Dog with arthritis and spondylosis - supplements

[Daniel_Jack]

My 10 year old greyhound x was diagnosed with spondylosis and arthritis in both hips last year and put on loxicom which has made a big improvement.

Recently though it seems the effect of the nsaids is lessening and I'm wondering if there are any supplements I should try before messing about with the medication (took us a while to settle on the loxicom as other nsaids caused various issues).

I've read mixed reviews on glucosamine products and she refuses to even look at tumeric.

Are there other options worth looking into?

 

[Iznurgle]

I've not used it for dogs, but 4cyte is something I use regularly for arthritic symptoms in horses. There are a few papers that point to marked improvement in both horses and dogs, and while expensive, the dog one is cheaper than the horse one! We see good differences in our older horses, and some liveries use it as a preventative, too.

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

Several studies have demonstrated that glucosamine does not have any effect. I have yet to find anything that really helps bar strong painkillers - weirdly, I find Rimadyl to be superior to metacam. You could try green lipped mussel/Yumove.

 

[Clodagh]

If metacam is no longer strong enough I can’t see anything herbal making a difference. Many people swear by librella, and I’ve been a bit on the fence but our old girl is trying it next week, her previcox/paracetamol combo is not enough now.

 

[rabatsa]

My 11yr old greyhound has just had his 2nd librella injection last week. He is a differnt dog and has gained his bounce back.

 

[scats]

We had a dreadful experience with liberala and now have an incontinent dog. It did work well for her arthritis, but the side effects were horrific for her.

 

[Birker2020]

S You could try green lipped mussel/Yumove.

Our dog is on this. What they don't tell you when you start is that for her I need to give her a loading dose of four times the amount for 4-6 weeks (double the usual two for her weight) and it can take that long to see any effect.

Luckily she manages to swallow four in a very light dairylea triangle.

 

[COldNag]

Mine both take youmove.
One has v bad arthritis
Was on previcox, which helped but after a while she couldn't tolerate it . Gabapentin made no difference.

She has now been having librela jabs for a few months and honestly, you would never know she has arthritis at all. She has gone back to being able to go on full-on proper walks with her sister.

I know it doesn't work for everyone, but my vets are seeing a v high success rate.

 

[Umbongo]

I would always try a joint supplement as well as an NSAID. Yumove or Yumove advance is always reccomended quite a lot on here.
Some dogs require extra pain relief, and there are other drugs that can be given alongside the NSAID. Regular injections for arthritis can also help. It is worth having a discussion with your vet about how to control your dogs pain if the NSAID by itself isn't quite cutting it anymore.

 

[GinaGeo]

My partners elderly arthritic dog is now getting regular Cartrophen injections. They were reluctant to go down the regular NSAID route after issues with their previous dog and I suggested asking about it after seeing friend's successes in their horses. I'm not sure it's something the vets would have offered and they are always very keen to hear how he's doing.

It does make a big difference and you can always tell when he's getting ready for another injection.

 

[Daniel_Jack]

If metacam is no longer strong enough I can’t see anything herbal making a difference. Many people swear by librella, and I’ve been a bit on the fence but our old girl is trying it next week, her previcox/paracetamol combo is not enough now.

We're not using the paracetamol yet so wondering if that's the next step. My old dog did well on previcox and tramadol.

 

[Clodagh]

I think yumove is useless! Old girl has synoquin, which I get from the vet. Idk if it helps.

 

[pistolpete]

I did t think yumove was makings by much difference except to my bank balance so took dog off it a couple of weeks ago.
Dog then gradually deteriorated to sudden screeches of pain out on walks! Back on yumove now and already back to happy zoomies

 

[Birker2020]

I did t think yumove was makings by much difference except to my bank balance so took dog off it a couple of weeks ago.
Dog then gradually deteriorated to sudden screeches of pain out on walks! Back on yumove now and already back to happy zoomies

Blimey that's good! Glad mines on it in that case. Do you know about the subscription service, saves money in the long run, on average 30% a month?

OP this might be useful if you are considering for your dog.

 

[Andie02]

Both of our JRT's are on Riaflex supplements. After developing arthritis in both hocks, (one hock much worse than the other), it is Riaflex Boswellia that has made a huge difference to one of our dog's going from crippled and on three legs, to running about with no lameness in less than 1 week.

Edited to add that she has been on the boswellia since last December with no reoccurrence of the lameness and nothing at all from the vet. She is also on the Green Lipped Mussel and the Cannine Joint Plus, she won't take the Devil's Alternative at all. The other old boy who is 14 now has all 4 supplements.