Relieving symptoms of hip dysplasia & arthritis

[.sarah]

Ahhh thanks

Mandy has her bloodwork done often -- I work at a vet so it's easy to keep on top of these things.

Hmm ... I'm not exactly sure how much Fish Oil they're being given. I've been giving them 2 caps per day ... I know when Mandy was prescribed it a couple years ago for dry skin she was being given 2 a day so I figured I'd start with that. I didn't think Fish Oil had any life-threatening symptoms.

I'm more worried about giving them too much Vitamin E, though. I'm giving them 1 cap per day. My boss has Rottweilers around the size of my dogs who are getting 2 caps per day of the same size, so I'm hoping that I could increase it if needed but I am going to learn more about it first.

[senorita02]

i think the fish oil was a good move, it is good for humans too.
i have not added it to my Rotts food , he has mild hip dysplasia, but i think i will.
He has not been showing any signs of discomfort at all, but the xray did show he has it, and when he swims, i will give him a rimidyl that evening, that seems to be the only time he shows slight discomfort.
i dont like to give the rimidyl cuz of all the bad things i have heard about it , but i havent had to use it that much, maybe one bottle the entire year!

[wolfie]

I agree, I don't believe Rimadyl is very safe to be on long term.

Daphne has arthritis, and she gets glucosamine ever day. It works great! If I ever stop for a week or two and we go out running, she starts limping. I start back up again and she's pain-free!

Cosequin has glucosamine in it. I was reading that the other ingredient in Cosequin, chondroitin, isn't proven to be effictive. It's usually found with glucosamine in pills, so the pills work because of the glucosamine in the pills. It could be wrong, but that's what I read in one study.

You can find glucosamine for dogs for about $20 for 120 pills (500mg each. Daphne is 40 pounds, and needs 1000mg a day) Or you can just buy the stuff for humans, and hide it in food. I do that for Daphne - I found human pills, 1000mg each, 120 pills for $20.

And I know a lot of people have sucess with MSM for their pets with arthritis. We don't use it though so I can't give you more info on that.

[areias]

I use a supplement with my horse, who has an old knee injury. She used to "creak" when she loped, and she would sometimes go a little sore on it. I started using FinishLine-Fluid Action...and its great. I haven't had any problems with it-it has glucosomine, MSM, yucca, calcium, some vitamins, etc. You can use it on dogs and cats...I would definately take a look. It has 5000mg of glucosomine in an ounce. It's about $30...State Line Tack in Petsmarts usually carry it. For a horse it's a 30day supply, and I'm sure for a dog it would about 2months.

Wow I sound like a sales agent.

Anyways...here's a link:
Fluid Action

I'm not sure about fish oil. I don't think Vitamin E would have any adverse effects. When Casey was 4 months old she got into a bottle of them, ate the whole thing (about 50 pills), and was none the worse off, other than a little diarrhea.
Hills Science Diet also came out with a joint food, J/D. I don't know how well it works, or the ingredients.

[pnance]

I use a human grade glucomsomine/chondroitin suppliment for 2 of my dogs. 1 has arthritis, the other has had hip surgery for dysplasia in 1 hip and the other hip is on the mild side, so both get it and it works great for them. They were both rescues when they came to us, and I've seen the difference the suppliments make in there mobility. According to my vet not all the glucosomine/chondroitin supplements work as well, she gave me 3 brands that were good, unfortunately I don't remember the other 2. Currently I get mine at costco and it's a Kirkland brand of all things. But our vet recommended it and considering she works closing with a board certified surgeon whose well known for her technique in helping dogs with dysplasia I'm willing to go with it....

[.sarah]

Hills Science Diet also came out with a joint food, J/D. I don't know how well it works, or the ingredients.

Ehhh, yes I know. I don't like Hills at all. I'd rather feed them Purina, but I still hate that brand too. I'm going to keep them on the Natural Balance because it's a much better food, and I will just supplement.

Thanks for all the info! I will definetly look into everything. I may have to try a few different things but I just want something that works. Mandy's arthritis is only minor but she's overweight so the arthritis could get worse (she has been on a diet for over a year, she's lost 11 lbs but has been 5 lbs overweight for about 6 months now -- and we've tried everything to get her to lose the remaining weight. ). Nova's dysplasia is severe in her hips and moderate in her elbow, so I'm really not looking forward to the years to come -- it's only going to get worse. She shows no symptoms or discomfort now but I'm hoping to prevent at least some discomfort. Hopefully she won't have to get the surgery, but if that's what's best for her than that's what we'll do. Plus, we started agility before I found out that she has dysplasia and she loves it. I don't know whether to continue with it or not. Dr.D said it'd be okay, but I'm still worried about how much stress that will put on her joints.

[senorita02]

Which surgery are you referring to? Hip Replacement?

[.sarah]

I guess so. I only know that in severe cases surgery is sometimes needed. I honestly haven't researched too much, yet.