kermat

Joint Guard is great and I've found it cheapest on ebay - around $60 for the 400g tub (it was $70+ when I saw it in Pet Stock). Since we've been putting that in Judd's dinner I haven't noticed him limping although he's a little wobbly when he first gets up from a sleep (aren't we all!!!) Also fish oil capsules are good too, I buy the Blackmores odourless ones and you can usually find them on special at Chemists and Health Food stores, I think the 400's are usually around $30. I was told to give one 1000mg tablet per 5kg of doggie (barring any adverse effects of course, if its too much fish oil for them I think they can get the runs), Judd is about 20kg so I give him 4 tablets in his dinner. The combination of the fish oil and the Joint Guard has really helped, fortunately we haven't needed to resort to Cartrophen injections yet. Judd has his arthritis from a luxating patella which we are going to get checked again in a couple of months, and because he's only a young dog we'll be considering surgery. Unfortunately its already caused the arthritis in his back leg but I'm happy that it can be managed by using these natural supplements and making sure he doesn't get overweight.

Sorry don't mean to hijack this thread but I would also be interested in people's experiences with this operation, recovery times etc etc. My 2 year old beagle Judd has a luxating patella and we were told after the initial x-rays that he was borderline for surgery so we decided to manage it with fish oil and Joint Guard supplements as he didn't appear to be in too much pain. Last week I was at the vet for his annual vaccination and she gave him a check over and said his knee is luxating approx. 70-80% of the time (poor little fella!!) and that we should now seriously consider the surgery. Vet suggested we bring him back in 3-4 months and they'll have another look and we can discuss our options. I'm pregnant and our baby is due in June next year so I was thinking maybe I could start my maternity leave early and get Judd's surgery done then if he's going to need constant care and monitoring - or is the recovery time fairly quick?? If its only a week or two I was thinking maybe we could get it done before the Easter break then my husband and I could just take a few days off each or maybe get my parents to look after him. Thoughts??

If you can afford it invest in a good Dyson vacuum cleaner, we love ours and it is fantastic at sucking up all the doggie hairs from the couch, carpet and also inside the car (with the right attachments) The only disturbing thing is how quickly the barrel gets full........ Yuck!!

Cool, thanks for the info. The verdict from the vet was that the grade of his luxating patella was around 2.5, with 1 being not so bad and 4 being pretty bad. So he's borderline for needing surgery. Given that we could clearly see on the xrays that he's already got some arthritis developed around his knee, and also that it doesn't seem to bother him that much he still runs around and jumps up and just has the occasional limp - so we decided to pass on the surgery for now and stick to managing his arthritis with fish oil and glucosamine supplements. Poor little fella, not quite 2 years old yet and already got arthritis........ At least it doesn't slow him down much though!!

Got our second opinion about Judd's knee on Saturday while at the vet for the boys annual check up. He's booked in for x-rays on Wednesday but the vet thinks he will most likely need surgery. She watched me walk him up and down the waiting room a few times and could clearly see he was favouring his right back leg, then she manipulated it a bit and you could hear his knee clicking!! Poor little guy :rolleyes: So we'll wait and see what the x-rays show on Wednesday. He's not even 2 years old yet so if the surgery is going to help him then I'll definitely get it, but I also don't want to put him through it unless its absolutely necessary. A lot of people have told me its not really worth it as your dog usually ends up with arthritis later on anyway. I've already got him on Joint Guard powder, and he still runs around the backyard like a maniac so it can't be bothering him TOO much!!

My boy Max had a very mild case of kennel cough a few months ago. I took him to the vets for a proper diagnosis - mainly because I couldn't tell whether it was kennel cough or had something stuck in his throat!! I wouldn't have said the noise he was making was a cough, it sounded like he had a hairball or something stuck. Anyway the vet gave him an anti-inflammatory injection to make him more comfortable (and it definitely worked, he was certainly happier afterwards) and prescribed him a course of antibiotics. I am very VERY against taking antibiotics when its not warranted and given that kennel cough can also be caused by a virus I was skeptical about treating him with antibiotics - but the vet said that kennel cough had been rampant in the area and initially she was not prescribing antibiotics for the dogs she saw but they always came back a few days later with secondary infections. So the antibiotics were really just as a precaution, I gave them to him and he was fine after a couple of days. Just make sure you keep your doggie nice and warm and give him food thats not too hard or crunchy and might irritate his throat. And lots of cuddles!!!

