Joint pain in large dogs

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

I have two lab mixes (top 65lbs & on a diet!)who have each had their bad breaks. One in right front elbow, other both hips, jagged fho on one side (due to ball jammed into socket) and pelvis knocked out of whack on other and front leg broke in 2 places. I've been giving them "comfort" "rimadyl" "joint relief" They have both been limping more than usual and I know they each need to lose 5-7 lbs-that'll help a lot! But what do you know that is OTC and that actually WORKS? My vet tech said when I run out of rimadyl that baby asperin works about the same.
I have tried everything OmahaVaccine sells and haven't found the winner yet. Any recommendations?
My blind pup Allicks will be 5 months old tomorrow and is still in training at PetsMart. She is exhibiting a little more "fear" she starts when someone pats her head - I need to make her a vest saying "IM BLIND I CAN'T SEE YOU, LET ME HEAR YOU FIRST" or something, and she is also going into those terrible twos, she no longer thinks the sun rises and sets with me, it only rises. I LOVE THAT PUP! She is precious!

[CarolC]

Hi Karen, I think I've posted once before about this. My old dog was on Rimadyl and it did help, but after about 6 months it did something to the lining of his GI tract so he was having diarrhea all the time. Not good when you're not real mobile! They hadn't warned me about that possibility. This was back when it was fairly new on the market. I've seen glucosamine supplements for dogs at PetsMart, but haven't tried them and don't know how they work. I think in humans you have to take them for several weeks before they begin to show results--not sure. As for the baby aspirin, another choice might be the brand of aspirin formulated specifically for adults who take a daily dose for heart problems. It is 86 mg. and comes with an enteric coating (or whatever) to be easier on the stomach. This is what my golden retriever was taking when he was being treated for heartworms when I first adopted him. I can't remember if baby aspirin are coated. I gave him his in a bite of cheese. Did you once say your puppy had some sense of light? Could it be that she is flinching because people cause a shadow when they put their hand above her head to pet her, and it's a built-in instinct to shy away from something approaching your eyes? Good luck with the whole crew!

[CarolC]

Hi Karen, The physical therapist told me the weight distribution is 60/40, but I guess whether it's 80 or 60, it's still the majority, so you're right either way. I hope you find something that helps. The Rimadyl may not hurt your dog's stomach as it did mine, so I hope you won't feel you have to quit giving it if it's helping, but just be alert for the possibility. The diarrhea did resolve after he was off Rimadyl for a while. I am sorry to hear about your cat, but I think it may bother you that she might be alone more than it may bother her. She will draw comfort from her familiar surroundings and smells, so she'll feel your presence in a way. The hard thing for you and your son is to come home every day, not knowing when you open the door if she'll still be with you. Some people believe that if you think about your pet while you're away, they somehow know it. Perhaps you could do that from time to time during the day while you're at work. If only they could be with us longer.

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

Carol, that St. Josephs asperin you are talking about it's been all over tv lately! Thank you, I will pick some up tonight. My dogs do not need to lose their stomach linings, just a few pounds. I was told 80% of a dog's weight is carried on the front legs. Poor Jude's got three bum ones. I've tried all the pup stuff in the catalog, and since my dogs aint talkin, who knows? they love to run and jump, so I will not deprive them of that small pleasure twice a day. Allicks I think is maturing and what I am seeing is what another would see with the typical aggression of a blind and frightened dog, except of course Allicks is perfect and never aggressive, but I fear she may turn that way. I must fabricate a vest or something to keep people from touching her without talking and clapping first. On a sad note, my 17 year old cat is on her downhill slide and my son and I are going to have a real hard time, they grew up together. She is unpleasable and something is bothering her, but it doesn't appear to be pain. He will not allow me to have her put to sleep altho I fear she will die alone. I promised him I will not traumatize her with another trip to the vet, she is done with that forever. I cry just thinking of her being gone and out of my life after 17 years, it's unthinkable!
Thank you for your good advice!
Karen & Krew

[SandyNY]

