Arthritis in springer/cocker spaniel - advice please

reeta

Hi, after noticing for the last couple of months that my six and a half year old springer/cocker was becoming very sluggish and wanting to come home after about 10 mins out walking I brought her to the vet who did xrays and confirmed she has arthritis in her left should and leg. She had started to left that leg as if in pain if she did any strenuous excercise.  He has advised 3 x 5 minute walks for the next two weeks. She is an a one pain killer daily and Arthri Aid |Omega oil in her food. 
Is there anything else I can do for her ?  She wants to go out all the time (I had great hikes planned for over Christmas) but when we go out she will only do a five minute walk and then head back home.  Food wise she is on Red Mills with half a teaspoon of sardines/tuna.  I feel very sorry for her as being a spaniel she was always active.
Would swimming help her ? Any advice appreciated.  Many thanks !

aonb

as you say, such a shame for a springer who WANTS to be active, but the arthritis is slowing her down. Ive had elderly dogs with arthritis, who just managed happily with several 5-10 minutes walks/day. Im lucky as Im in the country, do a lot of gardening, so popping out the gate to go down the deserted lane is always easy.
I have an 8 year old terrier now, who had his cruciate replaced last year, who has been hobbling on the other leg now off and on for many months. Because its off/on, Ive been putting off bringing him to the vet - the 8 week recovery from last years surgery nearly killed us both I'll be bringing him on wednesday now though, because hes been on three legs since Xmas Eve

I give daily chrondroitin/gluscosamine to my older dogs

This terrier who is lame Ive been rubbing in an arnica/calendula/msm gel several times/day which seems to help

To compensate for lack of walks, I give him large bones to gnaw on. I give him a frozen kong stuffed with peanut butter. We have 'games' and puzzles for him, a bit of 'work' on these every evening takes the edge off and keeps him mentally active

reeta

Thanks for your reply.:)  I will get her Kong out (never really used it as usually got so much exercise she would just sleep at home ) and look at other ways to mentally tire her out.  Didnt expect this with her being so young, will miss our longs walks ! Once she is content that is all that matters.....

VonVix

I would consider using her own food in the Kong (if she enjoys her own food that is) wouldn't want her to end up gaining too much weight because of inability to exercise as usual. One of my dogs is only four (will be five in March) and was diagnosed with arthritis in both of his wrists, he's starting to feel it again since it got cold out. He got a series of injections (forget what they're called!) a few months ago which made a world of difference, he turned into a puppy again, hoping he will be able to get them again as they worked very well for him.

aonb

PS: with my two older dogs, I found that keeping them warm definitely helped in winter - coats on during walks. An arthri-bed, especially for arthritic dogs, the collie had a raised sprung bed, really made a big difference - less creaky and stiff after sleeping and especially in the mornings. I stopped walking on the road, and went on grass paths and along the headlands of fields etc, to reduce impact on their joints. Swimming helped, check for nearby hydro-therapy options. You should discuss any pain relieving therapy with your vet - Im sure some of the folks on here will have ideas. Is the pain med your dog is on having an effect yet? Im REALLY missing our long walks now too - we'll both have to go on a diet if things dont get going soon 8-(

tk123

Bailey gets stiff and sore this time of year or when it's damp - initially his back is sore then his wrists from compensating. The best medicine for him can be rest like the vets says and you might notice a big difference in a couple of weeks. He gets Riaflex Canine Joint plus and Luposan pellets in his food but I tend not to give pain relief day to day and save it for when he's bad which luckily isn't that often. I'm going to get one of the other supplements Riaflex make to try for when I think he needs a boost after reading good reviews - devils alternative. Since it's his back that gets sore I have a fleece for him when it's cold and damp to keep him warm and there's some areas on our longer weekend walks that I just keep him on lead now - i.e. the forest that's full of squirrels! I was giving turmeric but stopped when he was having issues with his tummy and throwIng up at night because it can cause problems. It can also interfere with other medications so be careful and check it's ok to give it if you so decide to try it. We never had any probs when he did hydro every week but not an option for us now after a bad experience when he had the jaw operation and was sedated etc. We got a present of a wrist support off a friend who bought one and never used it and I'm waiting for a second one to come in the post - he'll be wearing these when he romps around and is chasing his squirrels at the weekends to see if it helps at all. I did check this was ok with our vet first though!
He also had a taster session of acupuncture at our vets which made a big difference so if he gets bad again I'll be bringing him for a course of it because he tolerated it and cooperated no problems!

