Oh Cecil,

[Pendlewitch]

Had a problem with Cecil today, unfortunately I was putting git face's coat on and didn't actually see what happend. I'm assuming Jumble either bounced into him or knocked him into the doors or both but suddenly Cecil was screaming like a banshee, shaking from head to foot and sort of scuttling with his butt tucked under. Flung the git up the hall and Jumble outside so I could try and find out what was wrong, Cecil would not allow me to touch his back end or tail and had a real go at me when I tried. So I just spend 10 minutes stroking him and trying to get him to relax, his tail looked kind of odd so slid my hand gently down it and nearly lost it and he came round at the speed of light to grab me. Rang vet who said bring him in, he got in the car a bit gingerly and hid in the corner. Vet thinks he's had a right old whack on the back end and as he's quite a bit stiff and probably arthritic in his hips it's hurt like hell. He was very reactive to vet touching his hips and tail, fortunately muzzled at the time. She gave him a shot of an aniti inflammatory and he has metacam for a few days. Does metacam cause any problems and is it the way to go with arthritic dogs? Cecil has gone very narrow on the back end and crosses his feet when he trots, when he's swimming he only uses his front end. Any comments most appreciated.

 

Just to add, Git Face, (aka Jack dog), barked the entire time, all the way to the vet, all the time I was in the vet and then all the way to the lane for a walk. Approximately 2.5 hours, a record even for Jack!

[billydog]

Awww Poor Cecil

Hope the meds make him feel better soon

[Rumpole]

bless him hope hes better soon

our 16 yr old henry is on metacam with no ill effects in fact hes much better

[Jacobean]

Poor lad. Hope the medication helps him feel better very soon. I wonder if there is a possibility he has a slipped disc at all?

[chasta]

Aww poor lad Hope he's feeling better quickly

[Anne Grose]

Metacam or any NSAID isn't without side effects and I don't know how old Cecil is but if he is a younger dog, I would look at alternatives. I would start with getting him on a good Glucosamine/Chondroitin supplement. I use Cortaflex with hylauronic acid as I find that suits my lurcher best but I have used Synflex in the past and it is considerably cheaper. There are several herbs that are good for arthritis - Devil's Claw is probably one of the most effective but there is a also white willow bark, yucca and anything with turmeric in it will boost the pain killing effects. I am also using Neem Multi Capsules on Barty and that seems to be providing excellent results with the spondylosis in his spine, but it hasn't helped other dogs I know with painful hips.

 

Homeopathy wise you can try Arnica, Rhuta Grav, and Rhus Tox - it will depend on the dog as to which one suits best.

 

With regards to losing muscle tone on his back end and crossing his feet, he is obviously in pain and is not using his back end to protect himself from it. You do need to break the circle and get him out of pain so that he will use his muscles again as if he looses too much tone he won't be able to support himself. We went through all this with Barty when he damaged a disc in his back and he lost a huge amount of muscle tone which is worrying in his case because of the HD but once we had controlled his pain, the muscles came back.

 

Hope that helps and if you would like more information on dosage please let me know. I hope Jack soon feels more himself.

Edited December 19, 2008 by Anne Grose

[Yantan]

Poor Cecil. Sending positive thoughts for him

[sparkle]

Poor Cecil 's for him and you too

[houndzrus]

Lots of positive thoughts for Cecil and you. :GroupHug:

[Rudi]

I've only ever found prescribed medication an effective way of reducing joint pain/arthritis. My old dog was on Metacam for several years but it did start to upset his tummy, he then went on to Rimadyl and was fine on that.

 

Once you've sorted out the pain, you could try hydrotherapy to build up some muscle. A physio I saw with my dog had me walk him very, very slowly, so that he had time to place each foot on the ground because walking fast encourages the limping. Frequent slow walks up gentle inclines helps build muscle. Massage is also good, dogs generally enjoy it and it increases blood flow to muscles.

 

Hope Cecil feels better soon.

[ranirottie]

for poor Cecil x

[blackmagic]

Just make sure to give it with food.

 

 

When my bitch had a cruciate ligament repair I was also advised to walk her on the lead at a speed to make sure she used the leg.

[Laurel n Hardy]

for poor Cecil, hope he feels better soon

 

perhaps you can ask for reiki too

[Pendlewitch]

Thanks all for replies, it's much appreciated! Cecil is a lot better today, he is not crossing his feet quite as much and galloped passed me at speed at one point!

 

I do have concerns though, he has attacks of colitis and after googling metacam I'm more than a bit eeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!

 

Anne, your post really interested me and I would like to try the homeopathy/herbal route so any advice on dosage would be most welcome. Cecil is 12 years old, he's a husky x lurcher and was a bit of a lunatic in his young days so I'm assuming he has developed arthritis because of his antics. His shoulders are quite stiff and restricted too so anything to help him would be fantastic!

 

Jack dog is seeing things up the garden again, won't go out and is hiding in corners, won't walk on the lead although he is happy to get in the car to go out but that's as far as he goes! Back on the prozac I think, poor Jack, what is going on in his mixed up little head!

[Anne Grose]

Hiya, Pendlewitch I will pm you with some guidance on where to start. If the medication has eased him he was obviously in pain so you do need to do something.

 

Anne