Young dog with arthritis

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Our 18mo carpathian/ carpathian x suffers from arthritis in her back end according to our vet (she went slightly lame a little while ago and the vet said it was mild arthritis). It's not very bad and is usually only noticeable as some slight stiffness in her back legs after a prolonged period of lying down, but gets worse if she's overexercised (sadly, as she loves her walks) or when it's cold. She loves cod liver oil so gets 1 pill a day if/when it gets bad and has plenty of soft places to lie on as she gets grumpy if made to lie anywhere hard for too long/too often as it is painful. She gets two short ish (1/2 hour) walks a day to keep her mobile but not make her get stiff. Is there anything else that can be done to keep her happy and painfree for as long as possible (which she does actually seem to be currently)? Thanks :)
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what a shame in such a young dog. for older dogs I make sure their beds are a bit higher-so they have less far to get up/down (my old dog had a tuffy futon on a pallet for example) and he also loved his flectabed which is a kind of flat pad that goes on top of a bed-reflects body heat back to them (they aren't cheap but you do find them in sales sometimes). Back On Track products are good too-I find gentle warmth very good for my own arthritis.I know others have had success with supplement such as Yumove too.
 
Sorry to sound like a stuck record but I'd be asking for properly positioned x-rays as it could be hip dysplasia or a problem with her back and you'll have a much better idea of what you are looking at and how to proceed. These symptoms in such a young dog are not normal. It may also be the result of an injury (assuming she is a rescue with that breeding?) or just genetics.
Swimming/hydro is a good low impact exercise and keeping her as lean as possible to avoid pressure on the joints. No jumping/twisting in the air, no up and down stairs and on and off high surfaces like beds, sofas and in and out of cars, you could look into a ramp or steps.
Best of luck!
 
CorvusCorax said:
Sorry to sound like a stuck record but I'd be asking for properly positioned x-rays as it could be hip dysplasia or a problem with her back and you'll have a much better idea of what you are looking at and how to proceed. These symptoms in such a young dog are not normal. It may also be the result of an injury (assuming she is a rescue with that breeding?) or just genetics.
Swimming/hydro is a good low impact exercise and keeping her as lean as possible to avoid pressure on the joints. No jumping/twisting in the air, no up and down stairs and on and off high surfaces like beds, sofas and in and out of cars, you could look into a ramp or steps.
Best of luck!
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She was x rayed but I didn't put it in the OP as well I didn't think you could diagnose arthritis any other way lol :) And yes, she's a rescue, who had an appalling upbringing in a romanian "shelter".
 
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NSAIDS? Seems ever so young to be going on one but if its restricting the dog enough that you have to limit exercise then I personally would be using one.
 
i would ask for a referral to an orthopaedic specialist with such a young dog and then ask them for the best way to manage it, including a recommendation/referal to a veterinary physio and hydro sessions. The physio can give you an exercise programme and exercises to do to build up the supporting structures. also there are far better things you can give than cod liver oil. i would also recommend a back on track coat.
 
So sad in a young dog.
Our 9 year old has arthritis in one elbow, we use yumove advance prescribed by the vet, she is completely sound now with no stiffness at all. We'll never know for sure if it is the yumove advance, but I think it is. We walk 5 miles a day with no retrieving, that makes her stiff, obviously the rapid turns etc.
The next thing the vet had up his sleeve was k laser, vet said he's an some really good results, it either works or it doesn't, it helps heal inflammation.
 
Peter7917 said:
NSAIDS? Seems ever so young to be going on one but if its restricting the dog enough that you have to limit exercise then I personally would be using one.
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This is why she's not on them currently - it feels off to put something so young on drugs - particularly a dog prone to stomach upsets (she had parvo as a puppy so is very sensitive). Re the walks they have been gradually increasing (were 10/15 mins only when she first arrived) and she now gets half an hour twice a day (approximately). I'm not sure if the stiffness being more obvious now is because she's grown a bit recently (though she isn't in any way fat) or because it's colder, or because the walks are a bit longer, or what really! :( Personally my money is on because it's cold but I'm not sure. NeverEver - We have a hydrotherapy place nearby so I will look into that. Our vet is an orthopaedic specialist, he does titanium implant stuff like you see on super vet (if you know what that is).
 
