Arthritis In Greyhounds?

[Laurenbiz]

Hi everyone,

In January when we moved into a small apartment after selling our home, Bernie went crazy and dug the carpet up and trashed the place. He limped for a week or so, and we took him to the vet to discover that he had a mixture of tendonitis (from digging) and arthritis in his front legs. His limping subsided after a month or so, and his anxiety completely disappeared when we again moved into a home in April!

 

We take him to doggy daycare once a week, and he absolutely loves going there. He went last Thursday 12/3, and we've seen some intermittent limping since then. Our thought is that he is an older guy (9 y/o) with known arthritis, and he's on his feet all day at daycare, so stiffness and some limping are probably expected. Just yesterday, he went into our backyard and ran around like crazy, so it doesn't really seem to bother him much. (It bothers me because I'm a worrywart! )

 

So his symptoms are:

• Occasional limping
• Occasional stiffness
• Licking front feet/arms (I've seen him licking both left and right)
• More frontward stretching than usual (downward dog position)
• Still zoomies in the backyard like nothing is wrong

 

Our vet prescribed Previcox earlier in the year when he had the tendonitis/arthritis issue. We got a refill on it a few months ago. I give him 1/4 pill as a dose just when I see him acting a little stiff. This past week, though, he's gotten at least two doses daily over a period of several days. This is much more frequent than usual — sometimes we go a whole week or two and don't give him any Previcox because he doesn't seem like he needs it.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions for other ways I can help Bernie not have the occasional stiffness/limp? I know my vet also offers laser therapy and acupuncture. Do any of you have good experiences with these therapies with your arthritic hounds?

 

Thank you!

Edited December 15, 2015 by Laurenbiz

[SarahsBlackPack]

Lauren,

 

Fast has been Gluocsomine since he came to us as a 7 year old who had broken his leg as a 2 year racing. Ellen Paulus recommended that we start him on it after we got him since he was older.dog with a previous racing injury. And he was on it on til just about a month ago. Our vet didn't seem to think the Glucosamine was helping any more since he now almost 13. He is on 2 different pain pills for the arthritis in the leg he had broken. We also had him on a different supplement as well. and the combination of those 3 things seem to be helping. He still does limp on that bad leg of his but not all the time though.

[Brandiandwe]

My guru greyhound vet here does a lot of work with herbs and she swears by tumeric and aloe vera. Also to keep them moving (move it or lose it).

[lukasmom]

Fresh Factors and Joint Health from Springtime Naturals. Also maybe a visit to a chiropractor. It has helped my 4 year old boy tremendously. My 10 year old goes now too.

[Laurenbiz]

My guru greyhound vet here does a lot of work with herbs and she swears by tumeric and aloe vera. Also to keep them moving (move it or lose it).

Interesting! Our vet's office does have a holistic vet available. (All of the three vets at the office know Bernie because of his daily visits over the summer after he was attacked by a dog!) I could always ask the holistic vet more questions about Bernie's arthritis. I usually do not take him to see appointments with her.

 

Do you know what your vet does with the aloe vera?

Fresh Factors and Joint Health from Springtime Naturals. Also maybe a visit to a chiropractor. It has helped my 4 year old boy tremendously. My 10 year old goes now too.

Is this what your 10 y/o takes? http://www.springtimeinc.com/product/joint-health-chewables/All-Natural-Dog-Supplements

[Brandiandwe]

It just goes into his food (only a teaspoon otr so), mixed in with the tumeric. It does make their poop go a startling yellow and a very odd texture though!

 

I'll pm you her details - she's on FB. She makes some great supplements (though whether they could be shipped internationally I don't know. Mibne are all on her stuff, but the two boys are now on her 'Old Fart's Mix' which supports their digestive systems as well as helping with their arthritis.

