Arthritis Management

[Guest RobFromNL]

I'm so glad to have found this forum, it seems like a great resource for greyhound owners!

 

A few weeks ago my 5 and half year old Hayes started showing signs of pain and discomfort in one of his hind legs. He went to bed without any problems (he didn't show any discomfort but it may have been there) and the next morning we noticed he wouldn't put his rear leg down. We also noticed that he spent a lot of the night licking his paw. We made an apt for the vet and they gave us some anti-inflamatory pills which helped but after they were gone he was back to holding his leg up. We went back to the vet again and she did xrays on it and informed us that he has two spots of arthritis on that leg, one down by his foot and one a bit further up his leg. She gave us some more anti-inflammatory pills and said to start him on glucosamine.

 

We've been giving him glucosamine for about a week and a half now. It's a (human) pill form we got at our local pharmacy, it's 750g HCL and 650 Chrondroitin, we give him two pills a day. Right now he's still not putting his weight on the leg. He'll go out and romp around the yard as normal but when he comes he's back to just barely putting weight on it. He'll walk with it most times now, not very often he keeps up altogether anymore, but it's obviously in a lot discomfort still.

 

How long would you normally expect to see results from the glucosamine in his diet? I found a liquid product on the net, Synflex, that claims it's great for dogs because of it's very high absorption rate (98% - where they claim in pill/powder form is only about 20%). I'm hesitant to order it without getting some more information on it. Has anyone used this product with their grey, and if so, seen good results?

 

We were shocked that he's having problems with arthritis at such a young age and we want to do whatever is possible to make sure he's as happy and pain-free as possible. Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

[Guest Energy11]

Welcome to Greytalk!

 

Wow, five is young for arthritis, but it happens. Could have been an old injury there.

 

Now, I wouldn't be saying this, if I hadn't seen it for myself! I WAS using "human" glucosamine and chrondrotin on Goldie. She, 9, was limping, and had a swollen foot. She, too, had x-rays, and was diagnosed with arthritis. The vet gave me Dasequin supplement, and Deramaxx, to use daily.

 

The DASEQUIN has worked wonders!!! I don't even have to give her Deramaxx (anti-inflammatory) anymore! It is expensive, but, there is SOMETHING different in it's compounding??? I can highly recommend it! Getting it online is far less expensive than through your vet!

 

Sending hugs to you and your pupper! Dee and The Five

[Guest RobFromNL]

 

The DASEQUIN has worked wonders!!! I don't even have to give her Deramaxx (anti-inflammatory) anymore! It is expensive, but, there is SOMETHING different in it's compounding??? I can highly recommend it! Getting it online is far less expensive than through your vet!

 

 

Thanks for your response. Do you have any online sources you can direct me to for Dasequin? From my quick search it appears that it's only available from vets? I'm thinking of going back to the vet for a checkup this week and to discuss these other forms of Glucosamine to get her feedback. My vet is also a greyhound owner so I'm hoping she's as obsessed with them (in a good way!) as I am

[Guest Energy11]

The DASEQUIN has worked wonders!!! I don't even have to give her Deramaxx (anti-inflammatory) anymore! It is expensive, but, there is SOMETHING different in it's compounding??? I can highly recommend it! Getting it online is far less expensive than through your vet!

 

 

Thanks for your response. Do you have any online sources you can direct me to for Dasequin? From my quick search it appears that it's only available from vets? I'm thinking of going back to the vet for a checkup this week and to discuss these other forms of Glucosamine to get her feedback. My vet is also a greyhound owner so I'm hoping she's as obsessed with them (in a good way!) as I am

 

I WISH my vet was a greyhound owner. She is good, but still learning about Greys! Here are some sites:

http://www.1800petmeds.com/search.jsp?trail=SRCH%3Adasequin&_requestid=418964

 

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=dasequin&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=2846077831&ref=pd_sl_24usrtklr7_e

 

Good Luck!

