Arthritis

[twinclaire]

Did you know that one out of every five dogs suffer from arthritis.

Arthritis can affect dogs of any age or breed, but certain risk factors increase a dog's susceptibility to the disease. According to veterinarians at Novartis Animal Health, these include:

1. Genetic predisposition. Up to 70 percent of dogs in specific breeds, which include Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers and German shepherds, will be affected by canine arthritis.

2. Obesity. Studies show that obese dogs are likely to develop osteoarthritis three years earlier, on average, than lean dogs.

3. Joint abnormalities . Joint conditions such as canine hip dysplasia, the leading cause of lameness in dogs, can increase a dog's risk of developing osteoarthritis because it puts excessive stress on the animal's joints.

4. Joint stress and trauma. Injuries (such as getting hit by a car) that damage ligaments, tissues or bones also increase a dog's risk of developing osteoarthritis. In addition, high-activity and working dogs that participate in demanding activities put repeated stress on their joints. This chronic ligamentous injury makes them more susceptible to osteoarthritis.

5. Infection . Conditions caused by various bacterial, viral and fungal infections can affect joints and contribute to arthritis. Common conditions include Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which can be carried by ticks.

If a pet owner suspects that their dog may be in pain, they should bring it to their veterinarian's attention. If diagnosed, the disease can be treated with diet, exercise and a pain control medications such as Deramaxx (these are anti-inflammatory drugs similar to Celebrex and Vioxx for humans).

[GSDOWNER]

*Made this a sticky Mel*

3. Joint abnormalities . Joint conditions such as canine hip dysplasia, the leading cause of lameness in dogs, can increase a dog's risk of developing osteoarthritis because it puts excessive stress on the animal's joints.

This is why George developed osteoarthritis so young

[Becky]

I wasn't given a reason for my boy having developed osteoarthritis, presumed he knocked the knee when flying over a stye, just gets to excited about being out.

Although did you know that cats can also have hip dysplasia, didn't quite do enough research on my cats' breed otherwise would have know it was common for Maine Coons, although still would have brought him.

[mackico]

Archie has osteoarthritis in both his elbows, thanks to ED.

He's 22 months old. He's a skinny slip of a dog, never even been overweight. We never over-exercised him. He just got it. I'm really sad.

Originally Posted by mackico

Archie has osteoarthritis in both his elbows, thanks to ED.

He's 22 months old. He's a skinny slip of a dog, never even been overweight. We never over-exercised him. He just got it. I'm really sad.

Aww Bless Him at such a young age too
Hope he is doing well
Glucosamine and Chondroitin
green-lipped mussel
Omega-3
Are all beneficial
Is he on anything like this?

Linda x

[mackico]

Omega 3 -- he gets a capsule of evening primrose oil every evening.

I'll speak to my vet about the others.

Originally Posted by mackico

Omega 3 -- he gets a capsule of evening primrose oil every evening.

I'll speak to my vet about the others.

Oil is better than capsules IMO
Cod Liver oil is great and their are foods you can give that have anti inflammatory properties to them
Extra-virgin olive oil
Olive oil contains the “good” monounsaturated fat, which protects the body against inflammation because it contains antioxidants called polyphenols. In animal studies, rats with arthritis were fed diets high in various kinds of oils. The researchers found that both fish oil and olive oil prevented (or helped reduce) arthritis-related inflammation.
sweet potato, carrots, kale, butternut squash, pumpkin, cantaloupe, apricots and spinach.
blackberries, black currants, blueberries, eggplant, elderberries, raspberries, cherries, boysenberries, red/black grapes, strawberries and plums
I give my Boys all of the above and more

[sami]

Hi folks had no internet for ages (dont change to Sky!!!) and have been looking through old posts and thought I would mention Rhustox. Now before you all poopoo it let me elaborate.

I do not go for the herbal/homeopathic thing at all normally but my little girl Sami has spent the last 12 years trying to take her rightful place above everyone else. This has involved jumping 6ft into the air at every human contact. Hence she was really struggling a couple of years ago, couldnt get on the sofa, struggling with stairs, limping now and again.

I had been told about Rhustox years ago and thought heyho nothing to lose trying it. It has been absolutley brill. She can get on the sofa no problem, bounds around quite happily and has even started to steal things from the kitchen worktops and open doors again, (ah well it cant all be good news). She even ran out of them a while ago and within a few days she started to struggle again but when put back on them she was ok again.

As I said dont go for this sort of stuff normally but if it works for my little princess I will stick with it.

Rhustox can be bought from any good herballists, it is a homeopathic remedy with few if any side effects.

[laney]

My old girl is 12 yrs now , 3 years ago she was so lame i thought my only option was to put to sleep , she had had cortaflex , glucosamine , sharks cartilage , msm , rimadyl , metacam , tramadol etc etc etc all hugely expensive ( didnt matter ) and more to the point still very lame , my horse vet suggested PLT Prednoleuc o something ! It is amazing and this old girl now comes riding with me for an hour almost evry day ! Dont get me wrong it has its bad points , it is after all a steroid - main side affects being weight gain , hungry all the time ( so i feed RC satiety support to fill her up ) and can lead to liver complications over long term use ...my thoughts ?? All she wants to do is be by my side and if she cant do that what is the point ? She has regular blood tests to keep an eye on things and is only on 2 tabs a day ( can have 4 ) , just my own opinion , look a lot of new vets dont like this drug and will push for the non steroidal ones but I believe they have their own side effects and issues too , my old school vet raves about PLT whilst new locum on his day off tries her best to get me to switch ....but my Bair can run , play with the puppy and not be crippled isnt this the point of her life ? Id be interested to hear anyone elses views on this and truly believe I am doing the right thing by my old girl , as for pup he is on RC large breed puppy food which has lots of things in it eg glucosamine etc and i mix it with sardines in sunflower oil to help his little joints and maybe with a little bit of luck he will stay sound , ooh sorry to go on but incidently Bairs hip score aged 5yrs was 83 !!! shouldnt be moving at all this is one tough beautiful miracle dog ...Laney xx

[Tanya]

Larson has just turned 11 years old and has not long recovered from having a tumor removed along with one of his digits .
He has started to get stiff on his back end so ive got him on Glucosamine & Chondroitin and also cod liver oil , it seems to be working ok so far