Arthritis in dogs ?

[zildjian]

Need some advice,
our older Springer has for some months now had trouble moving about, we think its an arthritic problem more than anything else, we had heard of pills from vet that can help & I've been reading up on these two main types and they seem to come down as either fast or slow acting.

We were wondering (given the number of dog owners after last weekend) if anyone had any experience in this please.

obviously a trip to the vet shortly, but any experiences/side effects might be useful so that we can ask sensible questions

thanks Zildjian & Sue

[rubberrat]

We tried all the vet options and various other 'hocus' remedies with Dex (for other members, also s Springer) and to be honest nothing made any difference.
I thought Taz looked remarkably chipper over the weekend, despite his advanced years. He gave no ground to that upstart from over the border.

[zildjian]

Depends on his mood,
He won't come upstairs at bed time just at the moment (but will head off by himself if ignored for 30 seconds by us downstairs)


well anyway you know their ways

[keeflester]

We tried all the vet options and various other 'hocus' remedies with Dex (for other members, also s Springer) and to be honest nothing made any difference.
I thought Taz looked remarkably chipper over the weekend, despite his advanced years. He gave no ground to that upstart from over the border.

Young dug is offended by your remark and promises to bite your balls next time he sees you. He actually got on really well with the old guy, what you witnessed was Scottish banter.

[TrueDink]

I had a German Shepard who had hip problems in later life. Other German Shepard owners who had similar problems swore by VetVits Flexi-Joints.

http://www.healthspan.co.uk/Vetvits/dog ... s-for-dogs

I tried them and they made a huge difference.

[zildjian]

Thanks,
From what I've read so far those may fall into the 'slow' category of treatment I mentioned,
Fast acting offer immediate relief from inflammation (which he doesn't yet suffer)
so presently these might be the group we heard elsewhere work well.

We know in later years of dogs/horses life these things are a sticking plaster of course and you don't somehow restore them to an earlier creature, but as long as he's mobile and happy we are

[RollingStones]

Hi all
I joined to post to this topic as I've had a few experiences.

I’ve had a couple dogs with arthritis over the years and here’s what helped most. Glucosamine can be given to dogs of any age and helps “lubricate” the joints, that’s half the battle. As they worsen you can add low dosage aspirin (or children’s aspirin) to help with the pain and inflammation.

Greets to my fellow pet campers!

Rob

*edited to add the above can help two legged creatures with arthritis as well !*

[Madmountainman]

As just mentioned, Glucosamine and aspirin are ok. I've had three GSD's and have had good results from Metacam, which is an anti-inflammatory.

[FinAde]

Same here. I give our GSD ✖ a joint stick after her walk (they contain glucosamine) and if she's really stiff some glucosamine 'gravy' on her dinner. Has really helped her mobility.

[zildjian]

those are the brown chewy looking sicks I imagine aren't they