uke Posted January 2, 2007 Report Share Posted January 2, 2007 Loki was offically diagnosed with arthritis in both back hips at the weekend and has started on Metacam to get him through the rest of the winter. We suspect it's in his front legs as well. (He was headbutted by a cow as a 6 week old puppy and was thrown across the barn and knocked unconcious according to the farmer who bred him. We've been waiting for this to show its head since he was 10 weeks old.) He's not yet 3 so I'd ideally like to try to manage this with diet/supplements before medication as I'm concerned about his long term health. I've been quietly researching this for the last few days. The Metacam seems to be helping so he'll stay on that for the rest of the cold weather. Yesterday he even attempted to jump into the boot on the way home from the woods. He's never attempted that before. I've had a read through the other similar topics (and made a list of things to try) so I guess I'm looking for others with experience of young dogs with arthritis. This is Loki: He'll be 3 on the 16th of this month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muriel Posted January 2, 2007 Report Share Posted January 2, 2007 No experience with such a young dog, but I'd definitely get him off the metacam and onto something gentler asap as it can cause severe gastric upset - gave my old girl serious colitis which nearly killed her on a few occasions. While you are using Metacam, make sure it's always given with food - doesn't stop any damage, but is supposed to minimise it althought it didn't for Hannah. I'd start with Reiki, magnetic collar/bed, acupuncture etc plus supplements. Garlic for starters, vit C & E, fish oil and whatever else you feel drawn to. Don't know if you've seen it but I'll copy in what I did for my oldie a few years ago........ What worked for my old lady dog was Runaround from Stock Nutrition, which is Green Lipped Mussel, Shark Cartilage, Vitamins C & E. Within 5 days on that, she was trotting a couple of miles, with no trace of a limp, having previously only been able to stagger to the end of the road on very shaky pins, where she was lying down to watch the traffic while on Metacam. She was great on the Runaround for a couple of years. Then her legs got worse again and I added in Garlic, Greenleaf Tablets from Denes, Osteotrace tablets from ARONHA, got her a magnetic collar, used crystals – Blue Lace Agate to start with, and others, she also had Acupuncture for months, but I eventually stopped that and did acupressure on her myself after having been shown by an Acupuncturist how and where would be most beneficial. These were all added in at various times as the need arose. She also latterly had Reiki which helped enormously and I believe gave her an extra 6 months with me. There are loads of natural products and therapies out there which I am sure would help enormously. The trick is, as ever, finding the right thing for YOUR dog, which is where your gut comes in – you’ll know what’s right. Homeopathy can also work wonders. Hannah just didn’t want it, she preferred herbs etc. The book which helped me a lot and sent me in various correct directions for Hannah is - Natural Healthcare for Pets by Richard Allport (available from the library). He covers a wide range of natural therapies and is based in Potters Bar, he’s one of the top Natural Vets. Had I kept Hannah on Metacam, she would have been dead by 12 as the Vet prophesied, but once I changed her to natural treatments she was MUCH happier, healthier, fitter and had a much greater quality of life. She lived to 15 years and 6½ weeks! Runaround is available from Stock Nutrition www.doghealth.co.uk Phone 08000 744302 They are very helpful. Denes website is www.denes.com Phone 01273 325364 They also have a range of Factsheets which they will send out free of charge very quickly if you ask. They’re also very helpful. I know Glucosamine can be great too. Some other products I believe can be helpful are : Mobileaze www.aviform.co.uk I know someone who has used this very successfully with her Weimaraners. Cortaflex Synflex Ease by Phytopet 01244 813162 email [email protected] Deer Velvet www.velvetenergy.com Copper Collars help some dogs, but obviously not at the same time as a magnetic one! Fish oil can help too. Vit C Vit E Apple Cider Vinegar Hydrotherapy etc, etc, etc............ All the best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mum24dog Posted January 2, 2007 Report Share Posted January 2, 2007 Loki was offically diagnosed with arthritis in both back hips at the weekend and has started on Metacam to get him through the rest of the winter. We suspect it's in his front legs as well. I'lll try and get a friend on here. She has a beardie x collie that was diasgnosed with arthritis in all her legs (I think) at a very early age but still competed at Advanced level in agility until about 8, when she retired from real competition. She's now 13 and no worse than many dogs of her age, winning a veteran dog Final in 2005. I gather that Metacam and close monitoring of exercise has kept her going, although she has only had it when necessary. Pam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine R Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 Here I am....I'm the friend Pam's talking about. My Cross Beardie/Border (Jody) was diagnosed with arthritis in her joints at a very young age - think she was about 1 or 2 - can't remember as it was so long ago. As Pam says, she's been fine and is still going strong at 13 AND not on any full time medication. I personally wouldn't want a dog (young or old) on medication as I don't think it's right or good for them. I just monitored Jody's condition and only gave her metacam if I felt she was in any discomfort. You get to know when your dog will be feeling the arthritis and in a bit of pain. At the moment, she's a bit stiff (you can see it when she walks and she's grumpier than normal!), but I think it's the weather - rain and all that. We are giving her some metacam at the moment and also resting her for a bit, but will stop the metacam and start on her walks again when we think she's a bit better, which hopefully won't be too long and most certainly won't be for the rest of the winter. Like I said I basically monitored Jody all the time. Her walks were kept to what she could cope with - she was ok with running around after a ball for a bit (on nice flat ground) and doing Agility. If I knew Jody was going to do some Agility training that night, I would make sure she only had her morning walk so as not to exercise her too much. I also never took her on huge long hikes for miles and she was towelled dried if she was wet. We try not to let her lie about damp in places that are cold or stone floors, etc, and like I said with a bit of careful monitoring she's lived a full and happy life, off metacam and is still going strong. I feel like Muriel, being on metcam long term is a bit of a no no ...... it doesn't cause any stomach upsets with my dog mind, but I think there can be health issues with dogs on long term medication like that, but then I'm no Vet. I think too you should look elsewhere for some arthritis care and also be careful with your doggy's exercise - just enough, but not too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hevvur Posted January 4, 2007 Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 (edited) My Bullmastiff is nearly 3, and when she was 1, she was diagnosed with extreme Hip Dysplasia, along with elbow dysplasia, and arthritis. As of yet, she's not touched any medication I have her on daily doses of Syn-flex, Vitamin C, Vitamin E and Omega 3 oils. I also encourage her to swim whenever we go to the park, and when I can afford it, she goes for Hydrotherapy (she doesn't really like it - she prefers swimming in the river!) We saw an Orthopaedic Specialist at the time, who told me to continue doing what I was doing, not to stop her exercise (as in - do what she wants, and she never wants to stop!). Edited January 4, 2007 by Hevvur Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen Posted January 4, 2007 Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 We quite often see young dogs with arthritis swimming at the hydrotherapy pool when Lily is having her swim. Swimming is meant to be pretty good for keeping the muscles around the affected joints toned up. Lily has arthritis in her front legs since she was a year or so old, she has had the highest doses of supplements (glucosamine, chondroitin, green lipped muscle & cod liver oil) for a good part of the last 8 years but there have been times when she is in such pain that extra pain relief has been essential. Different drugs suit different dogs though, so if metacam isn't the right thing for Loki, then there are other things to try. Almost everything has a risk of side effect but personally I would rather a dog had a happy relatively pain free short life than a miserable and depressed long life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uke Posted January 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 He's on Metacam over a week now & it's obviously helping. He hasn't experienced any visible side effects. He'll be in and out of the vets for the next few weeks for monitoring/ revision of his treatment plan anyway. I don't want him on Metacam long term either but I'm not going to allow him to suffer while I try to figure out what will help him best. I've started him on Glucosamine & chondrotin this week as well as fish oils and Vit C. He doesn't do water if he can help it so I'm not sure how successful swimming will be. I've ordered a similar product to Runaround that's made here & am waiting for it to be delivered. He's also going to see a homeopathic vet at the end of the month. I've saved a copy of the replies and will be spending the next while working through everything. Thank you everybody for your help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 my dog was diagnosed with arthritis and elbow displaysia at 6 months, she managed for a long time on cod liver oil she is now on seraquin,magnacare sc and green lipped mussels.she is now 6 and had a tplo done in april(for torn cruciate ligament) she will be having