DBB

VonVix wrote: »

He got a series of injections (forget what they're called!) a few months ago which made a world of difference

Cartrophen

Latatian

Swimmng! Just make sure it's easy for them to get in and out. Lots of small walks as other people have mentioned. Pain relief is a big one- my dog massively improved on pain relief because the pain relief... well, relieved pain yes, but also it meant that she could walk for a little longer, build more muscle, keep fitter, which in turn kept her joints mobile and stabilized.


Keep them warm as Aonb says.

One thing I find really helps is just sticking the dog into the car to go shopping or to the bank or whatever. Obviously do not do this on sunny days- but my dog adores coming to visit friends and potter around their kitchens, or coming to tesco, or whatever. She waits in the car while I run errands, I stop at some point and give her a five minute walk. Works for her. She just loves the company.

Glucosamine looked promising initially but now the evidence is such that I do not give it to my dog. Seems like there's no point since there's little likelihood of benefit, I'd just be fooling myself. Unlikely to hurt though.

reeta

Thanks for all your replies, very informative and helpful. She has been in great form the last couple of days, like her old self, barely limping, it would be very easy to bring her on one of our long walks, but I better hold off. Did not give her a pain killer today, she just didnt seem to need one, hope that was ok??

As it is she comes everywhere with me in the car (I have been known to talk to her when I am driving to work, then realise she is at home . I am keeping her warm and have cut down on the food she gets twice a day so i can use some for her Kong.

I imagine she will get worse as she gets older so will look into the injections mentioned then. She seems to tire easily now though so I make sure no one goes near her when she is asleep. Told my OH we will have to move to a warm country for the dog, believe me he would for her Again thanks for the replies.

aonb

reeta wrote: »

Thanks for all your replies, very informative and helpful. She has been in great form the last couple of days, like her old self, barely limping, it would be very easy to bring her on one of our long walks, but I better hold off. Did not give her a pain killer today, she just didnt seem to need one, hope that was ok??

As it is she comes everywhere with me in the car (I have been known to talk to her when I am driving to work, then realise she is at home . I am keeping her warm and have cut down on the food she gets twice a day so i can use some for her Kong.

I imagine she will get worse as she gets older so will look into the injections mentioned then. She seems to tire easily now though so I make sure no one goes near her when she is asleep. Told my OH we will have to move to a warm country for the dog, believe me he would for her Again thanks for the replies.

You will see how much meds she needs to keep her sound. Since she has just started taking medication it is going to be more effective and obvious.

My own little crock is coming right again. Was lame since xmas eve. He wants to do his usual routine now hes sound again but we've made this mistake before and undid all the recovery. So keeping up with the 3 short walks for another while, and bit of reduce diet so he doesn't gain while not exercising. Advice i should follow too !!!!!

tk123

aonb wrote: »

You will see how much meds she needs to keep her sound.

Do you give the medicine all the time or just when they need it for X amount of days? I don't want him to be in pain but I'm a bit worried about long term use and liver damage?... And I don't think he's sore enough to need cartophen yet? We're almost at the end of the last bottle of metacam that we got months ago when he got hurt in the park so going to ask for tablets this time because of them swapping bowls at mealtime - I usually just pump it onto his food because he won't have it in his mouth!

