dog with joint disease

poppyjay

hi my dog lottie loo loo (lab) has degenerative joint disease(the word we no it as begins with a but cant spell)
i was looking for some advice on pain management she takes rimadyl and easyflex at the min she was on max dose of rimadyl but we have managed to lower abit for when she get really bad
she has wheatbags for her joints and also a paddleing pool when its warm enough as we are finding she is not getting on very well with walk to far at min we have two other labs we take all three out together and as we live on a farm lottielooloo bring herself home when it gets too much and waits for us but we are finding each day she is not getting as far as before has anyone any idea as she is only 8 she thinks and acts like a pup thank you

pboae

If you can get her bed up off the floor it will help. There a lots of commercial ones you can buy, or you can make a home made doggy futon by cutting a packing pallet down to size and putting a soft bed (e.g. a duvet) on top of it.

You could also ask your vet whether hydrotherapy would help, it's not suitable for all joint problems, but it can make a big difference for some dogs.

robwend

aw pooor baby. is the dog happy?

JennyW_2

I'm sorry to hear of your dog's condition I too was going to suggest hydrotheraphy as an excellent form of exercise to help strengthen muscles, however it doesn't come cheap if done on a regular basis, however would your insurance cover this (if you are currently claiming).

How about getting him on Glucosamine and chondroitin? also you could give him a couple of capsules of devils claw a day. I give this to my dog. It's a natural anti-inflammatory.

It may be worth considering changing Rymadil over to Metacam? My dog has mild arthritis and the rymadil did nothing for him but the Metacam worked wonders, we have now managed to lower his daily dose. It may be worth considering. Good luck. I know how upsetting it is to feel they are uncomfortable.

Raksha

Green lipped muscle can help with joint problems, and Devils Claw is a natural anti inflamatory I seem to remember.

pboae

I thought easyflex was a herbal (glucosamine and chondroitin) supplement.

southernscouser

Sorry to hear that about your woofer!

My dogs got a bit of arthritis. I know it's not the same but we bought him a collar with a magnet sort of thing in it. It's helped him a little bit so might help your little mutt. I'm not to sure!

This is just a quick google search to give you an idea! It could all be mumbo jumbo! :rotfl:

http://www.worldofmagnets.co.uk/store/shopfront/magnetic_animal_collars.htm

jaxxy00

Sorry about your dogs health. Our dog, now 4 was diagnosed with severe hip dysplasia at the age of 2, after having xrays due to odd episodes of walking etc.

He has a Synoquin tablet daily ( started off on a loading dose for 6 weeks) and also has hydrotherapy pool sessions weekly/fortnightly which does him the world of good. I know this because due to ill health a few months back (head tilt and neurolgical symptoms) he was unable to go swimming for about 2 to 3 weeks and he then had problems getting up and down easily from laying. He was also a bit wobbly when walking. The swimming really does help.

Luckily our M&S pet insurance pays for all of this and no excess to pay either. The tablets are about 20p short of £50 per pot. The hydrotherapy sessions are £12.50 a time which when first started they do 2 a week for 3 minutes a time then build up to once a week for 15 minutes (although can vary depending on the dog but they never go over 15 minutes as far as im aware). These sessions will be for life as like we have had explained, if he stopped going the muscles weaken and slacken (the same as when we go to the gym) and you have to start from scratch again.

Although he has the tabs and swimming, we are not to take him for long walks, as when they have these problems they recommend to take them more often for walks throughout the day but just short walks.

kaya

this is gonna sound a bit like snake oil ---
my mum has bred shelties and shepherds over the last 20 years and tried allsorts of meds for joint disfunction
the best medication she found was a magnetic neck collar!, sounds a bit unbelievable but you dont get the placebo effect with dogs and for the sake of a few quid its worth a try, it really made a visible difference to the dogs movement and stiffness

JennyW_2

kaya wrote: »

this is gonna sound a bit like snake oil ---
my mum has bred shelties and shepherds over the last 20 years and tried allsorts of meds for joint disfunction
the best medication she found was a magnetic neck collar!, sounds a bit unbelievable but you dont get the placebo effect with dogs and for the sake of a few quid its worth a try, it really made a visible difference to the dogs movement and stiffness

they work for some, not for others. I bought one but it didn't make any difference to my dog unfortunately

poppyjay

hi thanks for all your ideas lottielooloo seem a bit better today i think the changeing weather does nothelp her .she avery happy dog thinks she a pup always getting her head stuck catflap/buckets/chickenrun the vets says shegot another year left we got her and her sister from lab lifeline trust and start ofyear and couldnt get insurance as she already hadproblem the vets doesnot want to change her to metacam yet as she respones well to rynodol but its there for the future .we had her on synquine but she wouldnt take them she new were there hiding in all her food so vet changed to easyflex.im going to get her a magnet coller has anyone tried the magnet bedding? thank you for everyones help