Tips for Arthritis in Dogs?

[Narcissa]

I got back from the vet with my seven year old cockapoo, Sophie, and we took her in because we thought she may have Lymes disease. The blood work came back negative, however we found out she had arthritis in her front and back leg. She hobbles sometimes now, and scares me alot. The vet just said that she dosen't need to take any anti-inflammatory medicine or anything yet, but she needs very lightexercise everyday. Since she was a puppy, she's taken hour long walks twice a day, so we don't know how she'll react to having to take one fifteen minute a day.

Does anyone have tips on making her more comfortable?

[wolfgirl159357]

Well my dog is a 10yr old Cocker yorkie mix and she is starting to develop arthritis in her back and we just give her a steady diet adn a comfy place to sleep though if we see that she is in pain adn wants on the bed or couch we pick her up.

[SomebodyDude]

Sorry to hear that! My dog is 7 1/2 and we ,like wolf said, just try to make him as comfortable as possible.

[wolfgirl159357]

yup but the best thing we have for her is a buddy she has a 2 1/2 year old rhodesion ridgeback/plott hound named Sweetie that keeps her active.

[Narcissa]

Cool, thanks for the advice. We were going to get another dog, but Sophie didn't want to get a new one. Freaked out. But I have a nine year old sister.

[wolfgirl159357]

cool the reason we had to get Chuka(her name) a friend was because her mate we had to put donw he had cancer adn was 10 in 08.

[Misty Glen]

My oldest dog is about 14, several years past her life expectancy and she's had arthritis for many years now. The most effective thing we've used to treat it is fish oil. Just a teaspoon mixed in with every meal is enough, but she is a small dog (about 12kg/26lbs or so). If your dog is larger than this or the arthritis is particularly severe you may need more. You can pick some up from your local chemist in liquid form. The stuff meant for humans is fine for dogs too. If it's artificially flavoured, eg: lime, don't worry about it. Your dog isn't going to notice much if it's mixed in with their dinner.

Something else we used before we exclusively used fish oil is Glucosamine-Chondroitin powder (read more here: http://www.arthritisvic.org.au/pages.asp?d=5A4C5A717251477C7008060D0F0704). This seemed to be very effective, and there was a noticeable transition from old limping dog to sprightly young pup. Again this is a human medication, but it's still quite effective on dogs. We just sprinkled a heaped teaspoon of powder over her dinner. You can buy a large tub of it from your local chemist. It'll be a bit expensive (AU$45), but it's good value for money since it'll last for absolutely ages. If you have any questions or concerns I suggest you consult your local vet.

I don't see any reason why you can't use both, but if you have to choose one I would recommend the fish oil, for no better reason than the fact that its benefits aren't limited to arthritis treatment. I would also recommend you feed your dog fish at least once a week. Tinned tuna is fine. We've used catfood before, but I would recommend you read the ingredients first in case there's anything in there designed for cats which isn't appropriate for dogs.

[Vitani]

Misty, what kind of fish oil do you use? I use omega-3 supplements for my two right now anyway, just wondered if you use something different?



Arthritis is nasty, and very uncomfortable so a big part of managing it is keeping comfort levels up....


My 9 year old beagle has it in her hips and spine and takes a low-dose steroid intermittently ( mainly for another problem but it helps her arthritis too ) which is something that may happen later down the track for your pup...

But at the moment there are lots of things you can do....

Gentle excercise IS beneficial - She'll tell you whats too much. Sitting or laying down mid walk is a pretty sure sign shes had enough but its best not to get to that stage...Just slow walking, frequently. Three 10 minute walks are better than one 30 minute one, I've found....Its up to her really. It helps keep the joints mobile which does alot for reducing pain and inflammation....

Keeping the area warm helps too. My two are noticably stiffer and more sore in winter - They both have heat pads under their beds at night, and I try to not let them get damp...

Natural supplements like Misty suggested are awesome - They both get omega-3 ( though its given for skin, not arthritis but seems to help so I have no idea ) and my kitty has a daily vitamin/joint supplement formulated from green mussel and yeast which seems to help him stay active...As well as arthritis in his hips, spine and left foreleg, he also has cancer in the left fore....But you wouldn't know it!

Keeping weight down really helps - If your pup is overweight, thats just added stress on an already uncomfortable joint. Get the vet to body score her if you aren't sure wether she could lose a few pounds or not, I don't recommend just sticking her on a diet without consulting the vet first. If shes in peak condition, that just goes that little bit extra towards her total comfort...

Stairs suck if you have arthritis in the legs >.< If she has to go up and down alot of stairs regularly, you might want to consider installing a ramp, or changing her living arrangements. If shes an outside only dog, I'd invest in an insultated kennel, or better yet....Let her live inside

Be aware she may get more cranky as time progresses....She isin't being naughty, its just her only way of letting you know its painful. Arthritis can be crippling, but with good management it can take years, sometimes even never get to the point where her quality of life is seriously reduced...Just expect her to get up more slowly, not jump around so much, and ask for help in things like getting on a couch or the bed......


Then again, if its a mild case, you may find you don't encounter any of those problems!

Good luck and best wishes to Sophie...I hope its the mild kind!

[Ferox]

People here have good advice, but the one thing they're missing is...

PENTOSAN!

I am a vet and I spend a large part of my day injecting people's dogs and cats (sometimes horses) with Pentosan (also called Cartrophen, don't confuse it with carprophen).

It's an arthritis modifying agent which people report huge successes with. By that I mean I have someone different every week saying "We thought we'd have to put him down, but he's like a much younger dog again."

I recommend it to every arthritis case, and in the vast majority of cases it provides a great improvement in quality of life, even if the animal isn't getting glucosamine or fish oil. Talk to your vet about it, find out if they've got it. I always think it's worth it.

BTW: 1000mg of fish oil and glucosamine daily for a dog up to ~20kg, twice that for a 40kg dog, etc seems to be effective, but it's long term and you have to keep it up.

[Misty Glen]

The brand of Fish Oil we use is called Melrose, or something to that effect. Don't remember the exact name of the product. We're fresh out so I can't look it up. I recommend the liquid form simply because it can be easily mixed in with the dinner, and you don't have to have a big fight with your dog just to get them to swallow a tablet. Same applies to the powdered form of the glucosamine chondroitin stuff.

Also, liquid fish oil tends to be quite a bit more concentrated than capsules. A teaspoon of the stuff we use contains the same amount of omega-3 as about 6 capsules. I don't know about you, but I don't fancy attempting to feed my dog 6 pills a day.

On the subject of living environment, I thought I'd mention that stairs are very difficult for any arthritic dog. Mine has it in her spine, and even just a single step is difficult for her. She can also no longer jump up on to the furniture anymore either, so we find we have to lift her for a few things.

Also, with walks we tend to go on quite long walks since we also have a young dog that needs a lot of exercise. Plus there's usually two per day. Our old dog only comes on one of those, and we also find that when we do take her for a walk after a while she'll seem to have trouble keeping up. That's usually an early sign the arthritis is giving her a bit of trouble, that or her age making her tired a lot sooner. Either way, at that point we just pick her up and carry her for a bit. After 5 or 10 minutes she's ready to get down again, so there's no need to cut the walk short, and she loves the long walks.