My handsome 10-year-old Shane has just returned from the vet who thinks he has arthritis in his hip. He had a badly broken hock aged 5 which was pinned and plated (as well as having a bone graft) and so his hip on his ‘good’ back leg took a bit of a pounding for a year or so as that healed (he hopped everywhere for a long while, and still does sometimes when he’s tired), as well as the general strain from his racing career.
He started to slow down a wee bit on walks recently, but it’s only the last week or two that he’s started to cry a wee bit whilst getting up and down and this weekend he started to limp quite badly on his good leg. It’s shaking when he puts weight on it and it’s as if he’s walking on his tip-toes. Once he gets going it seems better, probably more through momentum and balance than anything else. Today he was crying a lot and restless, as if he couldn’t get comfy.
He has no swelling on his leg or any signs of injury, and the only time he ‘protested’ at the vet was whilst she was poking around at this hip joint, so she thinks this is the likely cause. He’s had a metacam injection (and seems much more comfortable) and metacam to take daily and is to return in a fortnight. She wants to check his progress then and will arrange for an x-ray then just to be sure that’s what it is. I’m relieved there was no mention of the big ‘C’ as I have to admit that had crossed my mind, however until he gets x-rayed my mind won’t be at rest.
I was wondering if any of you had experience of a senior dog with this type of problem and what other sorts of things you found helped to ease their condition? He’s well walked, but I’m going to cut down down the length of his walks initially until his pain is properly controlled. He’s not overweight and gets a teaspoon of fish oil in his breakfast every day. I’ve heard people mention supplements such as glucosamine and magnetic collars, have any of you tried them? The vet also mentioned acupuncture, and there’s a dog hydrotherapy facility close by which I’d consider trying.
I’ll keep you posted on how he gets on. I keep hoping maybe he’s injured himself and that it won’t be a long term thing, but on the other hand I’ll just be relieved if it is arthritis and not something more sinister, and hopefully we can do whatever it takes to keep him pain free and maintain a decent quality of life.
Hi
I’m sorry to hear your boy is in pain and keeping my fingers crossed things settle down. Our older hound Jet is 8, he joined our family last year and always did have a bit of a limp with one of his front legs. I noticed it got a little worse during the cold weather but he didn’t seem to complain just limped a bit more. I started giving him cod liver oil each day and this seemed to help, also started my other hound on it as a preventative measure as she’s approaching 6. After spending the day at the Spring Fayre Jet was limping really badly the next morning, again not complaining just hobbling around. We let him take it easy for a few days, shortened his walks to see if it would improve but it didn’t. After a vet visit they suspected arthritis too as he was a bit stiff in his left fore leg. He’s on metacam daily now (has been for over a month) and it has improved his limp no end, it’s still there ever so slightly, but i prob just notice it because i know about it. He’s a lot happier now and has even been runnign around the garden. I’d be interested to hear about any other therapies you try and how you find them. At the moment the cod liver oil and metacam are working fine for us but i know metacam can upset some dogs digestion after a while. the only advice i can really give is to be mindful of the weather and him over doing things, just like us humans they feel the damp and cold in their bones when they get older.
Hope Shane is feeling more comfortable.
Our old boy Roscoe was on Glucosamine (1500mg)daily for the last 2 years of his life (he was 14 1/2 when we lost him), during cold damp weather i gave him the full dose but cut it to 500mg in summer. I checked the dose with our vet but sourced the tablets from internet,supermarket or a well known health chain (basically whoever had the best deal on) if you buy them from the vet it costs a lot more.
It certainly worked, on a relaxing toddle in Biggar he took off at speed through the caravan park with his dad in hot pursuit, they both returned a few minutes later puffed out! Lol.
I have heard of one greyhound who has found that a copper lined collar has made a difference so it may be worth considering.
Good luck and i hope you find something that works for yor boy.
