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Gsd Arthritis Getting Worse


Kelpie-i
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Hi everyone

My very old GSD boy has been suffering from arthritis for a while now. He currently gets 6 monthly shots of cartrophen and I give him glucosamine mix with his meal each night. I also give him an asprin each day to help ease the pain (as per Vet's advice).

Over the last few weeks I have noticed some further deterioration in his movement. He was able to get up (albeit slowly) and move around okay but I notice that this is becoming increasingly difficult for him of late and he is dragging his feet more often. He still runs around the paddocks, but this is minimal and will then plonk down with a groaning sound where he will sit for a while as he recovers.

Is there anything else I could be doing/giving him to help him?

Any advice would be great. I will be talking with my Vet soon but am not sure if there is anything else (drugs wise) that will help.

Edited by Kelpie-i
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We use a medication called Previcox for Chloe's bad days. It is apparently safer than some of the other drugs and doesn't have (as many) side effects (I say 'as many' but I've not seen any). It is fast working and effective. We only give them to Chloe on her bad days at the moment, or if she has a couple of bad days running.

But hopefully your vet can advise you, if Cartrophen is effective perhaps more frequent shots are needed?

I also find that we need to help them cut back on rigorous activity (because we know they will try) and try to get them sticking to light, lower impact activity to stress the joints less. And the rest as in keep them warm etc - but you would already know that I"m sure!! :laugh:

I find that Chloe struggles right before Summer comes on (more so than the onset of Winter). Not sure why... I have strange dogs LOL!

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I find acupuncture helps...you won't see an improvement staright away but it will happen :laugh:

I also give my girl weekly shots of Cartrophen for a month in Winter and then one a month in the warmer months.

I find that she is worse at the change of seasons.

Does the Glucosmine have MSM in it?

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Yes I have definitely noticed that he gets worse during the change of seasons, especially before summer time. I wonder why that would be?

Thanks heaps for the suggestions guys. I think increasing the cartrophen shots may be the go, he seems to do well with those and obviously 6 monthly shots are no longer adequate. KL, I will ask my vet about the Previcox, sounds like it may help him on his bad days.

Cavs, yes the mixture has MSM and Condroitin (sp) as well.

He's definitely not as mobile as he was this time last year and I try to exercise him lightly but he insists on chasing the kelpies every now and again which I don't think is a good idea. But if I don't let him out into the paddock with the others, he stresses, cries and paces up and down. A bit of tough love is the go I think.....(should take some of my own advice for a change :laugh: )

I was also thinking of some gentle swimming sessions. Would this help or worsen?

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Acupuncture really only helps by increasing the circulation and improving muscle tone which in turn supports the joints (whic is what my vet acupuncturist told me in the simplest terms) so it may or may not be effective, you would need to try it.

My 7 year old has HD and has had 3 cruciate ops so also has some arthritis. Since the last op 4 months ago, he has been on Metacam daily, and the difference in him is incredible. He gets up and down so much more easily, he has so much more endurance when at the park or river, and he just moves so much more comfortably.

So even though he has the quarterly Cartrophen injections, it's the Metacam that has given him the greater quality of life. Something to ask your vet about :rofl:

ETA - swimming is great exercise because there is no weight on the dog :laugh:

Edited by ~ArtyFarty~
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I have just spoken with my vet and she will be coming out to see him nxt week. She does accupuncture as well so we will be combining meds and accupuncture. I have also been recommended to see a person who specialises in alternative therapies, so will definitely look into this too.

I'm sure a good combination of everything will help ease his discomfort and pain.

Thanks for all your replies.

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  Kelpie-i said:
I'm sure a good combination of everything will help ease his discomfort and pain.

And a hug from me. That'll fix 'im :laugh:.

Poor Buds ....

But on the subject of Cartrophen, when my horse (who has wear/tear in his fetlock joint) was in work, I used to administer the cartrophen every 3 months. The point of this was to protect the joints and keep them well 'lubricated'. Whereas many other people used to administer when they saw their horse beginning to come a bit sore again. When the animal becomes sore, it means the joint is already aggravated. Of course I know you'll talk to your Vet about things such as increasing frequency of the cartrophen doses and I accept that my first hand experience in this relates to horse, not dog.

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It's awful to know they must be in comfort - and yet you're doing all you think you can... and yet they still want to act like a puppy. Tough love yes, but to an extent. If he wants to run with the others he should be allowed in moderation (if possible). He needs quality of life too I say :laugh:

If only there was something to stop them ageing... he sounds like he's in good hands though. Hope he improves and is comfortable and happy.

GIve him a hug from all of us here! We love the oldies!

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I'll be looking at getting him back into swimming once I have consulted with the vet. He used to love it and I think it will help him.

He's been on cartrophen for a number of years now but we never 'upped' the frequency as he has been fine with the dosage up until now. Don't get me wrong, he is still mobile but with much more effort involved and the stiffening in his back legs is very evident. Poor baby...I feel so sorry for him and so useless as well. He's my number no.1 dog....my 'right hand man' who still helps me with puppy socialisation most weeks.

