Beginning signs of arthritis?

Sparky has had arthritis since he was 5 and is now 9. He takes Cosequin DS and Rimadyl. He's doing great - loves zooming around the backyard, attacking the front door, and spinning around and doing his Sheltie Dance when people go upstairs at night. He does have trouble getting up when he's been lying down for a while and sometimes he'll slip when he goes up the stairs too fast or tries to get up on the couch, but he really does well overall.
 
Well, we took Fasb to the vet. He does have a bit of arthritis, but it doesn't appear to be advanced yet. Vet said he's in very good overall health for his age. Started him on Consequin while I do a little reaearch. He's still very active (several walks a day, runs around the house, plays a lot).

Is tripping on the steps a sign of joint stiffness? Fasb "trips" once in a while, but not very often. I thought maybe his reflexes were a bit off since he's fairly old.
 
Question: We're mostly noticing Fasb's stiffness in the late evening. He doesn't seem to having the same trouble getting up/climbing steps/limping when he first gets up earlier in the day. Even in the early morning, he moves around fairly well and runs the steps without pause, etc. The usual routine in the evenings is dinner around 7:30, last walk around 8. After the walk, he comes in, follows us around a bit, then usually curls up and settles down in the ground floor rec room and watches TV with my wife. A couple hours later, my wife comes up and gets ready for bed. Fasb usually follows, but lately he's been waiting for us to call him. That's when he seems most stiff. Walks kinda awkwardly, has some trouble with the steps, etc.

Does this sound normal? Typical?

He moves around some after we go to sleep, so it the AM hours, he goes back and forth between our bedroom and the lower levels several times.

Thanks.
 
It is pretty typical, Tully is like this. He may be over doing it during the day and by the end of the day the inflammatory response is heightened, by the morning it's reduced again. It's worth seeing an animal physio and getting some exercises to do at home - his hip flexors may need some relieving by the evening and they may suggest cold or heat on the joint. They're probably the best people to ask these questions.
 
Thanks. That's a good suggestion. Sorry if these are overly basic questions. We don't have much experience with animal issues and this is all new to us.

I do wish my vet was suggesting some of these alternatives to us.
 
When Deska first got arthritis I knew nothing about it either and it is hard finding practical information. The ortho vet and physio were definitely the best source of info for me (you won't need an ortho vet tho). Ask lots of questions of the physio and get them to explain what they are doing.
 
Caro said:
When Deska first got arthritis I knew nothing about it either and it is hard finding practical information. The ortho vet and physio were definitely the best source of info for me (you won't need an ortho vet tho). Ask lots of questions of the physio and get them to explain what they are doing.
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Actually, we're thinking of changing vets and the vet that was recommended to us specializes in ortho, if I remember right. In any case, we're probably going to take him to the local animal hospital, which has more surgeons on staff and more resources. Our current vet is the same one Fasb's previous owners used. We used him for continuity's sake, since he already knew Fasb. Care's been fine until now, but he's a solo practitioner running a large practice with a barebones staff. It's often hard to get him to return phone calls, or talk to you in detail, because he's usually very busy (I'm under the impression they often triple book). I always suspected he wasn't ideal for pets/pet owners that need more time & attention.

New vet would have ortho surgeon & physio on staff.
 
Fasb's done much better this week (since the beginning of the week, anyway). He's not limping or having trouble getting up, taking stairs much better, etc. His disposition is a little more normal. He's been following us around the house, barking, playing, etc. It's not a miracle turnaround - there are signs he's feeling his age and slowing down - but he seems to be doing much better. He's been wanting to walk further than usual the past few nights.

It's too soon to be too optimistic, but the wife and I are hoping it's the joint supplement kicking in (he's been on Cosequin for a little less than two weeks. It could be the warm weather, but it's barely warmer than it was last week or the beginning of this week, and cooler than it was two weeks ago. so we're thinking it's not just the weather (we started noticing the limping back around late August).

He doesn't zoom up steps as frequently as he used to, or bark as much, but he still does a healthy amount of both.
 
Question for people who have been through the arthritis stages before: we're told that Fasb will probably feel more stiff when it's colder. That's been our experience so far with him. He's doing very well, with only minor symptoms in the late evening, but we did notice more problems on the one day recently that it was damp and rainy.

Do your dogs also seem more stiff when it's warm outside, but they're inside in the air conditioning? I'm curious. Our house gets quite cold from the A/C, but Fasb only started having problems when the weather turned colder. I'm thinking the AC didn't affect his arthritis much.

Just curious. I talked to our vet this morning about some things, but never thought to ask him about that,

(FWIW, Fasb is doing well at the moment. Zooms around the house & up down the stairs during the day, seems very happy/barky/playful. In the evening, his demeanor stays good, but he gets stiff after he sets for awhile, and has a bit of trouble on steps (he usually goes up them fine, but he descends very slowly and carefully).
 
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