Arthritis

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danabanana
Posts: 203
Joined: Wed Nov 28, 2007 9:21 am
Location: NE England

Arthritis

Post by danabanana »

Was at my parents for a night, they have 2 labrador boys aged 8 and 12.

The 12 year old is, put politely - overweight, and has arthritis in one of his back legs. He limped around his morning walk when I was there and he really went for my dad when he tried to take a look at it so it must have been painful (that dog ADORES my dad, we were all a bit shocked!). They took him on a short walk at lunchtime while the 8 year old ran around like a loony with my Teagan (hates her in the house, they have to be kept separate but he's fine with her when outside - that's a different issue though)

He has been seen by the vet and has been given painkillers, they are also working on getting him to lose some weight (switched to a senior food and no titbits in between etc), but is there anything else they can do to make him more comfortable? He was ok on a short walk a little while after he was given the painkillers.

It's so sad to see him like this I remember bringing him home when I had just started secondary school and he always got stopped by kids asking if he was the Andrex puppy! My parents know he is getting on now but he has no other problems and is generally a very happy well natured dog - they just want to make sure the last part of his life is not in pain.
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Horace's Mum
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Post by Horace's Mum »

Hydrotherapy can work wonders in cases like this. Just make sure you use a good pool and start very slowly. It helps him to lose weight by giving him the chance for a good workout off weightbearing, builds up supporting muscles to help the joints and allows the joint to articulate without strain and painfree which helps in improving circulation to the area to help it heal/reduce deterioration. I used to run a hydro pool, now I'm an osteopath, and I had a huge number of dogs just like him. Almost all of them improved with hydro. BUT you have to start slowly, especially if he has never swum before, use a good pool where they are interested in the dogs and not the money, and make sure it is heated. Cold swimming will not help. It is worth getting a good coat for him to wear outside to keep him warm, maybe use a heatpad for him to sleep on, and make sure if he gets wet at any time he is dried thoroughly as quickly as possible or has a good fleece coat to keep him warm until he is totally dry.

It is also worth trying something like Cortaflex. You can get glucosamine almost anywhere now, feel free to try any brand, and long as it has glucosamine and chondroitin in it. I used cortaflex for my horse with incredible results, which is why I suggest that one.

If you have a good veterinary osteopath or McTimoney Chiropractor near you, speak to them to see if they feel they can help. They should give you honest advice about whether this is something they deal with - not all will treat this kind of problem in animals.

That's it for now! :D Best of luck, give him lots of love xxx
Owdb1tch
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Post by Owdb1tch »

Also try a magnetic collar - works for some, not for others, but those it does help are really helped.

Most important is getting the weight off, and this doesn't require a special diet so much as less of it. But we all know how parents can be!
D
Posts: 119
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2007 8:56 am
Location: Oxfordshire

Re: Arthritis

Post by D »

A question for danabanana, how do you keep Teagan and you dads 8 year old separate in the house, do you have a lead on both of them?
My inlaws collie doesn't like my GSD. We have been parrallel walking with them for the last 9 monbths, but in the house its a no go. If we could find a way to keep them apart in the house it would make things easier. At the moment if we visit we have to find some one to doggy site one of the dogs, not easy to find.
Sorry if I should have started a new post.
danabanana
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Location: NE England

Post by danabanana »

Thanks for replies will suggest hydro and the magetic collar to them. OB yep my parents are a complete nightmare when it comes to feeding time I caught my mum with cake and cream, giving some cream to Teagan off her finger, their 2 labs get allsorts but have (almost) stopped as Prince (the 12yo) does need to lose weight.