I would suggest trying a magnetic collar. Branny is 12 now and has some problems with his shoulders. He was on 2 tablets of seraquin (a glucosamine supplement) but was getting a little worse, so I spoke with my vet about a magnetic collar. She said that it seems to work for around 50% of cases, but that as dogs don’t know about placebos it could only be a benefit from the collar, so it was definitely worth a try. I noticed a difference with Branny inside a week and was even able to cut down his supplements. There’s a few places on the web that sell them with a money back guarantee, so its a no risk thing to try.
Poor Shane. Hopefully the Metacam will at least have him feeling comfortable.
Glucosamine and Chrondroitin tablets are good for joint issues. I crush one tablet into their food daily. I also give mine about 1/2 tsp Hokamix (can be purchased from zooplus.com) daily. It was orginally designed to help combat/prevent hip dysplasia in GSD but has been found to be helpful with other joint issues. Missing Link (can be found on eBay) also has a joint formulation which may also help.
Hope Shane is feeling better soon.
I’ve had a couple of dogs with arthritis and can vouch for glucosamine and chrondoitin which really helped as it did with Roscoe. Its worth asking your vet for a supply of Metacam to keep at home to give him if he is particularly sore and while you wait for the supplements to take effect.
Please buy human glucosamine & chrondoitin at the supermarket rather than pay for the veterinary type which is the same but much more expensive.
My last vet always insisted it didn’t work but my boy Mason, who had arthritis and old girl Nellie both improved dramatically with it.
Good luck and keep us posted
Marie
Thanks very much for your replies folks! The metatcam has certainly made him more comfortable and he’s not whining any more when getting up or trying to lie back down. He struggles at the best of times as his other back leg is fused at the hock and doesn’t bend so having the other leg hurting must be hard for him. Hopefully the glucosamine will help and I’m going to order a magnetic collar today just to give it a shot! Can’t do any harm! : ) He’s always had fish oil as I was always worried that with his history he’d and up with joint issues.
His thigh muscle is shaking a bit when he has to put weight on the leg, especially while standing still, but when he’s actually walking it’s only a slight limp which is noticeable. I’ve also noticed then when his walking his paw is flicking inwards slightly, so I’ll mention that to the vet when he’s back in ten days. She wanted to see how he was getting on before x-raying. I’ll be glad once it’s done as it’s still in the back of my mind that it’s something else (especially as it seemed to worsen very quickly, although it hasn’t worsened any more since his visit to the vet). I’ll let you know how he’s getting on!
I don’t know if anyone ever saw the Fronline Scotland documentary ‘Dogs Abuse’ a few years ago, where they secretly filmed at Armadale? Shane’s the boy who broke his leg in that race and they focused on him for quite a bit of the show. He went through a lot after that and it was a long haul getting him back on his feet when we adopted him, which is why it’s even more sad for me to see him struggling again. : ( I adore all three of my hounds,but I’ll always have an extra soft spot for my boy. : )
Oh I remember Shane! It was heartbreaking. My Nellie had a shaky back leg and she was arthritic, her paw also turned in when she was walking but she managed fine.
I hope Shane settles on the meds and the supplements help, fingers crossed he feels better soon.
Marie
Thanks Marie! I’m glad to hear Nellie managed fine. It’s a relief to hear other people’s stories whose dogs have coped well with it. He wasn’t bad at all yesterday but then shot out into the garden to bark at my neighbour’s dog and came in limping and whining again. It seems to have settled a bit again this morning, poor chap!: ) Got him started on the glucosamine now (and my old girl Millie too - she gets a bit stiff in the colder weather). Ordered a magnetic collar too.
Yup, I find it hard to watch that programme now! I go into the BBC iPlayer thing every now and again and watch it. I don’t know why as it upsets me, but I can’t help myself. His leg was almost hanging off the break was that bad. Happened on the Saturday and the rescue centre tells me his trainer didn’t even take him to the vet until the Monday evening to be PTS. Luckily she took his money then used it to patch him up, put a splint on him and hand him over. Was in a splint for a few months but then needed bone grafts and had metal plates put in. The skin went necrotic and came off, so it was an open wound the whole time and didn’t heal for several months when they had to remove the plate. Luckily by then the leg was strong enough just to splint again for a few months and then he was good to go! He hopped on his left hip for over a year, and still walks heavier on that leg, so it’s no wonder he’s struggling with it now. It’s never slowed him down until now right enough! He really can’t do without his good leg, so hopefully all of these things combined will keep him going! Despite all his troubles, he LOVES going to the vet, so much so that he once jumped out of the boot, shot up the stairs (which he normally needs carried up), ran right through reception into the treatment area and had the vet’s pet cat pinned against the wall!!!!!! Thank goodness for muzzles!!!! He know’s the cat is in there and can’t wait to visit! I was mortified!
