A dog with arthritis

[hillbilly_mom]

What is the best way to treat a dog with arthritis? Max is old and grumpy, but he is the best, most loved, security device we have on our place. DH doesn't believe in vets. We give the animals their shots and stuff ourselves, but I don't know what to give an old dog with arthritis. He has it in his back hips.

[Rama_das]

my husky seizures, and from time to time he gets very sore to the point he can't walk. we've treated him with ASA 325mg once a day, but he's big and another vet told me i could double that if he was having real bad pain. he also had tylenol #1. tylenol isn't good for dogs, but it's better then the pain, and he tolerated it fine. i was suprised to hear the vet say that, especially with the codeine in it. but what's worked best was something called "metocam" it's a med we give people, it's affordable, and works great. it deals with the pain and inflammation too. get it thru your vet

[LibertyMoon]

Glucosamine is awesome for anyone with arthritis! I've used it on horses and I know lots of people whom used it on ther dogs and selfs! You can get it from your pharmacy or at most any pets store!

[Crabapple_Plum]

Our 15 year old border collie gets St. Joseph's Baby Aspirin every evening. If he's having a bad day, he get one earlier then one at night.

It works well.

[edward_4576]

We were adopted by and old setter that wandered into our yard one day. As he got older he started to develop hip Displasia. We put him on a daily regiment of glucosen/condroitan and when the pain got bad he would get a tylenole. Unfortunately it's a degenerative disease and we eventually had to put him down it got so bad. So if you have a dog that even starts to look like he's having problems get them started on a regiment early, it'll improve their quality of life drastically.

[Tailypo2]

We have a 6 year old German Shepherd with arthritis in her knees. She was always very active and then it seemed like suddenly she couldn't get around very well - especially climbing steps. She would also yelp and hide when one of our other dogs, who is very sweet, but rambunctious, would jump on her trying to play. We had her x-rayed - thinking it was a typical GSD hip problem, but the vet said she was fine except for those arthritic knees. So we had her on a prescription pain killer called Deramax (made only for dogs) for a few months. It helped, but the long term side-effects can get pretty serious (kidney and liver problems) and we didn't want to keep her on it. We asked the vet about glucosamine. She said it couldn't hurt and might help, so we bought a bottle of tablets and started giving her one each day. After 2 weeks you wouldn't believe the difference!!! ;D She went from barely getting out of her bed each day to running 3 miles a day with me each morning before breakfast. Even stairs are no longer a problem. I'm sold on it! It costs a bit, but really not all that much more than a bottle of pain reliever like Tylenol, and the good news is it has no side-effects at all. Try it, and give it at least 2 or 3 weeks to see a difference. It also helps if arthritic dogs (or people for that matter) get regular exercise - keeps the joints limber. Good luck!

[hillbilly_mom]

We've been giving Max glucosamine for awhile now. He seems to move better, but he is so grumpy. He growls at our other dog and he snipped at my DD tonight. We don't know if it is pain or jealousy of the other dog. He is on a chain for tonight, because of nipping DD. We will try to see if we can interact the two dogs seperately, showing each the same amount of love. Hopefully if it is jealousy he will see that our other dog isn't replacing him. He has growled at me for petting the other dog. :( We aren't sure how old he is, because he adopted us when he was older. He doesn't act like he is in pain any more. He runs around like the other dog, but is just growling and grumpy. He won't let the other dog eat unless we stand out there and make sure Max won't growl the other away. The other dog is a complete wimp, yet the younger dog saved me from a hog that got out of the pen and charged at me. ??? I don't want to put Max down because he is a member of our family. But I don't want to take a chance of him hurting my DD either. I don't like the fact that he growls at me because I pet the other dog. I don't want him living his last days on a chain, because that is just cruel to do to a dog. I am just heart sick about what to do with our beloved dog.

[leera]

It sounds like he is a bit jealous,but an older dog will run and act like the younger ones,especially when they feel the need to prove themselves with other dogs around.......dogs are very good at hiding the true amount of pain they are in.

Have you tried giving him attention without the younger dog being around? Does he still growl? Does he wince or seem a little jumpy when you touch a cetrain spot? Does he have any swelling?

How is his eye sight? Is there any cloudiness when you look at his eyes? The growling and nippng may be because he can't see you well,and he gets startled......just a thought.....

Can you guess his age at all? My own dog was 11 before he started to slow down....and we lost him at 12 1/2......when we got the other dog,he was VERY jealous,and right up to the end,he never did get along with the younger one.

Good luck, :)

[Doglover]

http://www.1800petmeds.com/pdetail.asp?SK=10496

Check out Super Joint Enhancer form 1800petmeds. It works great for my dog who has (had) a bad knee.

I am completely amazed at how well it works. It takes about 2 months to see a difference but the difference you will see it huge!

Active ingredients 400 mg chondroitin, 500 mg glucosamine, 100 mg MSM, and 5 mg manganese