Gimpy girl Sam

[urge to herd]

Sammi has been having a bit of a time getting up from a laying down position for a while now. She had it last winter, the vet said just aging, (she's about 9 and a half.) It seemed to go away somewhat when the weather warmed up, but Beloved Hubby and I have both noticed that it's been an issue for her again, and we're thinking, if she's this stiff now, she's gonna be pretty uncomfortable in the cold and the wet of our winter.

She started limping today on her left rear leg. So, off to the vet we go, sometime this week. Now, sometimes I think that my favorite hobby is worrying, but it seems to me that she's lost a fair amount of muscle mass in her hindquarters, and that concerns me.

Do any of you use the gluco/chondro supplements? I've had her on one from Costco, but I don't think it's doing anything. Or those fancy orthopedic beds, or anything for your aging beasties?

 

Input, ideas, prophecies? I'll let you know when I get the vet visit scheduled.

 

Ruth n the Border Trio

[AK dog doc]

Hi Ruth

The supplements DO work (the evidence is pretty unequivocal in dogs) BUT: One, they don't work in ALL dogs (since there are 5 tissues of interest in the joint, and cartilage is only one of them; two, they work best on arthritis of the appendicular (arms and legs) skeleton, not as much for spinal arthritis; and three, the quality of the supplement matters. This is one of those items where the generic does not always work as well as the brand name. What I tell my clients is that if they have a product that they know from personal experience is a good quality product, go ahead and use it. If not, stick with one of the proven brands, even if they're more expensive. Also, I'm not sure if your dosage has been appropriate... you might check that. At any rate, the glucosamine/chondroitin supplements are potentially capable of giving the dog a better joint 2 months down the road than they have right now. Painkillers can't do that, but they DO most certainly have their place.

 

The muscle atrophy is an indicator that there's been less use of the hind limbs for a long enough time to show muscle loss. That IS an indicator of hind end pain or other dysfunction, generally, but you very much need to follow with your planned vet visit to confirm. The good news is that there's lots that can be done, so with any luck at all you can have a lot of good quality time ahead of you.

 

Luckily, this isn't a two year old trialling prospect that you'll have to retire in another year due to lameness and then have to carefully manage for the next 8 years just to make the pain tolerable. It's hard enough to see this in an older dog, but I guess for me it's more hearbreaking in young dogs, who ought to be able to have a long pain-free run ahead of them. Older dogs are often more judicious about their activity to begin with, and many of them are sensible enough that the management is considerably easier and more readily accepted by both dog and owner. Sammi probably has more sense than, for instance, Finn does at his young age.

 

Good luck with this, and keep us posted.

[urge to herd]

Thanks, Doc! She's getting 1000 mg Gluco, 600 mg Chondro, and 250 mg MSM, and has been for 3 months or so.

I'll be calling the vet in the morning to make the appt. Thanks for the info, I kinda thought there might be something going on. And she is my stoic girl, so I know she's really hurting.

 

Ruth n the Border Trio

[trailrider]

Do a search to read up on -- infrared laser therapy. I`ve used portable units for many years, and they do wonders for the dogs and myself. Of course most of the initial research was for the horses. This is especially helpful for older injuries with chronic pain involved.

[juliepoudrier]

Hi Ruth,

It may help to up the MSM--my dog gets 1000 mg a day. Also talk to your vet about Adequan. If you are comfortable giving shots, it's worth a try to see if it helps.

 

J.

[bcnewe2]

Julie or AKDOGDOC

Why more MSM? I was under the impression that it is an additive that helped both the gluco/chondro work better when taken in a combined dose. What other qualities does it have?

I'm giving Mickey (broken leg pup with suspicious wrist joint) condro. in the am and gluco in the pm. same person told me they are able to work better separated.?

TIA

Kristen

[Deanna in OR]

We gave our old dog, Maile, Synflex (gluco) for her joints the last year of her life. It's a liquid that you put on their food. Seemed to help her some. We got it at: http://www.easysource.com/synflex/?id=

 

Also, we got her a doggy waterbed which also seemed to make her more comfortable. They are cooler than air temperature which can feel good; or you can use a heating pad to warm them up. Depending on how much water you add, they also support the joints with less pressure than the floor. Here's one place that sells them:

http://www.k9carts.com/bed.htm

 

Deanna in OR

[urge to herd]

Sammi update - she's doing great! Sunday, the day she was having such a difficult time, was unseasonably cold and rainy - we NEVER have rain in September - we were all in shock.

 

Anyway, our regular warmer, dryer weather returned on late Mon and early today, (it's almost 85 degrees) and she's much more herself.

 

Of course, we'll be going to vet soon anyway, and I'll let you all know what he says. And I'm getting more of the gluco/chondro/msm into her. But it's really nice to see her bouncing around again.

 

Thanks again for all the info,

 

Ruth n the Border Trio