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Arthritis Flare Up


Guest acb74

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Guest acb74

Ryan was diagnosed with arthritis about 5 months ago. He'd broken his left rear hock about 3 years ago, and it began to cause him some trouble this past January when the temps really dropped. His limp never went away. X-rays showed significant arthritis where the break had taken place with a great deal of calcification around the break. No signs of osteosarcoma.

 

Friday night, his arthritis seemed to flare up, and tonight he's really hobbling. Could the weather be to blame? It stormed yesterday and another front might be coming in. I'd hate to take him to the vet again. It seems as though we spend way too much time there and I was just there with our other grey.

 

Also, since we brought home our new grey, Ryan has tried to keep up with her. He jumps around fueled by her excitement and he tries to race her when we're walking. Is this more likely the cause of the flare up?

 

We've already tried Adequan and glucosamine with condroitin, but neither are enough to help him. His arthritis is that bad. He's only 7 years old--too young to be inactive. The vet has suggested acupuncture. Has anyone had success with this in a grey who otherwise seemed beyond hope?

 

My husband and I are willing to accept that Ryan will always walk funny and will never be able to run or participate in family hikes. However, we hate to see him as uncomfortable as he is now. It's also hard not to panic about osteo each time he has a flare up. Is this just how arthritis behaves or should I be worried that something else is happening?

 

I'd appreciate any info/advice that you'd be willing to share on arthritis and what I should expect.

 

Thanks!

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Yes the weather will affect the hock. It's been raining here and Mizzy stands sometimes on 3 legs but she uses it when she walks.

 

Acupuncture will help :)

 

Which chondroitin have you tried? I've had two now with a broken hock and Fresh Factors or Joint Health has helped both tremendously. Solomon was 13 and in terrible shape. This is him after some good food and supplements (he had pins in his hock):

 

355Solomonrun.jpg

 

355solomonrun2.jpg

 

Not pretty but he was happy :wub:

 

Mizzy -- I made a mistake and took her to the sprint runs in Abilene. She remembered and ran hard. Scared me.

Diane & The Senior Gang

Burpdog Biscuits

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I use both Fresh factors and Joint Health from Springtime. Arthritis can flare up along with weather changes.

Greyhound angels at the bridge- Casey, Charlie, Maggie, Molly, Renie, Lucy & Teddy. Beagle angels Peanut and Charlie. And to all the 4 legged Bridge souls who have touched my heart, thank you. When a greyhound looks into you eyes it seems they touch your very soul.

"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more then he loves himself". Josh Billings

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Guest SusanP

Acupuncture did nothing for our Simon, who has arthritis in one of her shoulders, but she is doing better on Previcox (anti-inflammatory) and Tramadol (pain) from a vet. She also takes glucosamine and chondroitin.

 

In her case, Adequan injections didn't help, either.

 

She regularly has periods, not always rainy ones, when she seems worse, and periods when she seems better. She always limps, even at the better times, but during a good spell, she keeps up well on walks. For about the last year she wasn't even taking the Tramadol, but this past month we've had to put her back on it, as she's doing a bit worse again. During bad times, which have been infrequent once we got her on her meds, we have to slow the pace and make the walks extremely short for her.

 

She was diagnosed at age 9 and is 11 now. She's actually doing better now overall than she was early on, when she sometimes opted out of walks with the pack altogether. One vet urged us to not let up on exercising her altogether, because she was losing muscle in the shoulder, which was making things worse.

 

We still sometimes hike with her, but only short hikes, carrying her over unusually rough ground and up and down hills. Good thing she only weighs around 60-63 lbs! She has also stopped going up the staircase--instead she waits at the bottom for us to carry her, though if she really needs to, she can go up herself. She goes down on her own, though.

 

Overall, she's doing better now after 2+ years than I ever dared hope at the beginning. She seems happy and can even be boisterous to a degree. When she stops trying to jump on us at walk time and licks her leg a lot and slows on walks, we figure it's time for her to be on the Tramadol again. It's not what we'd have wished for her, but it is manageable.

 

 

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Guest LolasMom

Weather definately affects arthritis...as does trying to keep up with a younger pup :rolleyes:

Acupuncture made a world of difference with my two large senior pups (13-15 yrs), but I know it's not for everyone. I'm lucky to have a friend who's a vet and does acupuncture that woud come to my house. They also took suppliments as well.

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Guest longdogs

A cold snap always causes problems for William. He needs medication during the Winter (Rimadyl or Metacam) but is mostly OK during the Summer.

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