I think you will find that there are side effects and risks to any NSAID or pain medicaition. That being said, I will tell you what my dog has been through. She is over 10 years old and her legs are very very stiff. She gets up all by herself though - she would be ashamed to require help from someone. I had one vet tell me to give her Ascriptin. It is aspirin with Maalox. Well, after a while, that started doing some damage to her stomach lining and all. The another vet said enteric coated aspirin, which gave some relief but again started to show some side effects after long term chronic use. Onto our next vet, who was using Deramax with her own dog. My dog has been on it for about two years now without any prevalant problems. It is now accepted practice to use it for arthritis pain. It gives my dog the ability to run and play. It is not cheap. She is about 85 lbs and takes 1/2 a tablet a day. I also give her Cosequin. Most vets I have talked to belive 100% the marketing behind Cosequin. That is, that they have the research to prove where their ingrediants come from, etc... Also, not cheap.(We are up to about $5. a day) Another good additive is Knox Nutra Joint. It works like cosequin in that it is for long term rebuilding of the joints. Knox unflavored gelatin is now sold as knox nutrijoint and is not as expensive - sprinkle some on each meal. I did find with my other dog, that I saw improvement in joint pain by using Hartz brand glucosamine and chrondrointin; but nowadays I find that to give him 4 of those a day is about as expensive as the Cosequin....Some people doctors and some vets believe that you should give glucosamin OR chrondrointin, not both together so there is something else you may want to try. Also, my dog's liver is very bad ( according to bloodwork) due to a long life of prednisone and other things...My vet and I have discussed this at length. My vet and I agreee that we will not stop the Deramax due to the liver problems because we may be able to save her liver, but if she is crippled up in pain so bad she can't move, then what kind of life have we given her? It is a tough quality of life call, which I feel has to be made on an individual basis. Regardless of what you give for the pain, you may want to consider dooing some bloodwork every couple of years just to see if there is any problems arising.
BTW, am sorry to hear about your cat's failing health. It is so hard to watch them decline and not be able to do anything to prevent it. Cats are even better than dogs at hiding their medical conditions, so trying to figure out what exactly isn't quite right can be nerve racking! I hope she is doin gok.

[CarolC]

Hi Karen, What if...you take her to PetsMart on non-adoption days. While there, touch her without warning and give her a treat. Do it again several times. Take her maybe 3 times a week and repeat Touch + Treat, Touch + Treat on each visit. See if she can begin to associate the unexpected touch with a treat. Then when you are there on adoption days, be sure she gets a treat if anybody touches her. You might have to do it a few weeks, dunno, but it might begin to work...maybe?

[Alisa G]

I have a natural pet food store. We have a lot of people that are using a suppliment by Solid Gold called Yucca. It is awesome!! It helps to relieve inflammation and pain. I have a personal friend who has a dog that was in such pain that it couldn't go up stairs. Her vet told her to put the dog down. She tried the yucca and the dog is doing fabulous!! He is even going up and down the stairs.

You might want to try it--it can't hurt. Go to Solid Gold's web site to see what store near you sells it. I wouls also recommend glucosamine and chondroitin to lubricate the joints to help prevent further breakdown.

Good luck!!

[CarolC]

Hi Karen, I was at the vet yesterday and read a Deramaxx brochure in the waiting room since Sandy mentioned it. Here is their website. (Watch out--I couldn't back-arrow out of it--it traps ya!) I may try that for my dog if he every needs it.



Official Deramaxx Website

[Laurie]

We don't have a paraplegic animals (but my mom has 2). But we do have a cat that has back problems due to 2 extra vertebre. Originally the vet put him on Cosequin, and yes it was expensive thru the vet. So, we searched online and found Glucosamine (the same thing) . We got it in a gravy formula and most of the time he just drinks his dose right out of a bowl, but sometimes we have to put it in a plastic medicine seringe and shoot it into his mouth. It really works well for his joint pain! He is a different cat when he is getting a consistant dose (usually every other day) So far no side effects. The dose is given per the weight of the animal. For us, it was well worth the try!!

-Laurie

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

Thank you all, I have written it down: Yucca, Deramaxx, Cosequin, AND KNOX GELATIN!! I had heard that years ago (I have broken both legs, jaw, clavicle, ribs, sternum, all metatarsels in 1 foot & skull - so I am in constant pain, but I have learned to live with it-no one ever thought to put me to sleep!) I had heard about gelatin years ago and had forgotten all about it! And thank you for your kind words about old Starr, YES I WILL THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS ABOUT HER ALL DAY LONG. At night, I call my sons answer machine so Starr can hear his voice.
Yesterday, blind puppy Allicks & Ambrr going to park, puppy slammed into car running full tilt boogie I had my back turned, don't know where she hit, and she could not walk or stand kept falling over while I dropped to the ground trying to grab her, screaming her name over & over & over, hind leg would not support her, then after 5 minutes of hyperventilation (me) she walked & ran so we got into car and went to park, she was fine, got home, she was yelping now & then I couldn't figure out why, gave her rimadyl & comfort & some valerian root to relax her & keep her from running around, she seems fine now, terrorizaing the rest of the 4-leggers, but I will keep her on valerian to keep her from running jumping and getting knocked around why playing with the big-kids, til I am sure she is "recovered" Scared the ever lovin life out of me! Gads!