KL, I love old dogs too....they are very noble and if only they could speak.... I'm sure they'd tell many stories of the good ole days! :laugh:

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  Kelpie-i said:
Yes I have definitely noticed that he gets worse during the change of seasons, especially before summer time. I wonder why that would be?

Somebody told me it had something to do with atmospheric pressure :( there's probably some scientific reason

When I was working in a maternity hospital, we would always have prem births when it was a full moon :love:

I forgot to mention that my girl also goes to a vet who specialises in trigger point therapy,when she walks a bit funny becuase of her hips, she gets trigger points in her front leg

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im not sure if anyone has mentioned it but Ester-C is great for dogs with arthritic pain in dogs AND humans, its also being used with great success on dogs with Hip dysplasia. You can google it and see what I mean. I have used it on my own dogs and a ferret with a terrible case of rickets.. fixed him within weeks. I take it myself also as I have arthritis in my foot and knees. Usually through winter I can barely walk but since I have been taking it, I have little to no pain. The cheapest place to get it is Vitimin king website, best value is the 250 tab bottle. I hope this helps.

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I use ester c too.

I don't know if that is viable for an old dog with arthritis though, but anything is worth a try. And fish oil, fairly high doses, but check with the vet.

An old dog needs therapy and pain relief as he already had bad arthritis.

Steroids may temporarily relieve the swelling and help with the pain. Swimming would be great, but make sure he doesn't overdo it with excitment, 10 mins is probably enough as he will be sore otherwise.

There are some great books/articles around on Tellington, TTOUCH, that help arthritis via massage of pressure points etc. that you can do yourself daily to help with pain and also improve how the dog feels, lessen any depression due to the pain, feel good stuff :)

Poor old thing :( My 15 yr old ACD had bad arthritis for the last couple of years of her life, we just did whatever we could to make her comfortable and relieve the pain, that's really all you can do for them at that age, lots of hugs and kisses for your lovely old dog.xxxxxxxxxxxx

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Sorry :)

Just to add, although he may LOVE running around the paddock, it really would be much better for him if this is regulated, only allow him a very short burst of a few minutes. He would be in agony afterwards and running really aggravates arthritis more than anything else (except jumping). Let him have a LITTLE fun and maybe finish with a nice treat so he forgets that he didn't do much running. only 5 to 10 mins is HEAPS.

The only other suggestion I'd have is a sheepskin or 'snuggly' style rug/bed, this worked wonders for our older dogs, even though they were settee dogs, getting up and down on the settee was not comfortable and they all loved their snugglys :(

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definately acupuncture and chiro

glucosamine/MSM/chondroiten

fish oil tablets

antioxidant tablets (reveratrol)

and keep him moving. I let Diesel do what he wants as they can self regulate when off pain killers. I dont bother with NSAIDS at all with Diesel he just became reliant on them. Up the cartrophen and I would be chucking the aspirin but thats just IMO

Edited by Nekhbet
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Hey guys thanks heaps for all your suggestions. :grouphug: I really appreciate it.

The Vet is coming here on Wednesday to start the accupuncture and give him another cartrophen injection. I will discuss a few other things with her as well.

I also tried to contact a lady who does some massage therapy and have left a message on the voicemail, so hopefully I will get to talk with her about the possibility of ongoing massage etc.

I am hoping that increasing the cartrophen, accupuncture and a few other things, will assist him.

I think he gets adequate exercise for his condition and I will definitely get him back into swimming as soon as I have seen the vet. I will still let him 'run' with the other dogs as he certainly loves it but will bring him in after a while so that he doesn't over do it (Monah, I think he would love the idea of a yummy bribe to make him forget :laugh: )

Nek, just out of curiosity, why do you say no asprin??

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  Monah said:
I use ester c too.

I don't know if that is viable for an old dog with arthritis though, but anything is worth a try. And fish oil, fairly high doses, but check with the vet.

An old dog needs therapy and pain relief as he already had bad arthritis.

Spot on Monah :grouphug:

I use fish oil caps, Glucosamine, Ester C and green lipped muscle extract - none of them did anything that I noticed in the movement of my boy. But it's horses for courses so you have to try them to see what works for you and yours :laugh:

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I dont believe in long term medicating. I went through daily medicating with 2 dogs and it drove them into the ground, they run about like nothing is wrong when in fact a little pain could be making them slow down and not further injure joints.

alternative therapies worked better then just NSAIDS anyway for me

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Poor dog.

Drug-free things to do:

* Don't allow zoomies.

Dogs don't think about consequences- fun now, pain later.

* Warm, well-cushioned bedding

* Keep dog the leaner side of normal weight.

Drugwise, he's still got anti-inflammatories available e.g. Metacam.

A lot of people are very anti-drugs, but given the choice, I'd rather have a dog in less pain and risk side-effects.

Even a premature death with long-term meds would be preferable than seeing my dog in pain every day.

Most dogs are very stoic, too, so we don't know until the pain is pretty severe.

Far as I know they don't usually give both aspirin and anti-inflammatories as they're both harsh on the stomach (that's why should be given with food).

If you have the human medication and give the correct dose for weight of your dog it's much, much cheaper.

My vet suggested this after saying I had some anti-inflammatory medication at home.

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