Can we talk about doggie arthritis?

[Deleted]

One of my dogs has it. He's between 9-11 years old and in the last few months has REALLY slowed down. I had him at the vet a few weeks ago for shots and such and they did bloodwork and a full exam and determined that it's just arthritis (but we could do x-rays at some point in the future if nothing helps). He's been on Rimadyl for a couple of weeks and has little improvement, so we're adding a painkiller on top of it.

The vet says to only walk him for 5 minutes at a time, so we've been doing a trip around the block (which honestly is probably more like 10 minutes with all the dawdling - I have been letting them sniff around and walk slowly since our walks are so short and they LOVE them). He's still having a hard time with that, even.

If you've dealt with arthritis before, can you tell me a little bit about your dog routine and what helped/didn't help? I wonder if I need to start walking them every other day. I mean we honestly don't walk every day anyway (we have a yard) depending on what's going on, but when I walk them 2 days in a row it seems like he does worse the second day. 

I also will pay whatever is needed - but - rimadyl is very expensive and I don't want to blow a ton of money on it if it's not even doing much. I think he may be standing up a LITTLE easier but he's still obviously weak and can't do things like jumping up on the couch without assistance. If it continues not to work, what else can I pursue? 

Also, I'm really bummed that our long walks are essentially over for good Nothing I can do about it, but I hate it.

[dirtyred]

Rimadyl worked well for my arthritic dog, but obviously as the disease progressed it became less effective.  I feel for you.

[y4m]

Glucosamine helps mine some. He was never much for a very long walk. We have stairs around the house to help him get around, like up onto the couch or bed so he doesn't have to jump and stress his joints.

[CrazyLucky]

My boy will be 10 next week. He's started getting arthritis in his hips, but not as bad as yours yet. He is ok for regular length walks, and for whatever reason, prefers walking on pavement to grass. When we play a lot, especially fetch, he has a noticeable limp. The vet sold us some Glyco-Flex chews and they make a noticeable difference. It was $30 for 120. For a while we were giving him 4/day, but now he's doing better so it's more like a couple chews per week. I hope you find something that helps your dog feel better. They're so sad and pathetic when they can't play anymore.

[Susie]

Doggie D is 8 and is on glucosamine chondroitin to slow down the process, but I think we're at a less advanced stage than you are. He doesn't go on walks on pavement all that often; most of his exercise is in the backyard, either fetch or chasing his sister.

[midwest07]

How is your dog's weight? That is certainly something that can help/hurt arthritis.

I also thought that exercise was actually recommended for arthritis, you need to help keep their joints and muscles strong. Our theory for our old dog was that if she wants to go, then we let her. It just takes longer to recovery after a big walk.

You may consider changing the diet. You are trying to avoid inflammation, so anything that can cause inflammation is going to make it worse, such as wheat, soy, etc. You could transition to a raw/natural diet, but sometimes that is hard on the tummy for an older dog.

I would definitely add in a supplement, something like Cosequin or sea jerky chews.

[mich1]

The mutt has arthritis of his spine and it very much affects the way he walks and moves. The vet said that glucosamine is not effective against arthritis in his spine.

When this journey first started out, he was on gabapentin (100 mg twice/day) and prednisone (2.5 mg once/day) which really seemed to do a good job of making him comfortable. The prednisone turned him into even more of a food monster, and keeping his weight down is important. So we looked into a series of laser treatments (I think it was 6 over a 2 week period) and tapered him off the prednisone as the laser treatments proceeded, but kept him on the gabapentin. In the past 2 years, he's needed 2 touch up treatments (I think just 2 sessions) to get him back. The gabapentin seems to be holding him, and I think his 3 month supply runs us around $35.

About exercise, we let the dog drive it. If he is hurting, we don't force him to walk far. If he's moving stiffly, we lift him into the car rather than letting him jump.

Another thing I've noticed is that on cold/dreary days, he tends to sleep on our waterbed rather than on the sofa or floor. I suspect it's because it's a lot warmer and the warmth feels good.

[Deleted]

Apr 28, 2015 14:07:52 GMT -5 midwest07 said:

How is your dog's weight? That is certainly something that can help/hurt arthritis.

I also thought that exercise was actually recommended for arthritis, you need to help keep their joints and muscles strong. Our theory for our old dog was that if she wants to go, then we let her. It just takes longer to recovery after a big walk.

You may consider changing the diet. You are trying to avoid inflammation, so anything that can cause inflammation is going to make it worse, such as wheat, soy, etc. You could transition to a raw/natural diet, but sometimes that is hard on the tummy for an older dog.

I would definitely add in a supplement, something like Cosequin or sea jerky chews.

