Only 4 victory laps on his first find it - very mild, by Charlie standards. I do have a vid though! Will post it.....
Oh, I forgot - a slightly more objective measure is that he had some crepitus (clicking) in his rear legs, and on his left front (only heard when walking up stairs). In terms of the rear legs, this is completely normal after cruciate ops. But it's much, much reduced after the Cartrophen. Just rest wouldn't have done that, because it's never changed before after rest.
This all sounds good, Julie! Good luck with the scent workshop, I would love to do that too! Can't wait to hear about it!
There is nothing in the data sheets that indicate it can't be given long term. Slightly worryingly, the frequency you should give it is 'based on vets' feedback'. Every 3 months for severe cases, to just once a year for mild stiffness.....
The dosing regime does seem to be a bit different in the UK to what it is here. Here, as far as I know, most vets would go for the 4 x 1 per week loading dose, then one shot every month. Or, maybe the 4 x 1 per week loading dose every 6 months with nothing in between. If I had a 'severe case' I would definitely be doing it every 4 weeks after the initial loading dose.
I do think that some vets give one shot, yes - I've read about that (I've been searching for info). But the makers of Cartrophen say one dose is a course of 4 injections. On this website: http://www.cartrophen.com/veterinarians_cartrophen_vet_dosgae.html It says: Dosing Regimen All dogs treated with Cartrophen Vet will require a minimum of 1 full course per year. It is also recommended an OA check-up be performed at least every 6 months after OA has been diagnosed, essential to monitor progress and keep the disease under control and in order to determine the best time to repeat. Treatment is based on each individual patient and the objective is to prevent signs from recurring by stopping or slowing disease development. Veterinary experience shows that clinical response generally lasts between 3 – 12 months and each patient should be assessed on an individual basis. While it will vary from case to case, from clinical experience, below are approximate recommended regimens. Mild signs of OA - 1 course* every 12 months Moderate signs of OA – 1 course* every 6 months (2 courses per 12 months) Chronic and severe signs of OA – 1 course* every 4 months (3 courses per 12 months) * course = administration every 5-7 days on four occasions.
Anyway, just did a video after his beach run around yesterday - no stiffness. Which is really good news. If that didn't make him limp - he was a right old hooligan, plus the water was shallow so he was running in water up to his tummy, which is hard work - I don't reckon much will..... Obviously, retrieving on land puts a different set of strain on his joints, but if he can do a mad beach hoolie for over an hour without being stiff, that's pretty good.
Here all dogs get 4 injections 1 week apart to start with, known as the loading dose. After that it's typically used monthly for severe or advanced cases. Not all dogs need that of course. Basically, though, it is safe to use 1 shot a month on an ongoing basis. I've got the horse on a monthly dose even though he has only mild arthritis. Which I must say isn't cheap when the patient weighs half a tonne... I might ask about dose frequency at our next check up.
My understanding is that the booster frequency is based on the animal's response. The animal starts limping in five weeks, you might booster in 4.5 weeks. My Vet had dogs boostering at 6 month intervals. It's not approved or marketed for cats but we used it on an elderly cat. Ginger got an injection every two weeks. It made a remarkable difference in her ability to move around. I bought pre-loaded syringes from my VEt and did the injections myself, at home. I've used it on two dogs and one cat and with all three saw immediate improvement after the first dose but we still did the four loading doses of one shot a week. I'm glad it's working for Charlie. The first time I used it I was having some trouble with aches myself. I asked and apparently approval for use on humans was being investigated and sought but as far as I know it still isn't available for us.
My concern is that if it has worked, then I don't really want to wait until Charlie has some stiffness again to repeat it. My experience this time is that I saw the effects after 5 weeks. So....but I can't find a data sheet that says give just one shot. This seems to be something that has developed in practice. Or I don't have all the data sheets.