the other leg done in the very near future but has been running around as if there is nothing wrong also agree that hydrotherapy is a fantastic help too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pboae Posted January 15, 2007 Report Share Posted January 15, 2007 Our old dog was about 4 when he came to us, he had been run over several times and left untreated, leading to arthritis in his back legs. Supplements didn't make a lot of difference and he was on Rimadyl on and off for a couple of years, and then daily from about 6 onwards. I know some people have a lot of problems with Rimadyl, but he was fine on it, and it kept him going till he was about 11, when he succumbed to cancer. He wouldn't have lasted much past 6 without it. My current dog has been treated for HD and arthritis for nearly 2 years, he is about 4 now. He has responded really well to supplements and also to Cartrophen injections which have been nothing short of a miracle for him. Initally he was on daily Rimadyl, but now he just has them very occasionally if he has had a fall or is having a particularly bad day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherlock Bones Posted January 15, 2007 Report Share Posted January 15, 2007 (edited) Cassie has had arthritis in a back leg (and minor in a front one) since she was weeks old, due to a disability. She has Metacam but, to date, has never used it. She has had hydrotherapy since she was around 12 weeks old. It's worse in winter but hydrotherapy keeps it at bay. Sometimes we use glucosamine and green lipped mussel supplements and she seems fine on this. Exercise is done as normal (with the exception of the swimming). She's now 3 years old and, fingers crossed, she'll continue to be fine Edited January 15, 2007 by Sherlock Bones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merledogs Posted January 22, 2007 Report Share Posted January 22, 2007 (edited) My Bullmastiff is nearly 3, and when she was 1, she was diagnosed with extreme Hip Dysplasia, along with elbow dysplasia, and arthritis. As of yet, she's not touched any medication I have her on daily doses of Syn-flex, Agree 100% with this. My Milly (border collie) was diagnosed with severe HD at 1 year old and although I keep some metacam in the house, I only give it to her about a few times a year when she's overdone it and I can see she's getting stiff. She initially had the cartrophen injections which did nothing, then I tried her on glucosamine tablets, which did nothing, so tried Synflex (liquid glucosamine) and within a week she was a different dog. She's 4 next month and she's still on it and it's still working its magic. You would never know she had bad hips to see her racing around with the others I also recommended it to a lady who was about to have her elderly dog PTS because the arthritis had got so bad she could hardly walk. The difference was amazing and the dog went on to have another couple of good years before finally passing away last year. Edited January 22, 2007 by madmerle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sef's Mum Posted January 22, 2007 Report Share Posted January 22, 2007 I used Synflex on my old collie and it worked really well but I can't get Sef to touch the stuff. He won't eat any food that it's mixed it so I don't know what to do. He's only 3 but at the moment he can only cope with 20 mins lead walk twice a day which still leaves him with a slight limp. If anyone can suggest a way to get Synflex down him I would be extremely grateful. Ali Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Liz Posted January 22, 2007 Report Share Posted January 22, 2007 Breeze our Collie has been on Rimadyl since he was 6 as both back legs and hips are riddled with arthritus, he will be 14 in July and is now enjoying his new home has he now has 4 acres to romp in and woods to, he has been on 1 tablet a day for all that time and the only side effect we have is anal gland issues they are done about every 8 weeks but apart from that he will still run most other of his doggie pals in to the ground and still like to play football as well. Good luck with your baby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merledogs Posted January 23, 2007 Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 I used Synflex on my old collie and it worked really well but I can't get Sef to touch the stuff. He won't eat any food that it's mixed it so I don't know what to do. He's only 3 but at the moment he can only cope with 20 mins lead walk twice a day which still leaves him with a slight limp. If anyone can suggest a way to get Synflex down him I would be extremely grateful. Ali I sometimes use a syringe and just squirt into the mouth, followed by a yummy piece of chicken or something else tasty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sef's Mum Posted January 23, 2007 Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 Thank you. I'll try a syringe but he can be very stubborn. I will just have to be even more stubborn I think. Ali Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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