Stifness in elderly dogs- any tips?

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Nicki85

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My Springer is now 13years old and doing really well. She is covered in fatty lumps (vet doesn't want to remove- not causing her any problems) and she is a bit deaf but apart from that you wouldn't know she was a day over five!

But she does get stiff :( I used to do agility with her and she tore her crucial ligament at the age of about three. At the time she had injections into the knee and rest. The joint is about double the thickness of the other knee and has been for the past five years at least. She does not have any ongoing treatment for this.

She is very active still and will go all day if we let her but she is getting notably stiffer, especially in the evenings. I am very strict with her food (she is a little piggy!) and is always kept on the lean side. She also has the flexi-joint chews by pedigree chum. I also make sure that she is kept warm (has her fleece coat on if it's cold or if she has been swimming...) and she has a spongy raised bed (or the sofa...) to sleep on.

Is there anything else we can do for her? I want to keep her as active as possible for as long as possible. She isn't on any medication at the moment and we would be willing to try something (but not metacam). She has her yearly jabs later this week so will also have a chat to the vet about it.

Thanks in advance!
 
My elderly whippet was transformed by Equine America Cortaflex for Dogs. She was so stiff she could not get out of her bed and within 7-10 days, she was trotting along wagging her tail. It worked for us. I did not have any success with the Pedigree Chum flexi joint chews.
 
Put her on human grade Glucosomine (can't spell it), much cheaper than what the vet gives you but works the same, you can get it from Holland and Barrett and places like that, worked wonders for our GSDxLab.
 
Thanks so much Bigred, this is just the information I was looking for :) Will def. look into it :) I agree that the flexijoint chews are not great- I do not notice any change in her movement when she misses one.
 
I foster oldies so have a good selection of products I use!!

Devils Claw is fabulous if they are in pain from the arthritis. Green Lipped Mussel (human grade 500mg tablets are best 2 a day for medium sized dog). Seraquin is fantastic for the very stiff and good old cod liver oil for the not quiet stiff but getting there!!! As with all natural supplements you need to give them a good few weeks to settle, start on a higher dose and reduce down after 1 month don't miss a day and they will eventually show some effect.
 
a magnetic collar seem to work well for my old spangle... he has it on over night every night and the days we forget there's a marked difference in him
he also has a thermatex rug that's fab for keeping him warm
and he's had a joint supliment for ages too
nowdays though he's on metacalm as it has got worse after longer walks or in very cold or damp weather - and that really helps him
 
Our oldie has a magnetic collar that he wears all the time which really seems to have helped him. He also has a thermatex rug for the colder days or when he has come back wet from a walk.

If he is extra stiff form the day before, we spray arnica on his gums to help - he doesn't thanks us for that one though! :)
 
Lots of really good info, thanks guys. Looking in the cortaflex shop I will get her the
-Canine & Feline Cortaflex HA Ultimate Strength Pellets
Contains Glutamine, Proline, Glycine, Glucuronic Acid, Glutamic Acid
-Canine Inflamex
Contains Devils Claw and Yucca
-Green Lippid mussel tablets from Hollands and Barrets
I will also get her a magnetic collar to wear overnight

What about some glucosamine tablets as well? Or is glutamine the same thing?

Do you think that will help her for now?
 
I have Ronnie, an 8 year old golden retriever with idiopathic epilepsy and peripheral neuropathy & Mac, an 11yrs black lab with hip dysplasia, he has now had a double hip replacement.

They are both on maxavita canine
http://www.maxavita.com/products/pet/pernamaxcanine/

It has everything in including the green lipped mussel extract so would avoid having to feed loads of different tablets (we used to do this)
Easy to get the tablet in too! Our boys will eat it like a treat. Mmmm...fishy!!! :D

Made such a difference from the start and as it made such an astonishing improvement with my horse (maxaflex - the horse equivalent) was definately worth a go.

Ronnie recently had x-rays which showed he had a fractured sesamoid which has developed some arthritis too so both are now on Previcox too. It's an anti-inflammatory used for ostioarthritis. This may be another idea and both talking to your vet about. If you get a prescription you can get it from www.viovet.co.uk for half the price :D

Hope this helped and she gets her spring back soon :D

Elle
 
Last edited:
posie_honey said:
intersting.... our collar said max of 12hrs a day to get full benefits...
Click to expand...

We bought it from a stand at a BE event, and followed their instructions - starting off with a couple of hours a day I think? He doesn't seem to have any bad side effects from wearing it all the time. :)
 
My elderly collie x has been on cartrofen <sp> injections for a couple of years now. She has them every 6-8 weeks depending on how she is doing. Has made a huge improvement.
 
Right ordered the cortaflex stuff for her and the inflamex. Will try and pick up some green lippid tablets as well. On the look out for a magnetic collar for her christmas pressent so if any one knows where to get one from please pm me!
 
As Stencilface says - our oldie wears his most of the time. He doesn't actually wear it 24/7 as both dogs do have their collars taken off in the evening once they've been out for their final toilet break. So, he probably has it on for between 12 to 16 hours a day maybe?

It has certainly made a big difference to him. He used to be on the Cortaflex stuff (or whatever it is) from the vet but i don't recall it making much difference, certainly not compared to the collar.

He does wear the thermatex coat if he's been in the water in the winter as he has a thick coat which just seems to be like a sponge so takes ages to dry.
 
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