedic beds/mattresses

Latatian

OP how is your girl getting on now?

Broken Hearted Road

Latatian wrote: »

OP how is your girl getting on now?

Thank you so much for your lovely kind message asking about the dog.

She's doing as great as she can be. She's rising a lot better in the mornings and prancing around with ease.

I have two orthopaedic beds for her in the house now. One for night time use and one under the kitchen table for resting during the days. I have a dog jacket too that's a lot like a parka. It doesn't go over her limbs but that's what I wanted in a dog jacket. She wears that every day for going out to the toilet and for her short walks. To help with the cold. I have a snugglesafe heat pad for nighttime use too. The dog was skidding and slipping in the mornings but I have a runner mat down in the hall for her and I have two more ordered to arrive at some stage. I massage her legs and behind about 2/3 times a week. She takes her medicine and her joint supplement too every day. I'm just after starting her on salmon oil this week.

She loves the hepatic nuts. I supplement them about 2/3 times a week with a cooked meal like chicken or fish steamed with veg. Or an egg boiled and mashed up. She's a different girl when she gets her cooked meal. She has more energy and she's more alert and she's bold around the house but it's cute boldness like taking shoes, handbags, wallets, knitting. Just begging for more so she is. We are not big fans of fish in the house and my mam can't stand the smell so fish is now banned from the house so that's why I started with the salmon oil.

tk123

Broken Hearted Road wrote: »

She's a different girl when she gets her cooked meal. She has more energy and she's more alert and she's bold around the house but it's cute boldness like taking shoes, handbags, wallets, knitting.

:pac::pac::pac::pac: Brilliant lol!

Broken Hearted Road

tk123 wrote: »

:pac::pac::pac::pac: Brilliant lol!

My bag was on the floor last week and it was left open. I went to work without it because I didn't need it. Came home to find my wallet under the kitchen table. Thankfully there wasn't any damage done to it or to the dog. She is old now and she doesn't do much damage now. She has a little chew and then settles down to sleep.

I remember when she was younger, going into my bedroom to find a very chewed up wallet on the floor. I had to around replacing cards that were chewed up. I went to the CEO to get a new pps card. I gave a letter or some other documentation with my pps number on it and told him this is my pps number but I need a new card. When he asked me why I told him - the dog chewed my wallet. He laughed and didn't believe me until I left the remains of my pps card down on his table. He told me to go into the social welfare office. There weren't too happy or impressed there.
I went into the bank too and left the remains of my bank card down on the counter and told them I need a new card. The last there was roaring laughing.
The dog chewed a seatbelt and a gear stick in her younger days too. LOL. You'd swear she was locked away in a car for ages. Nope. It only took her a few minutes to do damage.

So cute and she's loved so much.

Broken Hearted Road

I fed the dog this evening - a little bit of cod fish baked with butternut squash and all mashed up. Not the first time I cooked her up a meal to supplement her nuts. I supplement the nuts about 2/3 times a week with a cooked meal and I reduce the daily amount of nuts. She loved it. I allowed the dog to digest her meal for an hour or so and gave her one of her squeaky stuffed teddies. She prancing around the kitchen like a puppy killing her teddy. She was crazy playing running around the kitchen. I brought her for a nighttime stroll under the moonlight before bed because she had so much energy.

I'll be changing her joint supplement. I have the dog on a liquid joint supplement glucosamine and chondroitin with green lipped mussel that was beef flavoured. It smelled a bit off the other day when I was giving it. It was open for a few weeks and I was coming to the end of the bottle so I discarded the rest. I had another bottle in the press. I only had it opened when I noticed the use by date - use by the 11/2016. I was disappointed to say the least. I will be ordering a powder supplement that I read about here on boards - Riaflex.

Fakediamond

That's great to hear, we'd probably all benefit from eating a few meals like that as well as feeding it to our pets!!

Broken Hearted Road

Fakediamond wrote: »

That's great to hear, we'd probably all benefit from eating a few meals like that as well as feeding it to our pets!!

LOL! I know. I'm feeding the pets better than myself. I cooked up the fish and veg and gave that bit to the dog and the rest to the cat. For my own dinner I made a toasted ham sandwich.