 

[Rickiesmom]

I think Dasequin may be called Flexadin in Canada, something to check if you can't find Dasequin. My whippet has arthritis (he's almost 12) and we have dealt with it successfully using the following daily supplements:

 

- Flexadin (from vet)

- Wobenzym (you can get this at a health food store)

- Zeel (also from a health food store)

 

Last year after he lost a lot of muscle while recovering from a surgery that required restricted mobility, we also enrolled him at a local rehab centre, where he received laser treatments and spent time on the underwater treadmill, and I was shown some passive exercises to do with him to maintain / increase flexibility, all of which helped immensely.

 

Good luck with Hayes!

[Guest RobFromNL]

Just a followup on Hayes and his arthritic paw. We went back to the vet yesterday, this is about 4 weeks since he first started limping and about 3 weeks on glucosamine. He's not 100% back to himself yet. He'll run around in the yard like a madman a couple of times a week but still favours his paw. The vet checked him out again and recommended we try a week of Metacam to see if that helps get him back to normal, still continuing with the glucosamine as well. If after a week he's not back to himself she wants to try some natural/herbal remedies. She would like to try something that will have little or no side effects for him. I really like her approach and her want not to stick to drugs for healing. She says the arthritis is not bad but will probably flare up every now and again.

 

With all the nice weather on the way we want Hayes to be able to enjoy it to the fullest!

 

I think Dasequin may be called Flexadin in Canada, something to check if you can't find Dasequin. My whippet has arthritis (he's almost 12) and we have dealt with it successfully using the following daily supplements:

 

- Flexadin (from vet)

- Wobenzym (you can get this at a health food store)

- Zeel (also from a health food store)

 

Last year after he lost a lot of muscle while recovering from a surgery that required restricted mobility, we also enrolled him at a local rehab centre, where he received laser treatments and spent time on the underwater treadmill, and I was shown some passive exercises to do with him to maintain / increase flexibility, all of which helped immensely.

 

Good luck with Hayes!

[GeorgeofNE]

Please do not assume it's arthritis. You didn't indicate HOW your vet came to this diagnosis--but unless she's done complete x-rays of the entire leg, and repeated them in 2-3 weeks, I'd ask her to do that.

 

Without wishing to freak you out, bone cancer is extremely common in Greyhounds. Any unexplained limping should be looked at very, very thoroughly.

[Guest RobFromNL]

Please do not assume it's arthritis. You didn't indicate HOW your vet came to this diagnosis--but unless she's done complete x-rays of the entire leg, and repeated them in 2-3 weeks, I'd ask her to do that.

 

Without wishing to freak you out, bone cancer is extremely common in Greyhounds. Any unexplained limping should be looked at very, very thoroughly.

 

I understand that bone cancer is quite common and we discussed this with the vet yesterday. Hayes had a full leg x-ray at our previous visit and if our current treatment does not show results we would definitely be getting a followup x-ray.

[Guest EmilyandSioux]

We use Arthrisoothe Gold for my guys here. We love it all you do is sprinkle it on their foodd and they usually love the flavor. It worked for the guys here in about a week. Start this after you have had x-rays to make sure it is arthritis and not something else.

[greyhoundgang]

So many things you can do, naturally, to help arthriticand inflammatory situations in hounds. Inflammation needs to be reduced, so supplements can work even better. Greyhound Ganghas lots of information.

 

1. Joint supplements - Glucosamine HCL, MSM, Chondroitin, Vitamin C - combined - gives the best chance for positive change.

 

2. Needs to be 1500 mg daily of each of those. (Vitamin C to bowel tolerance)

 

3. Read labels on human pills. Know what is in each pill. Know how many pills are needed. Know the quality of the product you are using.

 

4. Natural anti-inflammatories include - Yucca, MSM, Bromelian, Boswellia, Medizym are a few of them.

 

5. Acupuncture is also very helpful.

 

6. If using NSAIDS or steroids, make sure blood work is done first. And support your hound's kidney and liver with natural supplementsso damage is not done by the drugs.

 

Just a few things to be aware of.

 

There are good products out there, and bad. Greyhound Gang offers more info, and Get Up & Go joint supplements. High quality, Inexpensive and proceeds help hounds.

Here are some of the unsolicited testimonialsfrom happy hounds.

 

Happy to answer any questions.