Pain/inflammation relief for 12 year old Rottie x

[scruffyponies]

She's the correct weight (35kg), walks a mile or so twice per day, and has had tumeric in her dinner since an acute episode of hip/spine pain during first lockdown in 2020, which we treated at the time with aspirin. She hasn't relapsed until yesterday, when she was uncomfortable getting up, and stiff walking... clearly the same thing as before, but not quite so bad.

This is pretty common, so before I head off to the vets, I'd love to hear your experiences of the various options (veterinary meds, glucosamine, boswellia)?
I want to make her comfortable and prolong her years if I can, but not to give her something with horrendous side-effects.

 

[CorvusCorax]

I'd revise the walking down a bit and factor in the cold/wet weather.

 

[scruffyponies]

I'd revise the walking down a bit and factor in the cold/wet weather.

She would be heartbroken. I am met by a demented wagging, grimacing buffalump every time I go near my coat!

 

[skinnydipper]

She's the correct weight (35kg), walks a mile or so twice per day, and has had tumeric in her dinner since an acute episode of hip/spine pain during first lockdown in 2020, which we treated at the time with aspirin. She hasn't relapsed until yesterday, when she was uncomfortable getting up, and stiff walking... clearly the same thing as before, but not quite so bad.

This is pretty common, so before I head off to the vets, I'd love to hear your experiences of the various options (veterinary meds, glucosamine, boswellia)?
I want to make her comfortable and prolong her years if I can, but not to give her something with horrendous side-effects.

Aspirin can cause ulcers in dogs. Turmeric can cause gastrointestinal upset and can adversely affect the kidneys.

I would seek veterinary advice and accept that prescription medication would provide more effective pain relief.

There are newer drugs now which are less likely to cause side effects such as the NSAID Galliprant which is a sophisticated NSAID which specifically targets osteo arthritis pain and inflammation and which is less likely to affect the gut, liver or kidneys.

Another is Librela, monthly subcutaneous injection, which you can administer at home if your vet is happy for you to do so. It provides analgesia by reducing nerve growth factor in osteoarthritic joints.

This is an old post of mine which might be helpful.

To me it is no worse than not recognising the signs that a dog is in pain and letting the dog struggle without appropriate treatment. A dog doesn't have to be limping to show that he is in pain. Panting, stiff on rising, reluctance with stairs, hesitant to jump in/out of car, playing less, lazy sit, lowered tail, walking slower, etc, etc.

Dogs aren't suddenly at end stage arthritis and in chronic pain. It starts with pain in the joint, left untreated or inadequately treated, this follows a pain pathway leading to maladaptive pain.

Not all drugs work for all dogs. Sometimes different drugs will need to be tried before finding ones that work for that particular dog.

Inflammation and pain in joint > muscle pain > neuropathic pain > wind up. This doesn't happen overnight so, when the dog finally receives the appropriate treatment, the owner should not expect immediate improvement.

If an owner hasn't noticed the subtle signs their dog is in pain (a whisper) and only notices when their dog is limping or can't walk (shouting) then it is likely that poor dog will have been suffering for some time and may need to go straight to a multi modal approach - different drugs for each type of pain. Inflammatory (joint pain); muscle/soft tissue pain, nerve pain (neuropathic).

On AAD there are owners who have said their dog is limping, reluctant to treat with veterinary prescribed, evidenced based, treatment but quite happy to fart about with supplements.

ETA Arthritis is a progressive degenerative disease and over time dogs will need additional medication or therapies adding to their treatment regime.

 

[scruffyponies]

Thanks SD.

I am aware of the potential side effects, not just of Turmeric and Aspirin, but also of NSAIDs including Galliprant, which are far from negligible.
The aspirin was a one-off at a time when vets were only coming out to PTS. It was a bit of a long shot, but worked very well. We used the enteric coated type, although I'm not sure to what extent this mitigates the ulcer risk. It was the best we could do at the time. Remember, this was when people were pulling out their own teeth.

The turmeric is given with food, and with the addition of black pepper; piperin improves absorption. There has been no stomach upset, urination or bowel trouble. This approach may not be what a vet would have advised, but our dog went from unable to get up to bouncing fit, and has remained so for 2 years. I would call that a success.

I have a dog who is 3 years past her expected lifespan. She's still climbing stairs, and sofas. I'm not avoiding mainstream medicine; I know she's likely to need it, but I like to do my research first.

 

[OldNag]

I have one (though much smaller) with arthritis.
She was on previcox but got an upset stomach. We now just give her Yumove and dose with paracetamol when she needs it

She is getting regular walking and is trim and fit and is managing well now.

I really do rate the Yumove.

Edit to add - she did have an initial course of cartophen injections when she was diagnosed. That was a couple of years ago. Honestly have no idea if those helped.