Gael23

My dog was 15 when he died and was enable to enjoy a very short and slow walk until a week before. It took getting used to when for years he loved an hour long walk all around town to end up being a leisurely stroll but I felt it was stimulation for him to get moving and somewhat active . Diet wasn't ever something we had to change with him, we would not have been able to provide the prescription food anyway.
Despite all that he had a pretty good quality of life up to that last week.

Broken Hearted Road

God, I suspect my mam is back walking the dog on the walks they were doing before.

Last Friday evening when I came home from work I noticed the dog was limping. She wasn't limping severely like she was back in September. I didn't think much of it.

Not so long ago I wrote here how the dog was prancing around with ease so meds were working and supplements etc.

On Saturday evening I was putting the jacket on the dog and I noticed it was dirty and mucky and I didn't know how that happened. Mam said that she brought the dog for a walk on Friday and it must have happened then. Mam said that she walked the dog to such a place on the road. It's 10 minutes down the road. I left for work late on Friday at about 2.25pm. Mam was due to go to the village as well on the Friday afternoon. It starts getting dark at about 5. The timeframe isn't making sense to me and I suspect the dog was brought for a walk for much longer than what was mentioned.

I came in home tonight about 7. The dog was good. It was 8.30 and I noticed the dog was limping. I asked my mam was the dog out for a walk today and mam said she took the dog for a walk to the same place on the road. Mam also had to go to the village today so I suspect the dog was taken to the village. My gut is telling me the dog was taken further then what was said. It's 15 minutes down the road. Dilly dallying around the village going to the shops can take another 15 minutes and then another 15-20 minutes up the road.

Fakediamond

Why do you think she is so insistent on taking the dog for long walks? Is it for company or does she not believe that the dog is in a bad way?

Broken Hearted Road

Fakediamond wrote: »

Why do you think she is so insistent on taking the dog for long walks? Is it for company or does she not believe that the dog is in a bad way?

I think maybe both of what you said. For company. The meds would be masking any pain so that's it in her eyes the dog is all better.

I think I'm just going to play things up a bit and say the medicine is clearly not working so it's time to take the dog back to the vet to see what our options are - perhaps stronger meds or put the dog to sleep. Hopefully that might scare mam and have her cop on. Thank God tomorrow is promised rain so at least the dog will get a rest day.

The dog has responded very well to date with her medicine, supplements and short walks. I can't see how she would be limping tonight expect her walk today was too much for her.

Fakediamond

Tell her that you phoned the vet to discuss the limping and vet said no more than 10 minute walks daily, otherwise the consequences could be serious!

Can I suggest that your mum needs to separate the two things, walks that suit the dog, versus walks that suit your mum, it sounds like she likes a good walk for her own health, which is great, but not in the best interest of the poor dog! If she could compromise on the ten minutes for the dog and then head off later by herself.

Broken Hearted Road

Fakediamond wrote: »

Tell her that you phoned the vet to discuss the limping and vet said no more than 10 minute walks daily, otherwise the consequences could be serious!

Can I suggest that your mum needs to separate the two things, walks that suit the dog, versus walks that suit your mum, it sounds like she likes a good walk for her own health, which is great, but not in the best interest of the poor dog! If she could compromise on the ten minutes for the dog and then head off later by herself.

Thank you for your reply. That's a much better idea. Will pretend to make a call to the vet tomorrow.

Broken Hearted Road

Unfortunately, the dog has been limping for the past week and tonight, it's kinda like back to square one how she was back in September. She's not as severe as she was but she was struggling tonight.

She's gone to bed now in her bed and sleeping well so hopefully she will sleep well overnight.

The past few weeks has been very hard. Not with the dog but just with life in general.
- my mam was sick,
- my granny died,
- work was demanding,

At one stage my back was so sore and I reckon it was stress building up in the back. Felt as if my spine was crumbling.

All this trickled down to the dog. She was getting her medicine every day but I lapsed with the supplements. Not intentional, it just so happened. Like with long days at work or staying overnight, I'd come in home and the dog would be fed for the day and gone to bed so she missed her supplement. 'Tomorrow, says I' and it would be much and the same day. The little walks I was taking her on stopped as well. The most she got on with walks was walking down to the neighbouring cows to harass them with woofs. The couch was blocked off in the sitting room since September but it was freed up at some stage and she got to the couch a few times too. The couch is now blocked off again so hopefully she doesn't get to that again. So a few different factors at play here.

