Pain Relief or Supplements for joints

[YOLO]

Jasper is around 12, going on 13.  Like most dogs, he never displays discomfort, but its clear he's not as sprightly as he once was. 
There are no obvious pain triggers, but it appears he has some kind of arthritis in his hips.  It is probably most notable when he pees, he barely lifts his leg at all when going on the grass.  (Although he'll still cock it for going against a wall or post.)

 

Are there pain-relief or even anti-inflammatories he can be given, without side-effects?

 

Or do supplements like glucosamine and condroidin work?

[Diva]

Supplements do make a difference. 4CYTE is a good one. But people will offer their own favourites.

Keeping him lean helps. And the vets have an injection that is given monthly that helps too. 

[Tassie]

Another firm believer in the effectiveness of supplements - mine have glucosamine/chondroitin chews and fish oil, and Rose Hip Canine Vital.  Have to be careful with anti-inflame pain relief with my just turned 15 year old retired agility girl, as she has early stage kidney disease, so for the moment we're going with a herbal arthritis pain relief powder (kidney sparing) from our holistic vet, who practises 'normal' as well as herbal and traditional Chinese Medicine.   Mine also have remedial massage, acupuncture, laser etc. as needed, and also do hydrotherapy.

 

I'd definitely be consulting your vet .. and maybe a rehab vet to see if there are some exercises and massage things you can do to keep your lad supple and comfortable.

[mackiemad]

Pretty much what diva said, there are plenty of supplement options and people will differ in their favourites. It is worth considering the injection route but if he's not too bad you can always keep that up your sleeve for in case he gets worse.

 

Personally I use the paw osteosupport green lip mussel powder capsules which you empty onto their dinner. I also feed a dry food with a decent amount of gluclosamine etc (along with some raw). 

[Jumabaar]

I would suggest looking into Physical rehabilitation to assess what can be done with targeted exercise. This may require Anti-inflammatories to be used to allow him to regain normal function, allowing the anti-inflammatories to be discontinued. 

 

Glucosamine

Chondroiton

MSM

 

+/- Pentosan injections are all low risk medications to trial now.

 

I suggest a full work up with blood tests and a physical exam as sometimes these issues can actually be masking something else that can be treated in a more focused manner. 

[karen15]

discuss a treatment plan with your vet and maybe a herbalist eg country park herbs.

 

For the arthritis journey with my old dog (RIP) we started with monthly cartrophen/pentosan shots and oral supplements - glucosamine, herbs recommended by herbalist, fish oil

 

As he got worse we added metacam as needed, which was rarely.

 

further along I swapped the fish oil for krill oil which I found to be better. Metacam became more frequent until it was daily and as that happened prescription pain relief also came into play. Again initially as needed and finally daily.

 

my views on medications causing other issues was that I preferred him to be comfortable and happy in himself for as long as possible. Long term metacam use is not advised due to causing other issues, but by the time we got to daily doses he was nearing 14 and to be honest, something had to kill him. That turned out to be a subcutaneous mast call tumour, not anything related to his pain management.

 

his monthly cartrophen started when he was around 9. He had triangular hip joints and his spine was starting to fuse. A few years later his elbows went and he'd also developed a neurological problem in his hind legs progressively making him very wobbly and unstable. The last couple of years of his life he got physio to help keep him comfortable.

 

Whilst he slowed down in his twilight years, he was happy in himself until the day he died, and that was all I ever wanted for him.

[Danois]

After ruling out vet issues then you could look at Tuff Rock K9 Joint Formula or Technyflex.  I prefer the latter. 

[Dogsfevr]

Its trial & error when it comes to supplements .i have used some with no difference at all,some have not agreed with my dogs & others fine.

We use bowen massage ,red light treatment ,Equissage hand massage & rock tape .

 

I will also use pain relief like someone else also mentioned i prefer quality time & if that means a shorter life in the older years i have no issues accepting that.

 

My current dog nearly 14 started meloxicam last year ,originally only got it 3 times a week minimum dose ,this year it is now daily but well below the minimum dose he has all his life received massage etc etc .

There are also some great dog liniments that can be rubbed on sore areas

[westiemum]

My almost 16 year old westie is doing very well on 4 cute.  My previous old westie did very well on Joint Guard.  But there are others too which apparently work well as well so as show dog says its trial and error.