Arthritis

job seeker

Hi all,

So back about a year ago, my dog was diagnosed with arthritis. Originally we put him on pain killers and ArtiAid. Seen little improvement, so we changed it too yumove. Same story, tried it for a few months and little improvement again.

So now, I have him on golden paste. This seems to have helped him more than both the yumove and ArtiAid. However, he still seems pretty stiff.

For example, he does sleep on the couch. When he goes to sit up. He lifts the front of his body, by pushing down on his front pays and bringing them back towards his body.

He used to be able to jump onto the couch when he was a pup. Although, he doesn't even attempt to jump at all now. He barks to be lifted.

I suppose I'm just wondering if I could give him anything else, to try and improve his situation.

He's a Cavalier king Charles spaniel.

Thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions you may have.

s7ryf3925pivug

There’s an injection the vet can give them that makes a big difference.
Giving him chicken cartilage might also help.
Don’t let him jump off high places.

tk123

Has the vet offered pain meds from any of the other groups? Do they even know there’s other groups because our local one didn’t and dismissed a chronic muscle injury Bailey has as arthritis.. :mad: ..have they recommended hydro if there’s one near you or any alternative treatments like laser or acupuncture or show you how to do passive range of movement excercise?

The Vet we’re seeing now specialises in pain management like injurties and arthritis and is just fantastic and gave me loads of advice and help.

Cartophen injections made no difference for him btw because he was misdiagnosed - the only difference they made was to my wallet lol!

There’s a great FB called Canine Arthritis Managment that has loads of advice so worth a look.

Latatian

Keep him as light as you can. An extra 1/2lb can make a huge difference to quality of life. His tummy should go up, he should have a waist when seen from above, and his ribs should feel like the bones on the back of your hand. If they feel like the knuckles he is too thin. If they feel like thefleshy bits at the base of your fingers he is too fat. This was the most effective thing for my previous dog. My current dog has four appallingly arthritic legs and she loves her life and her walks, because she's run lean.

Walking helps a LOT too. Gentle walks, at his own pace, plenty of stopping, for at least 3 10-20minute walks a day. Little and often is better than one big walk but make sure he is doing enough to have good muscle bulk to support the joints. Swimming is fantastic also. For my old dog on lead walks were better since she could not hurt herself by overdoing it. Supplements have much less evidence than diet and exercise. So at least the stuff that we know helps is free.



http://skeptvet.com/Blog/2013/06/american-academy-of-orthropaedic-surgeons-evidence-based-review-of-arthritis-treatments/
http://skeptvet.com/Blog/2011/03/veterinary-arthritis-treatments/

tk123

Oh btw my friend has a step for her girl for getting on and off the couch - that she got on amazon - link Your guy is much smaller so you could get away with a lighter weight one or diy job I think? I have a stool for Bailey to use for the couch because he can 'get stuck' and will cry to get down wanting vet bed put down on the floor where he'll land at the very least lol.
I give fish oil (Omega Wild from Health Hounds), turmeric paste (I've a love hate relationship with it so trying it one more time) and dasuquin. There are as many studies that show supplements help as there is that show they don't and what works for one dog may not work for another so you may need to try a few different things! The same with the pain medicine - nothing from the Rimadly/Metacam etc group helps Bailey at all. He's off all pain meds atm and long may it continue!

BudEliJackson

job seeker wrote: »

Hi all,

So back about a year ago, my dog was diagnosed with arthritis. Originally we put him on pain killers and ArtiAid. Seen little improvement, so we changed it too yumove. Same story, tried it for a few months and little improvement again.

So now, I have him on golden paste. This seems to have helped him more than both the yumove and ArtiAid. However, he still seems pretty stiff.

For example, he does sleep on the couch. When he goes to sit up. He lifts the front of his body, by pushing down on his front pays and bringing them back towards his body.

He used to be able to jump onto the couch when he was a pup. Although, he doesn't even attempt to jump at all now. He barks to be lifted.

I suppose I'm just wondering if I could give him anything else, to try and improve his situation.

He's a Cavalier king Charles spaniel.

Thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions you may have.

HI im sorry to hear! same here- my big boy Jackson- German pointer started limping during summer, after long story I brought him to Galway to James Dunne who is fab orthopaedic surgeon and he confirmed arthritis ... since then I tried pretty much most of available stuff, see below my findings and suggestions, hope any of this helps:

I put my boy on golden paste, seems to work well! he is on golden paste in his food morning and evening. I started giving him CBD oil- there is FB group you can join and get some advice on this or you can just google it, you can order the oil or buy in Holland and barret, I give him 4 drops morning and 4 drops evening and I must say in last 2 months he has been fantastic! I cannot confirm what exactly is the reason as he also gets the supplements into his food- I frist bought these tablets : https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00TYEN0CI/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 now we run out and also trying glucosamine chondroitin: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0196X97JQ/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I also used to go with him for physio (I don't go anymore as I got qualified in canine sports massage and I do it myself for him) and acupuncture which I personally find very good (there's vet in Dun Laoghaire who does it, she is fab, I can send you details).

So not sure which exact part of what he is getting works, probably everything little bit but he improved so much in last 2 months and he runs off lead for kilometres and he is so happy! let me know if you need any more info .... loosing weight is definitely your first step though, I'm afraid, it will work miracle!

Good luck, let me know how your doggy is doing