Arthritis in a young dog.

AryaStark

My girl has been diagnosed with arthritis.. I am a little bit devastated for her as she is only 5 and has already been through a bit with pancreatitis and pyometra.

She has it in her wrist of the front paw (diagnosed by X-ray)... The vet has given her a cortisone injection and some supplement that she has to take every day. He thinks she is too young to start on pain medication.

She is quite stiff with it and limping a bit...

I am hoping for some advice for managing it and wondering what exercise she should be getting with it! She loves to dig and play fetch but both have her limping more then usual.

cocker5

AryaStark wrote: »

My girl has been diagnosed with arthritis.. I am a little bit devastated for her as she is only 5 and has already been through a bit with pancreatitis and pyometra.

She has it in her wrist of the front paw (diagnosed by X-ray)... The vet has given her a cortisone injection and some supplement that she has to take every day. He thinks she is too young to start on pain medication.

She is quite stiff with it and limping a bit...

I am hoping for some advice for managing it and wondering what exercise she should be getting with it! She loves to dig and play fetch but both have her limping more then usual.

Can I ask what breed OP?

Normally I’d recommend Tumeric paste, good quality supplements, bone broth etc which is what I had my guy on for years (he has arthritis and hip dysplasia) and he has been flying around but you mentioned pancreatitis above .. which my guy was just diagnosed with a month ago so I’ve stopped all of the stuff I mentioned above as I try and get him stabilized.. so I’d be afraid to recommend anything that might interfere etc sorry

What I would say is hydro therapy is great for dogs with joints issues I’d def give it a try.

Cold laser therapy can be great for pain management I’d also give this a try

I’ve a friend in USA and her in-laws there have a two year old American Bulldog, bought specially from a breeder who owns both apparently healthy parents etc, but poor dog has now developed extreme osteoarthritis of both knees and needs two bespoke knee replacements which will cost about €20000 as she is not insured. They are in an awful predicament and reckon they are just going to have to take out a loan and pull in an uneccesary spending, as the dog is a treasured family pet.

3D printing is now helping animals gain mobility:

https://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/getting-a-leg-up/

A wild stork in Lithuania was saved by 3D technology:

https://www.3ders.org/articles/20160311-injured-stork-given-second-chance-with-3d-printed-leg-braces.html

You could investigate the potential of such helping your dog. Maybe consult likes of an Orthopaedic specialist such as

https://noah.ie/

AryaStark

cocker5 wrote: »

Can I ask what breed OP?

Normally I’d recommend Tumeric paste, good quality supplements, bone broth etc which is what I had my guy on for years (he has arthritis and hip dysplasia) and he has been flying around but you mentioned pancreatitis above .. which my guy was just diagnosed with a month ago so I’ve stopped all of the stuff I mentioned above as I try and get him stabilized.. so I’d be afraid to recommend anything that might interfere etc sorry

What I would say is hydro therapy is great for dogs with joints issues I’d def give it a try.

Cold laser therapy can be great for pain management I’d also give this a try

She is a Siberian Husky mixed with Samoyed.. a large but not huge girl.

The pancreatitis is bad and I have to really manage her diet which has me afraid to change her food because of this! She is on a good food that suits her which took over a year to find! Still have to be so careful with treats and other foods. We have a new rescue pup and he crazy about his food!

I’ve a friend in USA and her in-laws there have a two year old American Bulldog, bought specially from a breeder who owns both apparently healthy parents etc, but poor dog has now developed extreme osteoarthritis of both knees and needs two bespoke knee replacements which will cost about €20000 as she is not insured. They are in an awful predicament and reckon they are just going to have to take out a loan and pull in an uneccesary spending, as the dog is a treasured family pet.

3D printing is now helping animals gain mobility:

https://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/getting-a-leg-up/

A wild stork in Lithuania was saved by 3D technology:

https://www.3ders.org/articles/20160311-injured-stork-given-second-chance-with-3d-printed-leg-braces.html

You could investigate the potential of such helping your dog. Maybe consult likes of an Orthopaedic specialist such as

https://noah.ie/

tk123

Bailey gets laser once a week... now you can spread it out to whatever works after the initial condensed 5 sessions ( that are every few days) but last time he was injured I just left it at weekly giving up my Starbucks to fund it! He has fish oil and a dasuquin for his supplement and doesn’t need any pain meds atm. I’ve tried other bits and pieces and dropped them either because I didn’t think they were doing anything or say I suspected the turmeric to be upsetting his tummy so stopped giving it and didn’t see a difference. The other big thing is that I restrict him at certain times and in certain places to reduce the chance of him say taking off full speed ahead after a squirrel etc etc

It’s trial and error to find what combination of factors works for your dog - treating arthritis is multi modal so a combination of different building blocks to get the right foundation... that’s what actually made me change vets as the vets I used to go to had a one size fits all approach.. Bailey basically has bionic legs so without being a vet I knew he’d need a different approach!!

I’d really advise not going in guns blazing trying loads of stuff at once - you need to say give a supplement time to decide what works before you decide to try something else. Canine arthritis foundation is a great resource - they have a website and a few difffent FB groups. Also if your vet has a pain specialist that’s who you need to see - we have a pain specialist in our vets and she’s just fantastic because it’s her passion! She takes time, gives Bailey a break of he needs it, records how he moves etc etc

AryaStark

tk123 wrote: »

Bailey gets laser once a week... now you can spread it out to whatever works after the initial condensed 5 sessions ( that are every few days) but last time he was injured I just left it at weekly giving up my Starbucks to fund it! He has fish oil and a dasuquin for his supplement and doesn’t need any pain meds atm. I’ve tried other bits and pieces and dropped them either because I didn’t think they were doing anything or say I suspected the turmeric to be upsetting his tummy so stopped giving it and didn’t see a difference. The other big thing is that I restrict him at certain times and in certain places to reduce the chance of him say taking off full speed ahead after a squirrel etc etc

It’s trial and error to find what combination of factors works for your dog - treating arthritis is multi modal so a combination of different building blocks to get the right foundation... that’s what actually made me change vets as the vets I used to go to had a one size fits all approach.. Bailey basically has bionic legs so without being a vet I knew he’d need a different approach!!

I’d really advise not going in guns blazing trying loads of stuff at once - you need to say give a supplement time to decide what works before you decide to try something else. Canine arthritis foundation is a great resource - they have a website and a few difffent FB groups. Also if your vet has a pain specialist that’s who you need to see - we have a pain specialist in our vets and she’s just fantastic because it’s her passion! She takes time, gives Bailey a break of he needs it, records how he moves etc etc

Thanks very much for the information.. I was away when she had to go to the vet and was diagnosed so I was a bit panicky but I have seen the vet again and she is doing good. She is on Flexadin once a day and she seems to be much better... she is back digging I just haven't let her run full speed yet or play fetch with the ball as she runs really fast and seems to forget!