D - My mum and dad's house is set out living room, dining room, kitchen, utility and huge conservatory downstairs - doors which can be closed between all of the rooms. So when Teagan comes with me their 8 year old stays in the living room on his mat and has access to living room and dining room, while Teagan stays in conservatory and has access to there and utility. The kitchen doors we open the utility one for a bit so Teagan can go in then they open the dining room one for a bit so Chester (their 8yo) can go in. Prince normally sleeps in living room on his mat but they will open the doors for him if he wants to wander he is fine with Teagan. Their dogs sleep in the kitchen and Teagan was in her crate in my room upstairs to sleep - the conservatory gets too cold overnight. Couldn't do that in my house but it's not too bad there as the dogs can be kept separate. And you can enter the conservatory either through the kitchen and utility or through the dining room so the dogs never have to meet if they don't want to!
D
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Post by D »

Thanks for that, we have a very similar room layout so will give it a try. Sounds silly but I never thought of closing the doors to stop them meeting in certain small areas.
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Mattie
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Post by Mattie »

D wrote:Thanks for that, we have a very similar room layout so will give it a try. Sounds silly but I never thought of closing the doors to stop them meeting in certain small areas.
We often overlook the simple things and they are often the best :D

Dene's greenleaf tablets are very good for arthris as well as several other more natural remedies.

Gracie has hydrotherapy, she has the treadmill which I prefer, you can see the dog's putting their feet down which you can't in a pool. I found this a big help with treating Gracie. I don't think she would have taken to a pool but she loves the treadmill. How any dog can get up to mischief in one of these is beyond me but she manages it.

These were taken 3 weeks ago, the first is Gracie having fun by turning round and taking her feet off the treatmill to drift :roll:

Image

Managed to turn the little madam round.

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She is working properly now.

Image
[url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v312/Nethertumbleweed/PIXIE.jpg][img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v312/Nethertumbleweed/th_PIXIE.jpg[/img][/url]
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Horace's Mum
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Post by Horace's Mum »

Mattie, is she completely submerged in that, ie totally off weightbearing? If not you will get different results to complete swimming. I haven't come across the treadmill version before. And I haven't found a dog yet who will not swim when you put them in, you just have to find a way to make it enjoyable for them! Some never enjoy it admittedly, but in some cases that is less important than getting them moving again. Long term I always tried to find some way of playing with the dogs, either catch or tug or something similar while they were in the water. One dog even dived to the bottom and swam underwater for up to 30secs when we threw in her toys! (She was always on a lead and harness and we pulled her up if we felt she'd been down too long, but she got annoyed when we did that!)
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Mattie
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Post by Mattie »

That was the last time that the water was totally supporting her body although her feet were touching the treadmill, she was finding is so easy, this is her second lot of 10 sessions, that they dropped the water level to make her work harder. The water still supports her weight but not as much as it did.

Gracie doesn't play, she was an old dog when I got her but my dogs couldn't get her to play either. This is the only time she plays when in the water and really enjoys herself.

Gracie is out of proportion, she is 10" tall, her chest measurement is 21", back 16" and her front legs are 3" :roll: She is putting her back feet down properly now which she hasn't done for a long time, she used to walk on the tips of her toes.

This will give you an idea of the way she is, as usual she is having her say :lol:

Image
[url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v312/Nethertumbleweed/PIXIE.jpg][img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v312/Nethertumbleweed/th_PIXIE.jpg[/img][/url]
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Horace's Mum
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Post by Horace's Mum »

Ah, I didn't realise you could adjust the water. That's quite useful for rehabilitation, particularly post op. Mine was only the 5th pool on the country so it was pretty basic really, just a pool with 2 adjustable jets.
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Mattie
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Post by Mattie »

They have a Great Dane going on that treadmill as well, they have have the water as high or as low as they want. When Gracie first went in they put the water at a couple of inches to see what she was like with water. :lol:
[url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v312/Nethertumbleweed/PIXIE.jpg][img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v312/Nethertumbleweed/th_PIXIE.jpg[/img][/url]
danabanana
Posts: 203
Joined: Wed Nov 28, 2007 9:21 am
Location: NE England

Post by danabanana »

Just an update - Prince has slimmed from 48kg to 43kg so far, my parents are going to get him back to the hydro pool to swim. His back legs gave out on him a couple of times last week though :(
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