 

[Books'n'dogs]

I use a mixture of boswellia and turmeric to manage my 12 year old German shepherd's arthritis. She had adverse reactions to all the different prescription drugs the vet had us try, some of which were severe, but the natural pain relief has done its job without any side effects. I always make sure that I give the supplements with food. I know of an American German shepherd breeder who uses MSM with excellent results but have never used it with any of my dogs.

 

[missmatch]

I have a much larger Rottie with one leg slightly shorter than the other. She was found dumped with her leg growing at a right angle near enough. She needed a huge operation and had an external fixator for 14 weeks. She has significant arthritis in that leg. She’s nearly 9 years of age now and after The vets prescribed metacam and tramadol I looked for other options.
We use simply cbd light, it takes a while to find the right dosage but it’s worth taking that time. She does not like any form of stuffed bed or memory foam. Now she has her own duvets which are obviously super comfortable for her.
She is raw fed, during the first lockdown when I couldn’t get raw, I bought super expensive, top of the range kibble. It not only aggravated her arthritis, it sent her ears into an itchy hell. They are quite sensitive dogs. Her walks are now limited to twenty minutes a day, as many times as I can get her out. When her leg is sore she loves her hot water bottle. It has a fluffy cover on it and I wrap it in a towel as well. I did buy her one of those microwave ones but I caught her attempting a nibble on it. So back to old fashioned ones. She will not take any form of joint supplement but the physio showed me a massage technique for her. That’s probably her most favourite thing in the world.
She wasn’t given much hope and I was always warned that she probably wouldn’t live a long, happy, comfortable life. Nobody told her that. She’s an absolute legend who has long outlived her self really. She still bounces like a lamb on crack when her lead appears so I think she’s a very happy sausage.
To get your Rottie to 12 years old is absolutely incredible. Whatever you’ve been doing is obviously working.

 

[wren123]

My nearly 14 year labrador has elbow arthritis, normally yumove advance 360 works wonders with her, really effective.
She had a flare up last year and had a 4 week course of galliprant, it worked well. She's not had any more and is sound and not stiff.

 

[scruffyponies]

Whatever you’ve been doing is obviously working

We're careful about keeping weight off and keeping them active. Don't feed anything expensive... just Vitalin Original, with the odd 'spare' fried egg or bit of left over salad from time to time.
Ours has a very sensitive tummy too. You can always tell when she's found something outside and eaten it.

Our setter still bounding around aged 16! She's made of sterner stuff and eats things which would make a maggot sick.

 

[wren123]

I've heard really good reports of librela, my dog was on the waiting list for it.
However they've had massive supply issues so now available at the moment.

 

[Clodagh]

Our setter still bounding around aged 16! She's made of sterner stuff and eats things which would make a maggot sick.

I love that description! So… imaginable! ?

 

[Clodagh]

I've heard really good reports of librela, my dog was on the waiting list for it.
However they've had massive supply issues so now available at the moment.

Is that none or now? Only as vet mooted it for Brandy but said they couldn’t get it. (Or much of it).

 

[wren123]

Not not now, sorry.

 

[Sandstone1]

Paracetamol can be used for dogs but you need to ask your vet. Pardale v is the doggy paracetamol.

 

[scruffyponies]

Just wanted to come back to this thread to thank the people who suggested Youmove. Visibly improved mobility, and a lovely shine to her coat.

We have one very happy, bouncy old rottilump.

 

[wren123]

That's great news.

Out of interest which yumove do you use?

 

[Thundering]

Thanks SD.

I am aware of the potential side effects, not just of Turmeric and Aspirin, but also of NSAIDs including Galliprant, which are far from negligible.
The aspirin was a one-off at a time when vets were only coming out to PTS. It was a bit of a long shot, but worked very well. We used the enteric coated type, although I'm not sure to what extent this mitigates the ulcer risk. It was the best we could do at the time. Remember, this was when people were pulling out their own teeth.

The turmeric is given with food, and with the addition of black pepper; piperin improves absorption. There has been no stomach upset, urination or bowel trouble. This approach may not be what a vet would have advised, but our dog went from unable to get up to bouncing fit, and has remained so for 2 years. I would call that a success.

I have a dog who is 3 years past her expected lifespan. She's still climbing stairs, and sofas. I'm not avoiding mainstream medicine; I know she's likely to need it, but I like to do my research first.

paracetamol can be used for dogs but not asprin. Pardale v is doggy paracetamol.

 

[scruffyponies]

That's great news.

Out of interest which yumove do you use?

Yumove plus - the one for older, stiff dogs, which she definitely is. Not that it stops her throwing herself around like a buffallo doing ballet. She does a great line in seduction, and yesterday I saw her cavort capriciously for one of my friends like some kind of gamine lolita before hurling herself upside down for a tummy rub. Shameless!

 

[Clodagh]

I love the descriptions ?