Fakediamond

Sorry to hear about your gran and the difficult time you've been having. It's hard to keep on top of everything with so much going on. Don't beat yourself up, you've clearly had a lot on your plate.

New Year is upon us and its a time for getting back to normal routines, which hopefully will benefit your doggie too and you'll get back on track, things were going so well. What supplements do you use? Could do with the human version for myself at the moment!

Latatian

It will take her a little while to build up muscle to get back to where she was. Don't give up home. Has happened to my arthritic dog when I was sick, and they do get back to where they were once the muscle builds up again.

Short, on-lead walks will work wonders.

tk123

Sorry to hear you've been having a though time OP.
Would you not just the supplements at night or in the evening say with an evening treat? I know somebody who used to give a liquid supplement and claimed the dog would only eat it if it was poured on a piece of bread slathered with peanut butter! He had them well trained lol!

Broken Hearted Road

Fakediamond wrote: »

Sorry to hear about your gran and the difficult time you've been having. It's hard to keep on top of everything with so much going on. Don't beat yourself up, you've clearly had a lot on your plate.

New Year is upon us and its a time for getting back to normal routines, which hopefully will benefit your doggie too and you'll get back on track, things were going so well. What supplements do you use? Could do with the human version for myself at the moment!

Thank you for your message. She was on a liquid supplement but I changed in November to a powder form because the liquid went off too quickly. Like 6 weeks I think. So she's on a powder supplement now.

It's canine joint plus from Riaflex in the UK. It contains the stuff that begins with G and C. I'll have to check. It also has hydraulic acid (spelling will need to check).

Also green lipped mussel.

I got a small bit of a breather on Christmas eve and she's now back on them since.

Broken Hearted Road

Latatian wrote: »

It will take her a little while to build up muscle to get back to where she was. Don't give up home. Has happened to my arthritic dog when I was sick, and they do get back to where they were once the muscle builds up again.

Short, on-lead walks will work wonders.

I read this just after waking. So while the dog was out at the toilet I went out with her and took her for about 2/3 minutes up the road and back home again before her breakfast. I hope to do it again later and tonight.

She slept well over night and got up ok but one leg is poor. She was sliding a little on the tiles but thankfully got that covered a few weeks back with very long rugs in the hall and sitting room. So that helps with a grip.

Broken Hearted Road

tk123 wrote: »

Sorry to hear you've been having a though time OP. Would you not just the supplements at night or in the evening say with an evening treat? I know somebody who used to give a liquid supplement and claimed the dog would only eat it if it was poured on a piece of bread slathered with peanut butter! He had them well trained lol!

She's back on them again for the past week. There is so much to give herThe medsThe joint supplement Green lipped mussel The salmon oil. I was able to cover the meds, thankfully but the rest not so much. I was drawing up salmon oil into a syringe and asking mam to give them in her meals throughout the day. I didn't want to overload mam by giving her syringes of salmon oil and little tubs of powders. It all adds up. Often I would leave the house thinking, 'I will give her the powder supplement tonight when I get home' but then I would run over at work and not get home in time. I measure out her dry food every morning into an airtight container and she gets fed from that every day. Often when I get home her nuts would be gone and she's gone to bed. 'tomorrow' says I and then the nest day throws up something similar. The dog was getting her supplement every so often but I wasn't consistent with giving it every day. I was in the beginning but I lapsed from I reckon the start of December.

Broken Hearted Road

I remember one day leaving the house and leaving a tray of drugs and supplements and instructions behind for my mam. It wasn't ideal. The dog turns or nose up at the powder supplement and I need to be careful and watch her diet. This I need to be mindful of in case my mam takes a notion to cook the dog sausages or some other muck. She takes the supplements for me.

Michelle_b

Hey OP, just reading through your posts. Hope your dog feels some relief today. My dog was diagnosed few weeks ago arthritis in back hind left leg. She is only 6. She is on Rimadyl tablets daily at moment and maybe doing laser therapy. Vets never mentioned injections. Got two orthopedic beds for her. We are doing short walks. She is full for energy. Thinking of trying Riaflex. Have you found it good. So hard to know what to get. I have been reading so much but then reviews are so mixed on certain things so confusing. Started too putting omega 3 through her food