Arthritis (catrophen Injection)

[GraceMcC]

Hey everyone,

I've recently had my 3 year old bullmastiff diagnosed with arthritis in his right hind leg.

I've spoken to the vet about different treatments and am currently having weekly injections (catrophen) for the next 4 weeks which is supposed to provide releif and help with movement in the leg, if it works I will be doing this every 6 months.

Has anyone used the above treatment? What was your experience?

Also are there any natural remedies anyone has found that worked well?

Thanks.

[Staffyluv]

Yep used it for years on my old stafford and it was awesome..

Fish oil supplements can be beneficial (personally I prefer to just feed fish like sardines, salmon and tuna in oil a couple of times a week).

[ness]

Hi GraceMcC - I have used cartrophen injections with both my dogs in the past with reasonable results but have also had both dogs on a new natural anti-inflammatory supplement Rose Hip Vital Canine http://rosehipvitalcanine.com.au/.

My young really broken girl has been on the RHVC supplement for 4 months and is doing well enough that I also recently put my much older girl (12.5 year old BC) with some arthritis in her front legs (she has been on it around a month) and also having good results. My oldie had been on and off lame and I haven't seen any lameness in her front since. Prior to that my oldie was on Joint Guard.

My younger dog has been trialled on more traditional pain relief options (tramadol and twice daily anti-inflams) and I have found that her level of comfort while on the RHVC supplement alone was almost as good as what I was getting on the pain relief but with the benefit of the fact she wasn't shutting down and refusing to come out of her crate and sleeping all the time. There is also the added risk of having a young dog on NSAIDs indefinitely whereas there is no risk of the natural supplement.

You can also use them both in conjunction for when the dog needs it.

Both my two also get fish oil capsules on top of the RHVC.

Edited April 14, 2013 by ness

[Justrace]

My old girl had the same initial treatment but then was followed up with an injection each month. On the days when she forgot that she was an old girl with arthritis, we had tablets to give her. I had previously used cartrophen on horses before, which the reason I decided to take that path with the dog.

[Diva]

I have used cartrophen for a couple of elderly dogs, and it was helpful. There were also given fish oil and a joint supplement, Cosequin. They were older though, I have no experience of its effectiveness in a younger dog. Perhaps the stem cell therapy might be worth investigating.

[Dogsfevr]

yes but on older dogs but we use Bowen because if the arthritis is an issue all the joints will suffer from the dog getting up & down.

Maintaining a good exercise pattern is also important & watch the weight .

Even if sore the dog still need sto move around.swimming is great

[GraceMcC]

Thanks everyone, appreciate your responses :)

[juice]

I used to give them to my dally, but after a while it didn't seem to have any effect.

He is now on Mobic tablets daily which helps.

[LisaCC]

I used that treatment with my old lab, when it progressed he then got monthly injections over the colder months. We could definitely see the difference it made.

Pernaease powder did amazing things for him too, it's the cheaper version of Sasha's Blend found in pet stores like Petbarn. We started him on the powder before we started the injections and there was improvements, but make sure you keep giving it.

Edited April 15, 2013 by LisaCC

[LisaCC]

Also if you find he is having a hard time getting up, it might be useful to invest in a good sturdy harness to help him up, will save your back too.

A few other things, swimming daily if possible is great. See if a knowledgeable vet/ animal physio can show you how to do some home massage techniques. I wouldn't just start massaging without instruction as some areas will be tender.

Edited April 15, 2013 by LisaCC

[Jess the Lab]

Same here. I was proposed by my vet to do the weekly than monthly injection especially over winter. But I was hesitating due to cost and the hassle of bringing my 9-10 year old Lab in.

She only has some mild athritis on 1 of her back leg where she had a ligamen re-constructed. Then someone told me to check out Rose-Hip Canine.

I also saw in another thread here that mentioned Rose-Hip produce some success. Looks like I'll discount the Injection for now. Rose-Hip Canine seems cheaper (assuming it works for my dog).

[HeelerLove]

My girl is 7 and has pretty bad arthritis in both back legs. She had a Cartophen injection every week for 4 weeks just over 6 months ago and has only recently in the last couple of weeks started to get sore again so in my opinion and from my experience it works wonders. She will be going back in shortly for another course. I tried supplementing the Cartrophen with pernaease powder but she wouldn't touch her food if it was in it (I don't blame her - it stinks! lol) After the injections she really didn't need anything else anyway. We just keep her exercise to a minimum and try to keep her fairly lean.

[*kirty*]

My dog gets cartrophen injections plus glucosamine and sashas blend. Not sure which one helps or if the combo of all three helps but she is certainly much better.

[poppop]

My old girl gets the series of injections each winter, with an odd top up during the year of one shot maybe every 5 months. They are fabulous. She has HD and arthritis in the hips, was diagnosed pre aged 4 and is nearly 11 now. She has had daily glucosamine and Vit C (Ester C) since she was diagnosed pre aged 4. She is doing well given her condition. We love the injections - they are fantastic.

We tried fish oil at first but she went CRAZY itchy. So we took her off after two weeks, and it took another two weeks for her to stop biting aggressively at herself. I know fish oil is good for arthritis but it did not work for my girl - as in the side-effects were not acceptable.

Please do the injections - they are not expensive and can make a HUGE difference for your dog, especially coming into winter.