He's a prettty normal weight. It's hard to say what's ideal since he's a mutt, but he's on the lower end of his normal range right now. The vet said not to let him gain weight but wasn't concerned.

It's hard with a walk because he'll be doing fine, and then all of a sudden he'll trip or just get really slow. Usually by that point we're already on our way home, but we can't just stop KWIM? We have to get home. He gets SO excited about his walks and loves them, so I definitely don't want to cut them entirely. Especially since that's our main bonding time other than some snuggles (he isn't much into playing). I feel like he needs that time.

Good point about the food. I switched them to the Costco natural brand recently and now that I'm saying that, I feel like he's gotten worse since then. I used to have them on a more expensive food and then couldn't really afford it anymore so I switched, thinking Costco's brand was good enough. Maybe I need to switch them back and see if that helps. I can afford the nicer stuff again.

I do have him on Phycox as a supplement, but I will check out the others you mention. Thanks!

[mmp]

Zeel (the tablets) worked for my dog. There's a study that says it works as well as rimadyl, without the complications.
I used Glyco flex III and anything with perna mussels in it.
Springtimeinc.com has some good products that don't cost an arm and a leg.

[momof2boys]

There are a ton of options for arthritis and pain in dogs, if the Rimadyl isn't helping I'd ask your vet to try something different. There is no point in spending money on Rimadyl if its not working, and unfortunately all of the arthritis meds tend to be expensive. My dads dog was on Deramaxx and it worked great and another popular one is Previcox.

Glucosamine would also be a great option as a supplement, along with a pain reliever/NSAID.

[aspentosh]

Our American Bulldog has arthritis and we had her on Zeel for the last few months. I have noticed a HUGE improvement. I didn't see a big improvement until about a month in, so it could still be coming.

Sadly Zeel isn't being made in the US or Canada anymore so we're trying something else that is much more expensive. Our vet said T-Relief (available on Amazon) is pretty much the same thing but there aren't studies to show improvement so she won't "recommend" it yet. I think we're going to switch to it though.

[dexteroni]

Aw poor pup! Dexter had arthritis. We had him on Cosequin and Vitamin E, and those helped. But the thing that helped the most was taking him for acupuncture. It was kind of costly, but it was really effective. Plus, the holistic vet was great about helping him with other doggy aging issues, and we were able to keep him off a lot of the medications that can be hard on the organs over time.

As far as activity, we let him dictate that. We noticed he was chasing the ball for shorter amounts of time, and slowing down on walks sooner, so we just stopped when that happened. We got him a little set of steps to get up on the sofa, and added more dog beds and soft rugs for him to lie down in comfort.

[tripleshot]

Our dog gets Tramadol as a pain med. the vet says it's not addictive and he can have it when he needs it up to every 6 hrs. I've heard Rimadyl can be very bad for dogs and not to use it long term. I don't have any evidence for that, though. I need to google.

[indylady]

Our lab had bad arthritis towards the end of his life - we cycled through Rimadyl, Deramaxx, Carprofen and Tramadol. We also started glucosamine chews when he was around 7 before things got really bad, which I think really helped slow things down. For us, it was mostly trial and error. We tried to pay attention to his pain and give him meds appropriately.

I don't have an answer necessarily but I commiserate. Luckily there are options!

[dexteroni]

Apr 28, 2015 20:40:40 GMT -5 @fivedogs said:

Vitamin E and fish oil can also help.

Oh yes, we also used fish or flax oil. We poured it on his food.

[dexteroni]

Apr 28, 2015 20:58:22 GMT -5 Stan said:

I think they're going to love really being able to taste it

Dexter loved it. He would get all excited when I would get out the bottle.

[mich1]

Apr 28, 2015 23:27:01 GMT -5 @rennido said:

I've done acupuncture for my dog with degenerative disc issues.

I know my doc has done it for arthritic dogs and it makes a huge difference.

Yep, that's the game plan if/when the laser stops working for us.  The vet office we go to is certified in both and they say usually patients will start out with one or the other mode, it will work for awhile, then switch to the other.

I started with the laser as it was easier for the mutt and it worked almost immediately.

[jeaniebueller]

My doggie had really bad arthritis for the last 3-4 years of her life. We did the pain meds and glucosamine tablets. That is all that really helped. We also kept her on one floor and installed doggie ramps wherever there were steps and put throw rugs everywhere where there was tile or hardwood, so her hips wouldn't give out when she slipped all over.

[bernergirl]

My 7-year old Bernese has arthritis in his hips and knees. He's on rimadyl (we get the generic quellen, which helps with the cost) and tramadol 2x day. H does get tests every 6 months because of the rimadyl but is responding well to it.