He’s a cheeky, grumpy old man, but I wouldn’t change him for the world! Hehe! : )
Your Shane sounds a right character and I’m sorry to hear he is struggling a bit just now. I hope some of the measures you are trying bring relief.
I have no experience with arthritis in hounds yet as mine are all still relative babies - the oldest we think is around 3 or 4 years old. I did have experience of it with my labradors and one in particular, Shira, started to suffer quite disabling symptoms when she was about 10. Turned out she couldn’t tolerate Metacalm so she went on Rimadyl which suited her well and eased most of her discomfort. However I did end up having the ‘discussion’ with the vet when they decided that ‘long term’ the medication might have detrimental effects on her kidneys etc and wanted to stop prescribing it. My argument was that at 10 years old there WAS no ‘long term’ and I would rather she had 2 comfortable years than 3 pain-filled miserable ones. So she remained on Rimadyl quite happily until she passed away at 12 and a half years old.
I must admit I wasn’t clued up at that time about glucosamine etc which I certainly would have tried.
Good luck with getting your lad comfortable again.
I agree Allison. I’d rather Shane was on the medication long-term (if and when he needs it) and had one year left in comfort and still enjoying his walks than two or three years being miserable in the house. He loves being outdoors! I could cope with seeing him cooped up all the time. Hopefully he’ll be with us a few years yet though! Although he’s a bit shaky he’s not crying anymore in the house so the Metacam definitely helping him. Vet wants to try acupuncture and think my petplan policy includes some money for alternative therapies so will definitely give it a shot. His magnetic collar should be here tomorrow. Also going to take a trip along to the local dog hydrotherapy place and have a chat with the lady there as would be willing to try that with him too. : )
Well my boy is off to the vet to have x-rays done tomorrow (and a dental while he is under - I didn’t want to put him through anaesthetic twice, especially with him being older) and I’m pretty nervous about what they will find. I’m hoping it’ll be arthritis or a treatable injury and not something worse. : ( I’ll be a wreck when we go in to pick him up and find out what is wrong.
The metacam is definitely helping, although he can still only manage a 15 minute walk or so before slowing right down, but at least he is able to get up and down without crying and is able to get comfy to sleep, which he was struggling with before the metacam. Here’s hoping that once the glucosamine starts to work it’ll help him too. He’s had his magnetic collar on for a few days now, and I’d say his leg seems slightly less shaky so could be down to that. From the way he’s walking I’m getting a wee bit concerned that he might be having an issue with his back, although maybe that’s just another problem arising from compensating for his hip when walking. If he does have arthritis we are very lucky to have a local canine hydrotherapy centre run by a lady who is also a qualified physio, so we will work with her too to see if we can strengthen up his leg which was broken so he’s able to use that one a bit more.
Fingers crossed for him tomorrow. He’s had such a hard time over the last few years between the ops on his leg and several corneal ulcers where he had to have his eye stitched shut for weeks at a time. He rarely complains though. Here’s hoping it’s something we can help him with. I know we shouldn’t have favourites, but he was my first hound and is a bit of a mummy’s boy and he’s extra special to me. xxx
Hiya folks! Well he’s had his x-rays done now, but won’t get his results till we go back on Friday. Fingers crossed and I’ll keep you posted. He had a dental done today whilst he was under and needed a wee tooth out, so he’s feeling a bit sorry for himself and a bit groggy. Poor soul. : )Just glad the x-rays are done now and hopefully come friday we can get him on the right treatment. : )
