feeding for arthritis/jointcare?

[Paddy Irish]

Aghhhh , need some help from the doggie experts on here ..
Charlie , my 8 yr old Lab started limping a bit a few weeks ago , then one day he was very distressed , stiff and using his shoulder like a paddle
So i shuffled him into the vets and was told that he's got two things going on , firstly he'd sprained his shoulder and secondly he has the on-set of arthritis
Currently he's on Chuddley's ( dodson & Horrell ) classic - it's a working dog food , but being fed at a fairly reduced rate ( 2 hills science diet cups per day , split morn and eve) so i need some good advice as to something that would be suited more to his reduced capacity for loads of exercise and something that would support his declining joints - he's currently got metacam from the vets but is still limping , so i'm thinking that's not doing much good so i'll take him back in.
I also have his full sister , although she's from a later litter , but she's getting a bit hobbly too , so i think it could be hereditary
Any ideas/ suggestions would be smashing.
Al.

 

[Triskar]

I'm in process of switching to Eden dog food (found it through www.whichdogfood.co.uk ) - was feeding raw, but freezer space is becoming an issue, so changed to Markus Muhle cold pressed food. My 10 year old Lab is a bit arthritic and has a prescription for Loxicom, and I have been adding riaflex supplement to his food, but the Eden says it has a joint care package in it, so once that's all he's getting I hope I won't have to buy more supplement. He also suffers from sore paws in the summer, due to an allergy, and he really objects to wearing his boots (think the other dogs laugh at him and call him a nancy dog), but since he's been on the Eden his paws don't seem so bad - might be coincidence though.

 

[Superhot]

I gave my old arthritic Lab Green Lipped Muscle tablets, and Glucosomine and Chondroiton tablets. Other people have had success with Joint Aid. When my girl started with kidney failure, I took her to see Chris Day, the homeopathic vet in Faringdon. He prescribed some homeopathic pills that really seemed to help, and genuinely gave her a new lease of life. I would recommend you seek the advice of your nearest homeopathic vet.

 

[mynutmeg]

My collie has severe arthritis due to hip dysplasia. Her current management regime is she's one a normal dry food (just feed according to weight, I'd use a light one if possible as you want them on the lean side, less joint strain) then she gets green lipped muscle capsules (you get them nice and cheap from amazon) She's 21kg and gets 1 500g capsule a day. She gets the appropriate metacam dosage and 75mg of tramadol twice a day. On this most of the time she's happy and comfortable. She also goes to hydrotherapy once a week to try and maintain some muscle tone. We do have to restrict her exercise - she gets about 10-15 minutes a day walk and we just bumble along, no balls or sharp stops and starts

On this she's comfortable if a bit stiff some days. She can go up a little on the tramadol (max for her weight is 100mg twice a day) and she gets the extra on swimming nights.

For your lab I'd recommend getting him and his sister on the green lipped muscle - it provides everything to help try and rebuild the joint, it's where glucosamine comes from. Keep the metacam until comfortable (I'm guessing most of the limp is from the shoulder strain) and then you can gradually reduce the dose. If the arthritis is causing most of the pain and the metacam isn't strong enough then talk to the vets about something stronger. The tramadol's not expensive, the vet does a script that you take to a normal pharmacy and it's about £17 for a months supply or the vets may supply you directly. It's made a huge difference to Meg - 2 years ago when she started on it I thought if we were lucky I'd have her another year and she's still going really strong now and I can easily see her keeping going for several more years yet (when she gets to the point where she's to sore then I'll say goodbye as her quality of life is the most important) Meg's just coming up to 10 now.

One other thing I'd say is that if on metacam or tramadol type drugs long term then make sure they do blood work every six months or so to keep an eye on liver and kidney function as they can cause problems there but personally I'd rather risk those values going off a bit (so long as we know and can treat it) and have a happy, comfortable dog

 

[Jojo_Pea4]

My boxer sounds identical to mynutmeg's collie. He is on oap barking head, and half a tablet of previcox (sp?) a day at a low constant dose. He was given 6months to live and thats 18months ago. He goes down the yard everyday and ambles around sits on the drive while the horses go out, on a good day he strolls down with the other dogs. He is better when he moves around. His legs or his kidneys/liver will give up and as soon as he is in pain we will make the right decision.

 

[Dizzykizzy]

I got our dog a bioflow collar. She injured her front leg(carpal) about 2 years ago and intermittently goes lame on it. She had a course of cartophen which helped for a while but since she's had the collar (dare I say or will it jinx her?) she hasn't been lame or even a bit stiff getting up!
Heard good things about riaflex too but not tried yet. I used a horse supplement, forget now which with hyaluronic acid in it but didn't make a difference (spoke to manufacturer before using on my dog!)

 

[Paddy Irish]

Thanks guys ( gals) loads of really useful advice there .. i'll set oiff in search of green lipped mussel stuff - sounds disgusting! But at least we know labs eat just about anything.. My big lad is about 36kgs and is on 30ml metacam per day , but he's no less limpy than 3 weeks ago , so i think i'll pop them both in for a check up cos the wee girly dog has an intermittent limp , funnily enough on the same shoulder..i guess where i was concerned about the food side , is that i feel guilty that i've probably erred towards the cheaper and more cheerful side of dog food and now i'm wondering if a better quality of food may have built a healthier body ...both come from a fairly poor mother ( healthwise ) she was very poor pre and post whelping , and i only realised this 18 months after i had Charlie when i'd decided i wanted another pup from the same breeder as Charlie has such a lush nature.

You can see the difference in their sizes a bit here , Erins' growth was well below par.