Hi we are looking for some help and information with regards to our 11 year old male black lab. We are aware he has arthritis in his back legs and up until October last year he was walking between 3 and 5 miles per day. After speaking to our vet we put him on 2 yumove joint supplement tablets per day and reduced his walking to 30min per day as advised by our vet. We are concerned though that he is some discomfort and may require some sort of pain relief. We took him back to the vet a month or so ago explaining to the vet that he’s kinda groans when lying in his bed or when he’s trying to get comfy. The vet drained his anal glands thinking that maybe the issue but a month on and he’s still the same. Our worry is that he’s in some pain and discomfort and requires pain relief along with the joint supplement tablets. I’m going to phone the vet tomorrow for another appointment and see if he can advise what would be best to give him for any pain that’s he’s got. Anyone got any advice or guidance when it comes to pain relief for labs with arthritis?
Hi At that age I put my dog on Golden Paste. If you google the recipe it is a turmeric and coconut oil mix that works as a natural anti inflammatory. It helped him and he had a new lease of life for a while.
We used Rimadyl for Black Dog Faye as she got older, when she was younger she used to 'pivot' on her right front leg and spin round and round like nutter while waiting for us to throw her ball. This lead to a worn shoulder joint which would have her limping painfully after a walk but the Rimadyl's worked well for her.
I find the '30-minute per day' pretty odd. What is advised for arthritic dogs are shorter, but more freuquent walks throughout the day. If you lose the muscle tone, you are doomed. Exercise is very important for arthritic dogs, I'd get the dog back in shape gradually with age-appropriate exercise. If you can do some swimming or hydrotherapy, even better. Other than that, this is what I do for my almost 14-year-old arthritic lab: https://adventuresofacookie.wordpress.com/2019/04/20/arthritis-in-dogs-our-experience/
I have just started an arthritic dog on a course of Cartrophen injections. She had the first one yesterday and will have another three; one per week. I'll let you know if we see any difference.
Anal glands? Seriously? Sorry, I have been in the business for over 20 years and that part made me giggle. Ur dog most definitely sounds painful I totally agree with other posts regarding putting him on a NSAID. I have seen thousands of dogs on them and the one I have seen the least issues with is Previcox. if ur vet doesn’t carry it u can request through an online pharmacy. It is a good idea to run a small profile that gets ALT, T. Bili, Bun, and Creatinine prior to starting it just to be sure there r no pre existing organ issues, and the rechecking in 3 months. I’ve had countless dogs come in for end of life consults due to arthritis and leave with Previcox. Many r not aware that there r options out there So many next day calls that their dogs were running again. Just my 2 cents.
