How to help dog who is starting to struggle with back legs?

zaksmum

My dog Lucy is 10. She weighs over 40kg, so a big girl...a golden retriever cross.

She's starting to really struggle with her back legs:( & has two 45 minutes walk morning and evening, during which she will chase the pigeons but with a bunny hop gait.

When I take my other dog Jack(4) out for mid afternoon walk, Lucy doesn't want to come.

I've started her on glucosamine/chondroitin in the hope it'll help her but can't bear to see her struggling. She hauls herself up onto her front legs and with huge difficulty just about manages to get onto all fours. Today I tossed her a treat which landed just out of her reach and she just couldn't get to it, so I got up and brought it closer to her so she could scoff it. She sleeps with us upstairs and has trouble getting up the stairs, though a helping hand under her bum is much appreciated.

She has a good appetite and other than the mobility trouble, is a happy and much loved family pet, tail always wagging and loves everybody, especially my grandsons who adore her.

I'm praying "not just yet"...but how do I know when "it's time"?

elsien

Ah, sorry to hear that she's struggling. Maybe start looking at shorter walks? Might be worth a check up at the vet's - they couldn't do anything for mutt when she had the same problem but it can't hurt to at least ask. Is she carrying any excess weight that you can try to help her to shift?
And if she's happy enough in herself, eating and getting around, then you just have to accept it as age creeping up and her and take things as they come. Mutt got to the stage where she fell over every time she sneezed or hit an uneven bit of pavement, she was so wobbly, but it genuinely didn't seem to worry her. And in the end she was carried off by something else entirely.
Get her checked over, then see how it goes. Unfortunately sometimes that's all you can do - take things one bit at a time.

krlyr

I've used a Bioflow collar before and think it may have helped. May have just been a case of time being a good healer (it was for an injury rather than degenerative problems), but I've heard good things. You can get a brand called Armadillo that are a fair bit cheaper than Bioflow and still get good reviews though, so less of an expense to try out.

I've used various herbal supplements for my previous GSD who had hip dysplasia too, e.g. devil's claw, rosehip, Vitamin C to name a few. Dysplasia causes arthritic changes to the hips so arthritis treatments often help - this website is a fab read, from a dog owner's POV on all the various things they tried - http://dogaware.com/health/arthritis.html

As for when it's time..it's an impossible question to answer. Not only will it vary for the dog, but for the human too. Some people may have different views on how far to let a dog go down what is, essentially, a one-way route. Some people can manage health conditions better than others (for example, someone retired/working from home may be able to assist a dog more than a fulltime, away-from-home worker), some dogs cope with their limitations better.

You know your dog. If you trust your vet, let them give input too. For me, it was the day that Prue started crying (not just whinging, but quite distraught) because she couldn't get up - she'd gone beyond the aches and stiffness that we managed with her medication, and it must have been a distressing situation. I decided that since she'd reached the start of that stage, it would be fairer all around to call things a day. It may have been slightly earlier than some people would choose, but she was never getting better, and one morning of that much pain and distress was a morning too many in my opinion. I could be selfish and keep her around, but a dog doesn't know whether or not tomorrow is going to come or not. To me, it was the right time, although I did question it for quite a while (I knew it was the logical step, but you do doubt yourself at the time).

con1888

Hydrotherapy can help, not sure if that's something you have nearby. As always consult vet first of all.

meritaten

my springer was rather overweight at around that age and our walk of a morning was nearly an hour (I had to get a son who was a school refuser to school - and me and dog had to escort him all the way!) and walk back. meggie (the dog) would valiantly walk him to school and back home - but you couldn't shift her afterwards - she was exhausted - but the vet insisted she needed the exercise! I took pity on her and broke up her walks into 20 minute chunks four times a day. and she still struggled as she got to age 12.
Meg was a springer spaniel and the kids nicknamed her 'wobblebelly'! like most springers she was a glutton and it was a problem keeping her intake of food under control - she was dead scared of the cat but it didn't stop her trying to nick his food! she was spayed quite young and just seemed to 'pile on the pounds' afterwards despite a lot of walks and exercise.
Sorry to ramble on - I think my point is that forcing exercise on a dog unwilling to comply is a bit cruel. perhaps shorter walks more often would be kinder?
meg wasn't actually allowed 'upstairs' but every night she would lie across the bedroom door (and every night OH would swear as he tripped over her,lol).
I had to face it when she just couldn't struggle to her feet - The first time I had to lift her up - she licked my face and I knew, just knew, she was keeping going for US! by then she had continence problems too - if she needed to go out - it was 'out now'! or clean up a puddle or worse.
I really had to think about her quality of life - and was I keeping her out of love or selfishness?
I made the decision to have her PTS and haven't regretted it. it tears me up - but I think it was the right and kind thing to do.

Shoshannah

Several types of pain relief are available for dogs, which may make her more comfortable on her legs. Best make an appointment with your vet.

SadBunny

I always recommend Cetyl M. It is expensive but definitely worth a try - and I think it works quicker than glucosamine/chondroitin (g/c makes collagen, so another alternative and more immediate remedy would be to give good collagen supplements). Now I know how effective Cetyl M can be, I wouldn't waste time trying other supplements first. Of course all the other things like hydrotherapy and massage etc should help.

But you really should take Lucy to see the vet just to make sure that nothing else ails her. We might assume (and get told) it is just the ageing process - but sometimes we discover too late that it is actually something else, that we could have treated - if only we'd known in time.

Since she is such a happy and loved pet I really do think the Cety M could help.

Fosterdog

When my boys hips and legs started to go and X-rays showed very bad arthritis the vet recommended Cartrophen injections, 4 jabs a weeks apart at £12 each for a 35kg GSD. He went from us ready to let him go and being on daily meds to getting almost full mobility back and only needing painkillers occasionally. It's a bit of a wonder drug that rebuilds cartilage, improves blood supply and has no know side effects, the only downside is it only works for 70% of the time and it can be 6-8 weeks after the first jab before you see any improvement.

He had the jabs last July and only now he is starting to slow down again and need painkillers, he will be going for his second course of the treatment in the next two months, hopefully it will have the same effect this time.

Has your vet said what is causing the painful joints? Some conditions are more treatable than others.

Have you tried cutting walks altogether for a few days then slowly build up to a level and pace that is manageable?

zaksmum

Thanks everyone. I would pay anything to help her and the Cartrophen sounds like it may work for her. The vet has basically said keep her walking but this was just at her booster check up when I mentioned that she's becoming stiff. He didn't investigate the stiffness.

When she's seeming a bit sore I give her aspirin and it works wonders for her, but I'm aware that I can't be giving her aspirin every day.

I'll make an appointment with the vet, see what he says. She's fully insured so no worries about the cost.

Wellyboots6

Cartrophen worked for my GSD too, only he had the 4 jabs a week apart and then kept on a maintenance dose of a jab every month.

Shoshannah

zaksmum wrote: »

Thanks everyone. I would pay anything to help her and the Cartrophen sounds like it may work for her. The vet has basically said keep her walking but this was just at her booster check up when I mentioned that she's becoming stiff. He didn't investigate the stiffness.

When she's seeming a bit sore I give her aspirin and it works wonders for her, but I'm aware that I can't be giving her aspirin every day.

I'll make an appointment with the vet, see what he says. She's fully insured so no worries about the cost.

Be careful with aspirin, and make sure you tell the vet how much she had and when her last dose was - it may interact with the medication the vet prescribes.