I've had some concerns about feeding raw bones lately too - the last few times the boys have had bones (we just get a variety from the markets, usually split lambs necks and beef chuck), I've gone into the laundry the next day to let them outside and there has been a puddle of yellow froth with a hard white chunk - which I presume is a bit of bone - in it. We ran out of bones last week and this throw-up hasn't appeared again since. I might just stick to chicken frames!!

Thanks everyone. My hubby made me put my hand on Judds knee last night while he moved his leg and I could actually feel it clicking, although Judd really didn't seem bothered by it!! He was still running around like crazy. After doing some research online I've ordered a tub of Joint Guard as a preventative measure so we'll see how that goes, but I am leaning towards not going ahead with surgery. Next time we're at our usual vet for a checkup/vaccination I'll get his opinion, and even maybe a third opinion if necessary - unless Judd gets worse in the meantime.

Both my boys eat grass - they're like furry 4 legged lawnmowers!!! - I think its a combination of them liking the taste of it and sometimes using it to settle their stomachs. Most of the time it goes straight through them and I have to pick up very grassy poops, but the other day Max started hacking like he was going to vomit, then ran straight outside and started munching grass. After awhile he seemed fine, and went back to sleep!! They especially love nice long green grass, they'll munch away for ages!! If your puppy is doing it I wouldn't worry.

Thanks for the responses so far. I was actually wondering if the operation would be worth it given that he doesn't seem to be having much, if any, trouble with the leg and most dogs get arthritis with old age anyway. Will definitely keep more of an eye on his weight though, that is a good point. And I might start searching around for a good joint supplement to add to his food, prevention is better than cure eh!!

Hi everyone! My beagle boy Judd has been diagnosed with a luxating patella. He had a bit of a fall last year and limped on and off for a little while afterwards, but since then has been running around normally with no problems so we weren't particularly worried. However my husband thinks that he has been favouring the back leg in question recently, so while he was at the vets the other day to get some drops for an ear infection he asked the vet about his leg and was told luxating patella. I'm not entirely convinced however, this was not our usual vet as because it was only an ear infection (he's had them before) and we knew we just needed some drops we just took him to the vet up the road which is within walking distance, instead of driving to our regular vet. I also haven't noticed Judd limping or being in any discomfort or pain but my husband says he has noticed occasional limping. Judd is 21 months old. This vet said that he will require surgery at a cost of $1200 - $1500 otherwise he will get arthritis as he gets older. So I will definitely be getting a second opinion from our regular vet - I'm not concerned about the cost so much, we can't really afford it but if Judd needs the surgery we will find a way, but I don't really want to put him through surgery if there is an alternative. I assume he will need to be crated for some time afterwards to recover meaning my husband and I will have to take time off work and I can tell you right now, Judd will hate being crated and confined!! Should I be in a rush to get a second opinion, or is it something that can just wait until the next time we are at our regular vet, given that it doesn't really seem to be affecting him much - he's still as hyper as ever and runs around like crazy!! Also would it be worthwhile to start adding a joint supplement like Sasha's Blend or Joint Guard to his dinner?? And can anyone from Perth recommend a vet who is experienced in this procedure and could do it for a reasonable price?? Thanks in advance for your responses

I believe dogs are carnivores but I feed my boys a balanced diet of mostly meat, but with some veggies and grains. They LOVE eating grass though, the longer and the greener the better - I think its an old wives tale that dogs eat grass to make themselves sick when they feel unwell because my boys have never thrown up after eating it, they love it they're like little furry 4-legged lawnmowers!!

If you're north of the river I would suggest Joondalup Dog Training (www.joondalupdogtraining.com.au). I haven't tried it yet myself however its been highly recommended to me - the way I understand it is that you join up and become a member and they hold training classes every week for various levels, and you go to as many or as little as you like. I really should get around to joining!!

Thanks Huski was just about to ask the same thing!! Hubby and I both have bikes now and we've finally got our hands on two walky dog bike attachments - we've taken the boys out twice so far but haven't been terribly successful. Max isn't too bad although he just stops randomly and refuses to go any further, but Judd leans as far away from the bike as possible, I feel like I am dragging him and also it looks quite strange, like some sort of sideways-trotting beagle-crab!! Both times we only went slowly and only for about 10 minutes each time, am I just expecting too much too soon or does it take a few tries before they get used to it?? I really hope they get to love it, especially Judd, he's got so much energy but we can't let him off lead because he won't come back!! (darn beagles and their noses!!)

I saw the whole range of Frosty Paws at my local Woolies yesterday - I was tempted by the ice cream treats but they didn't appear to have any nutritional value and at $4.99 for only 4 and given that I have two dogs I thought, nah!! The patties might be worthwhile to have in the freezer in case I ever run out of home made dog food though!!