I have a lovely ' old boy ' yellow lab named Toby . He will be 10 this year but unfortunately suffers from arthritis on his front left leg upper joint . This has gradually got worse and now walks only last about 10/15 minutes when he starts limping altho' he's always keen to go out . Toby has had several treatments including a combination of coconut oil/turmeric which was recommended . Unfortunately this didn't work or improve Toby's wellbeing . Can anyone suggest or know of an ' over the counter ' medicine/treatments that could help ? I accept that Toby , like all of us is getting older and has the conditions that go along with age . Thankyou in anticipation . James .
Re: Arthritus advice Please .! Sorry to hear about your old lads arthritis, my last Lab had this too and I just limited her walks . There is a product called Joint Aid , sorry I don't know who manufactures it but if you google it, it should come up, heard good reports of it . What about trying a fish oil supplement , such as salmon oil or cod liver oil ? Both supposed to be good for joint issues and both available from Amazon , welcome to the forum by the way
Re: Arthritus advice Please .! When i had a foster dog with arthiritis the vet suggested cod liver oil tablets and also glucosamine sulphate. You can get tablets specifically for dogs of these or it can be cheaper to buy human ones but the vet said they might not be as effective. I bought human ones from boots for Ezra, and it was combined cod liver oil and glucosamine sulphate. He was also on loads of painkillers though, i cant really say if it made a huge difference as unfortunately he got very ill and went to rainbow bridge. But I would def give them a go
Re: Arthritus advice Please .! My dog had surgery to repair cruciate damage, so future arthritus is almost inevitable and something we try to guard against now. The main prongs of attack are supplements - we use Synoquin. The surgeon said they might help, or they might not - the jury is out on whether any supplement will help. A bit like buying face cream - you'll regret it if you don't do it, and it might have made a difference. I think it is a long term strategy though. The other thing we do is hydro - I think this makes a big difference, allowing muscle to be maintained to provide joints with strong surrounding muscle, and promoting full range of motion, without weight bearing exercise. We do some physio exercises too, but I'm not sure they will help once arthritis has set in. After looking into this a lot, I think those two things are most likely to help. The rest - memory foam beds, massage, and various pain relief etc. might help ease discomfort but that's all.
Re: Arthritus advice Please .! I find Synoquin very helpful for my dog, he delveloped arthritis at 10 months as a result of a fractured elbow, but nearly 9 years on the daily use of Synoquin has helped tremendously and the arthritis is no worse (up to this moment!). Years ago I had an old GSP crippled with arthriits (Synoquin was not available then) and Alo Vera Juice in her food did make a visible difference, this was recommended by a vet. In fact it was the only thing that did show a difference.
Re: Arthritus advice Please .! I found the glucosamine helped quite a bit with my old dog's arthritis.
Re: Arthritus advice Please .! I use riaflex joint daily for Penny, who has hip dysplasia aged 2 years. It's a glucosamine and chrondroitin supplement that is a lot better than many others on the market. They also do a stronger one called joint plus. It is expensive but well worth it in my opinions. My orthopaedic vet also recommend omega 3 fish oils - such as you would find in cod liver oil, I gave cod liver oil tablets for a while but now I give actual omega 3 tablets as they have a higher level of the good stuff in them than just the cod liver oil.
Re: Arthritus advice Please .! Thanks all ~ plenty to think about and some interesting views . Have ordered Joint~Aid on line today and I will up his oil supplements . Thanks again James ( & Toby 8) )
Re: Arthritus advice Please .! Hi James, do you give him NSAID's, such as Rimadyl? They really helped my old boy and gave him a new lease of life.
Re: Arthritus advice Please .! My last Lab developed arthritis at age 13 and for him Metacam worked wonderfully (from the vet, not over the counter). It took about a week to take full effect but after that he had a daily dose with no side effects and showed no further signs of pain, living for another 18 months. I'm fairly sceptical about herbal remedies and would definitely talk to the vet.