OP we tried or dog on Rimadyl, on very tightly controlled exercise, five miles lead walking every day. She made no improvement, with the yumove advance with exactly the same amount of exercise we saw definite improvement.
 
go back to your vet - im really surprised any vet let alone an ortho specialist wouldn't be giving you a management plan and basically answers to the questions you’ve asked here.
 
Have you got pictures of the x rays?

Salmon oil is better for dogs than cod liver. Whilst giving only one pill isnt awful, cod liver oil is high in a Vitamin A and stores in and can damage the dog’s liver. It has a cumulative effect so I’d avoid, personally.

I find green lipped mussel (human version) has worked for my dysplastic dog (x rays were on here years ago, it’s not disastrous, but he runs very oddly) Mine goes swimming, is kept very lean and made to do less exercise than his brother. I keep saying this, but the vet mentioned walking uphill and through sand (school at yard) as being useful to build muscles around the hips. If swimming, mine is dried and has a good muscle rub whilst being dried.

I have an orthapaedic bed where he mostly sleeps and a Kuranda, which is off the floor so out of draughts plus a couple of Tuffies.
 
We gave our Parsons joint supplements produced by the PDSA - I think derived from green lipped musslels. They were very effective, palatable too. I can look up the full name if you're interested?
 
My dog is on green lipped from Holland and Barrett, yumove advance (buy from the vets or lintbells) normal yumove did nothing and vetzme high strength glucosamine (pet shops or online sell) he’s gone from been on anti inflammatorys and needing possibly 2 ops to been sound for the last year. He now only takes these supplements and we saw a different within 2weeks x also worth changing to grain free food if not already on as grains can cause inflammation
 
TheOldTrout said:
We gave our Parsons joint supplements produced by the PDSA - I think derived from green lipped musslels. They were very effective, palatable too. I can look up the full name if you're interested?
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Reading this with interest as our terrier is developing arthritis in the knee which was operated on a few years ago. Could you please look up the name and let us know?
 
Yumove is green lipped mussels. It’s made a huge difference to my spaniel who has arthritis in one hock. Vet said three years ago she needed a NSAID every day but she only needed one when she overdid it up until now when she’s having one most days. I’ve found it helps with stiffness if she wears a coat when she comes to the yard. I also found an old Bioflow collar in the drawer so she’s now wearing that too. I plan to ask my vet for a prescription for Yumove Advance now as I’d rather not give her drugs every day If I can avoid it.
 
You do t need a prescription for the yumove advance it only bought via vet and prices differ between vets I pay £32 for I think a box of 120. If your vet says they cannot get them and try to give you something different ring lintbells. Yes it does have green lipped in but I top up with Holland and Barrett x
 
planete said:
Reading this with interest as our terrier is developing arthritis in the knee which was operated on a few years ago. Could you please look up the name and let us know?
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Joint Care supplement for dogs, produced by PDSA vet care. Shame you don't live nearer, you could have the rest of our old boy's packet of them now he's no longer with us.
 
Thank you TOT. It seems to have the same ingredients as Yumove Advance but without the price tag though I cannot compare the quantities as I cannot find them for the Lintbell product. Sorry to hear about your old boy.
 
dingle12 said:
You do t need a prescription for the yumove advance it only bought via vet and prices differ between vets I pay £32 for I think a box of 120. If your vet says they cannot get them and try to give you something different ring lintbells. Yes it does have green lipped in but I top up with Holland and Barrett x
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You're lucky, we pay £39 for our yumove advance from my vet!
I can't see it online at all.
 
wren123 said:
You're lucky, we pay £39 for our yumove advance from my vet!
I can't see it online at all.
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You won’t find the price online, email lintbells see if you can buy cheaper direct. I got quotes from other vets and the prices varied a lot and some vets even tried telling me that there product was better and didn’t believe the advance was any good x
 
planete said:
Reading this with interest as our terrier is developing arthritis in the knee which was operated on a few years ago. Could you please look up the name and let us know?
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I use the human version of green lipped mussel, I normally use SimplySupplements as they tend to have offers on most of the time. Buying anything with canine/equine associations seems to massively inflate the price.

There have been several studies over the past couple of years demonstrating that glucosamine is completely ineffective so I’m not seeing the point of buying anything that contains it. May as well just go for the plain green lipped mussel.
 
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