Arthritis
Submitted by animal005 on July 22, 2011 - 6:18pmOur 7 year old female bully(Winnie) now has arthritis in both her elbows in her front legs. She had it in one of her back legs, but that only acts up the first part of winter. She was limping really bad so we took her in to the vet. She was given Rimadly for two weeks, which helped some. We then took her back since she was still limping. They took x-rays and saw the arthritis. She is now on Previcox (1/2 227mg pill as needed) and I just picked up Tramadol (2 pills as needed). She also gets a shot of Adequan (1.2ml once a month). My husband is going to build some stairs for her to access the couch without jumping. She had a couple good days and is now limping. My concern is that she is already very lazy (probably sleeps 22 hrs of the day) and I don't want her to stop the little moving she does. Any suggestions as to what has worked for others would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Sarah
Poor little girl !
Please bear with me as I am not a vet nor a bully genious , Do you know if you have a holistic vet near you ?? We have one in our city , and i find them so knowledgable and cheaper , Also they give you alot of options on how to help our fur babies without hurting their bodies with harmful medicines and antiboitics that most vets readily give out. Please let me confirm that I am in no way against regular vets as I find them just as nessassary . Just an idea of something you could do for her. Also what kind of diet are you feeding her ? unfortunately there is no such thing as a low-carb dog food. Just be aware that grains (which make up a large component of dry dog food) tend to increase inflammation and aggravate arthritis. A better alternative would be to switch to home-prepared meals with either cooked or raw meats and vegetables.I had to do this with my last bully do to allergies , it is time consuming but if she's not allergic to anything it's really not that expensive at all ! However, if you don’t want to prepare meals for your little sweetie then cut back on the dry food and start adding a cup of fresh veggie “salad” every day. Celery is excellent for the joints. I often chop up lettuce, celery, cucumber, some carrot, and any other fresh vegetables I have on hand. Just make sure to cut all vegetables into very small pieces for easy digestion (a food processor is perfect for this) and don’t use onions or mushrooms they are toxic for dogs and cats . You can also apply moist heat , give her massages and make sure she's not having to go up and down alot of stairs ! Hope my " Suggestions " help !
Food
Our other bully has really bad allergies, so they are getting natural balance (duck and potato or venison and sweet potato). We already are putting either vegetables or fruits in their food. We have never tried celery, so they will get a new treat this weekend. I will also try a doggie massage too. She has been having to go out in the front since there are less stairs. She isn't happy about it, since she loves to sleep on our deck and roll in the yard. She also isn't much of a leash dog and in the front yard she has to wear one. Thanks for your suggestions.
Your so welcome ! How much
Your so welcome ! How much does she weight ? Can you pick her up without hurting her or yuou ? If so then carry her out to her fav place :) Happy Puppy = Happy MOmma ! Good luck !
Glucosamine....
If not already on some joint supplement, you should start on glucosamin with condroitin and MSM like Glycoflex III, or Cosequin or something similar....some people use human supplements with good results. We have an elderly, almost 13 year old whose arthritis has been an issue for the past 4 or 5 years. We occasionally give aspirin. She always gets up for company or the grandkids though. Vet won't give the Rimadyl or Deramaxx because of slightly elevated liver numbers on her CBC, but I have given her some that were given to me and give only occasionally because I would like to see her once in a while not sleeping on the couch or recliner--a single dose seems to give her some relief for a couple of days. Good luck!
that's what I was going to say Glucosamine.
nm
Adequan
We tried giving her pills with glucosamin in them, but they didn't agree with her. We even tried cutting the pills and it still didn't help. So the vet start us on the Adequan (which has glucosamin). We just finished her last weekly shot last week and now we are on once a month. I am hoping that when this humid and heat leave she will be better. I know that sometimes arthritis is brought on by weather. Thanks for the information.
Where you giving doggie glucosamin?
or human pills straight with glucosamin. I like the Glycoflex III "chews" like Micki mentioned. The dogs eat them like treats. Adequan is good, we call it the lube and oil. But if she is still limping you might want to try the Glycoflex in addition to her monthly shots.
Norbert had arthritis and we gave him a buffered aspirin 2 x daily. On occassion he would need a Rimadyl so I always kept them on hand. He had knee surgery at age 7 and he lived until 11 1/2, he did spend alot of time on the couch and the front porch sunning.
Doggie Glucosamin
We tried two types of the doggie glucosamin (Synovi and Flex 2500). I will have to look for the Glycoflex III.
Reuben is 12 years old, been
Reuben is 12 years old, been giving him 1300mg of Glucosamine (500mg), Chondroitin (400mg) and MSM (400mg)... 2 tablets daily, been great for him! He would wake up limping, really slow, now he is much better, doesn't limp at all. The kind I give is the same for us adults, and the tablet kind, bought from Costco. I had him on the liquid form and that actually did nothing (although I read that the HCL type is better)... well the tablet form gave me much better results.
There are other supplements you can try
I give my old gal green lipped mussel. If your girl has a seafood issue, the velvet from deer antler is supposed to be good, also.
I've had my girl on prophylactic glucosamine/chondroitin since she was young. When she developed bad arthritis (from her lupus), I was amazed at her mobility improvement when I added GLM.
Good luck!
Olivia
Olivia -- Where do you get
Green Lipped Muscle?
I've bought from this company
http://www.greenhealth.co.nz/greenlippedmussel5.htm?gclid=CN-Eys2om6oCFQ...
I started Kano on Arthroplex about 5 months ago (it was recommended by someone on this board). It's cheaper and also contains GLM. The only thing it doesn't have is MSM. I give her the Arthroplex and Nu-Joint.
I've gone the water therapy/physical therapy route, and they helped. This supplement combo has done a lot for her mobility. I also just started warm castor oil compresses to her knees. I've done warm compresses before, but not with castor oil. I've been reading some good things about castor oil - I applied it to a mass on the side of her muzzle, and it shrank it right down. Maybe coincidence, but I figure it can't hurt!
Olivia
There are other supplements you can try
I give my old gal green lipped mussel. If your girl has a seafood issue, the velvet from deer antler is supposed to be good, also.
I've had my girl on prophylactic glucosamine/chondroitin since she was young. When she developed bad arthritis (from her lupus), I was amazed at her mobility improvement when I added GLM.
Good luck!
Olivia