[cleptogrey]

there were a couple of articles that i read, somewhere, and it seems as if vets are now prescribing a NASID for arthritis they have found that as long as the liver function is monitored and is fine why not keep the dogs out of pain. as it turns out i just changed vets after my long long time vet retired. the new vet put 9 year old stiff, uncomfortable felix on metacam for one week (or so)and had me wait for his normal activity level to resume.then i started(as she prescribed) reducing the metacam to first every other day and see how he does and then even try every 3 days. every other day is what he needs, i now have a new dog!!! she also recommended dasaquin which i am using now. he was on get up and go- 1500mg of each- glucosamine, croidointin(sp) , msm and 500 mg of C . i did order all the ingredients on line, it fit my budget. then i also tried EFAC, bovine derivative. no go......with all of the variations(this is over a year now, giving each combo a good 4-6 months to do it's thing).

 

the NASID is what had worked,& yes, i keep my dogs moving. and it's now a pleasure to see felix move as he should...LIKE A CRAZY GREYHOUND....no an old crotchety dog.

 

as to the supplements, ????? the dasaquin costs about the same as purchasing the ingredients separately. i figured, new vet- try her approach(she has a good reputation)why not?

 

so, talk to your vet, have your pup examined and joints manipulated and just check levels of ingredients in all of the supplements. MSM is excellent- i take it daily, but for a dog it seems as if they also need glucosamine and better yet- crodointin.

[XTRAWLD]

I vote Springtime. The boys have been on Fresh Factors and Joint Health for many years now, and when I first put Kasey on it after him not being able to jump on the bed well anymore, within 2 weeks it was back to his normal springy step. I've now moved on to use the powder additive Longevity, but Fresh Factors is an amazing first step. The Advanced Hip and Joint contains an additive that reduces inflammation (similar to the claims of Tumeric) I tried Tumeric and the only thing I noticed was an incredibly stinky dog! The stuff just oozed out of his skin. Blech. I couldn't be done with that bottle fast enough, and the stuff isn't cheap!

[GeorgeofNE]

As a human with arthritis I would have to say you need to give him the NSAID daily. Arthritis never goes away. It just gets worse. There is no value in starting and stopping, starting and stopping. As long as your dog's bloodwork is good, NSAIDs are not to be feared. I'm not sure why vets are still pushing neutraceuticals. I've asked about them many times for myself, and have never had any doctor suggest that they'll help.

 

What I AM told is that regular gentle exercise is critical. Even when you're in pain, you have to move through it. For a dog that would mean leash walking even on days when he's stiff. Keep the weight off to lessen any joint issues. Keep the muscle mass up to the extent possible to help support the joints.

 

My Kramer (mutt) had severe arthritis resulting from major orthopedic surgery gone wrong. He probably lived an extra two years because of Rimadyl. He would not have had any quality of life without the relief it provided.

[PatricksMom]

A couple other ideas:

-assuming normal blood work, try adding fish oil, it also helps with inflammation. Start with a small amount to avoid upsetting his stomach.

-if you don't want to use Meloxicam all the time, with Patrick I had good luck with Tramadol all the time and adding Meloxicam for a week at a time, either at the first sign of a flareup or ideally before events that could cause a flareup. Eventually, he had to go on Meloxicam daily as the arthritis progressed, and had no trouble with it. Do get his blood work done regularly.

[seeh2o]

Doodles has been on a lot of joint supplements over the years, but when I started her on Next Level joint fluid the results were dramatic. Within two weeks she was flying around the house playing with her toys, pouncing on them like a much younger dog. My friend who takes care of them when I go out of town saw the big difference in Doo, too.

 

They all work differently with each dog, I hope you find one that works well for yours.

 

This one was recommended to me by trainers in the greyhound business, I figured I'd ask the experts and they site steered me in the right direction!

[Guest JJGrey]

Would you mind posting what you purchase from Springtime? I'm looking at their website and am not sure what I should try. Thanks.

[Remolacha]

I use Fresh Factors and regular Joint Health. I have tried the Advanced Joint Health, but none of my dogs liked it.

[lukasmom]

Yes, I also use Fresh Factors and Joint Health for my 10 year old and my 4 year old. I give my 10 year old 4-5 of each kind and my 4 year old 2 of each. You can increase as needed.