The second wrist support might be coming tomorrow - I got an alert earlier from parcel wizard so we'll see what its like and how he gets on with two! I hurt him putting the other one on the other day - I was trying to be lazy and kind of slide it where I need it and squeezed his toes a bit harder than I realised - I was promptly told not to do it again! :rolleyes::p The brat face - when I hurt him he threatens to eat me but say if he hurts himself in the park and a friend is there he cries his eyes out for sympathy! :pac:

aonb

Side effects of medication is always an issue with me - of course if the animal is in pain its not debatable, but if its manageable with reducing/increasing the meds, Im for it - my older dog was on meds for years, with possible liver side effects - so we reduced it to practically none in the summer, and with the help of other homeopathetic or natural remedies, reduced the meds year round, except when he was in trouble, and then went back to the recommended dosage. Our vet agreed that this was ok to do. Pepper was 17 when he was put to sleep. I think if you do your research, and if you know your pet, you can have a bit of flexibility with the meds (unless its a strict required daily dosage to maintain a condition of course)

Current terrier is a heavy blocky patterdale/jrt cross (neutered dog) and is starting to show signs of trouble much earlier (hes rising 8) Dont know if the Glucosamine/chrondritin hes on daily is helping or not, but when he has these episodes of lameness we lash on the natural remedies (arnica, calendula etc).

After last years cruciate ligament replacement we couldnt bear to have anything else going on with him, but its time to go to the vet now and see what the heck is causing this problem with the other leg on/off.

Latatian

Be careful- homeopathic remedies have not been shown to be effective in animals for pain or any other condition, in fair tests. They are unnatural (since by definition homeopathy cannot exist in nature, it must be sucussed, needs purified ingredients etc) and name chemicals that are thankfully not actually present in the remedy (because they are often very harsh!).

I would hate to be giving something to my pet and thinking it was doing wonders- and not having them actually have any relief. There is something called the 'caregiver placebo effect' which means that you cannot tell if something works just by giving it to your dog and observing what happens. Even if you gave the dog a sugar pill or a salt water injection, if the owner thinks it's medicine, they will see an improvement.

tk123

I'm the opposite - I'd rather spend a few cent a day on something that I can clearly see is helping him than not give him anything at all in case he thinks it's a placebo. Maybe for some conditions you can imagine improvements and maybe even for arthritis in different dogs affecting different joints you can imagine it.... but I'm not imagining my dog walking on on 4 legs vs 3 when he's sore. Myself and the vet certainly aren't imagining his death threats(!) lol :rolleyes::pac::pac: when he's sore vs allowing his joints to be manipulated freely when he's not! .... the brat lol!

Latatian

Funnily enough it's exactly in arthritis where owners and vets have both been shown to experience placebo effects. The dog doesn't think it's a placebo- he isn't helped at all, if it is. You are the one who sees a difference and it can be very convincing. People whose dogs have been given placebo will definitely see their dog walking on 4 legs vs 3 (lameness), see their dog being less aggressive on manipulation of the joint (this is literally what it was tested on) etc. It's a funny thing.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23113523

"A caregiver placebo effect occurred 44.8% of the time when veterinarians examined dogs for lameness at a walk, 44.8% of the time when veterinarians examined dogs for lameness at a trot, and 43.1% of the time when veterinarians evaluated dogs for signs of pain on palpation of the joint. "

tk123

I think we'll have to agree to disagree here. I don't see how anyone can imagine a dog struggling to walk on 3 legs vs being able to walk on 4.

It'a kind of insulting to be told you're imagining it too when you haven't got a clue about the dogs and owners you're dismissing as fools.

Latatian

I'm not saying anyone is 'imagining it' or 'fools'. The placebo effect is just a natural psychological effect that no-one is immune to.

It's not like 40% of pet owners or vets are 'fools',particularly the people who are willing to participate in such a study- who would presumably be people who care deeply about their dog's health, since that's the kind of person likely to participate.

Just that because of these effects you cannot tell whether your dog is actually receiving an effective treatment by looking at whether he limps or not when you know what treatment he is getting. That the nature of human memory and thought means that we cannot correctly evaluate that. I understand the temptation to agree to disagree, but I think that this is a case where the evidence is very clear.

Think of all the odd treatment you hear about that someone knows 'absolutely works for their dog'. Motor oil for mange and all that. Very clever people have believed in these things. It's not 'dismissing' them to point out that the evidence shows that this is an unreliable method of ascertaining what works.