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Arthritis in dogs


UCF612
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We have an 11 year old golden retriever/black lab mix. She's been struggling with arthritis lately. The vet said we could get some meds for her but they are currently out of our price range. Anything we could give her that we could get otc? Supplements or a food or anything? I hate to see her suffer.

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Glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM supplement -- Spendy to begin with as you need to start with a loading dose for a month or two.  After that you can usually reduce the dosage significantly and it becomes less expensive.

 

Fish oil -- Given in high enough doses it acts as an anti-inflammatory.

 

Buffered aspirin.  Not considered ideal any more, especially for long term use, because of the risk of GI side effects.  But it used to be used all the time.  If I couldn't afford anything else I wouldn't hesitate to give a daily aspirin (at the correct dosage) to a dog in pain.

 

A supportive bed or other place to sleep.

 

Gentle warmth.

 

Reduce weight if that's an issue.

 

Tramadol is a prescription opiod used for pain relief that can work well and is less expensive than NSAIDs.

 

Here's a good source of info on arthritis in dogs.

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Glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM supplement -- Spendy to begin with as you need to start with a loading dose for a month or two. After that you can usually reduce the dosage significantly and it becomes less expensive.

 

Do you know why they have to do a "loading dose"? We started our two year old on Dasuquin due to a broken leg and I was wondering why we had to double the dosage for the first month. (Of course I didn't ask the vet!)

 

I have heard mixed info on human glucosamine with dogs so I figured we would just stick with the Dasuquin, but ours is so young, I would love to find another alternative.

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The glucosamine and fish oil....do we need to get things sold for dogs or does the stuff they sell for humans work?

 

I almost always prefer to use human supplements for my pets when possible.  There's not much oversight of supplements made for humans, but I suspect they get a lot more than products formulated for pets.

 

 

Do you know why they have to do a "loading dose"? We started our two year old on Dasuquin due to a broken leg and I was wondering why we had to double the dosage for the first month. (Of course I didn't ask the vet!)

 

I have heard mixed info on human glucosamine with dogs so I figured we would just stick with the Dasuquin, but ours is so young, I would love to find another alternative.

 

No, I don't know the "why" of it.  But every source I've ever read (and my vet) has always recommended that loading dose.

 

See above for my response about human products versus pet products.  But one thing to remember is that there are different forms of glucosamine, and some dogs apparently respond better to one form than another.  Here's the glucosamine page from the site I linked above.  Lots of good info there.

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My elderly dog couldn't take NSAID's due to stomach issues, so he had to take Tramadol. It worked fairly well. Find a regular pharmacy with cheap generics and have your vet call in the prescription there. For us, the Tramadol was (I think) about $4 a month. It didn't bother his stomach at all or have any discernible side effects, and he was on it quite a long time.

 

A heating pad can also help a lot, but don't use it if the dog isn't able to get off if he gets too warm. Get the kind without automatic shut off (but make sure you keep an eye on it).

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There are heating pads specifically for pets. They don't get too hot, no matter how long the animal is on it.

 

Cozy Winters is where I got mine. I have these inserts & just tuck them into regular beds. http://cozywinters.com/shop/kh-002-004.html

 

 

There is one nsaid which is very cheap - meloxicam, which is the generic of metacam. If your dog can tolerate it, it's a great option. My malamute / gsd girl takes 1/2 a tab each day.

The tablets are about 60 cents. The key is partly whether your dog is big enough. The tablets come in 7.5 g and are quite small already so they're pretty hard to quarter.

For this reason you can really only use them with dogs that are over 75lbs.

 

(of course you can get it compounded too & it still ends up being a pretty cheap option).

 

(My setter is on a 'proper' expensive veterinary nsaid & his meds are well over a $100/month so yeah, I feel your pain...)

 

Steroids for me are a last ditch thing. They do end up causing so much problems.

I'm keeping Tramadol off the table for now too but I did use that when our cat was palliative.

 

I did cartrophen injections for my old newf x. They're cheaper than the expensive nsaid's & did give relief.

 

 

I do give salmon oil & I use other joint supplements but I don't think they're that cheap honestly.... Meloxicam gives you way much more bang for the buck & is super effective if your

dog's digestion can handle it.

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Our dog is around 50lbs. I'm going to tell my husband what you guys have said and read the links. I hate to see her hurting and it scares me to realize she's getting older. :( My childhood dog had to be put to sleep when her arthritis got so bad it took her forever just to stand up. Her decline happened so quickly.

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I use a generic NSAID with my dogs...Novox I think? I don't remember it being particularly expensive. Call and ask what med specifically they are wanting to prescribe, and if it is a generic versus brand name. You can always get them to write out a script and get meds from say, costco or an internet pharmacy or what not. 

 

 

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