Hip issues

[Briggs]

Our sheltie, 10-12 years old, rescue, is suffering from arthritis, per our vet, and has difficulty getting up. We started him on Cosequin DS and our vet gave us a prescription for pain, Tramadol 50 mg. It appears to be helping but wonder if another treatment would be better.
Our Sheltie is over sized weighs about 45 pounds but not too much over weight as he is a very large sheltie.
Are there any other things to look at to help him with his arthritis?

Thanks in advance for your assistance!

DKO

 

[Caro]

There is a fantastic product called Pentosan (aka Cartrophen) that rebuilds cartiledge. It requires an injection from the vet - one a week for a period of 4 weeks. My male has arthritis in his elbows and the difference in his activity levels about a fortnight after the injections is just amazing, he gets the shots every 6mths. Here most dogs and horse with degenerative problems now use it because it works so well.

I am not sure whether it is available over there so you will need to talk to your vet. I know a number of people on this forum have mentioned an alternative drug that is used in the US - if you do a search on the forum you should find a number of threads about dealing with arthritis which will contain the name of that drug and some other things people use.

Also you mentioned he is 'not too much overweight'. Any weight on an arthritic dog will stress his joints so it would be better to get him underweight.

 

[Katherine]

Adequan is the product which is similar. I had found this link last year, not sure whether the info is current / accurate... You should check with your vet.

http://www.zimbio.com/Veterinary+Me...rotecting+Dog+Cartilage+Dog+Arthritis+Adequan

However, adequan has certainly helped my old girl, along with a glucosamine / chondroitin supplement and fish oil.

You might also look into whether there is a facility where your dog can swim locally. I take my young dog to swim once a week and the owner has told me that a number of old dogs seem to be benefitting from swimming.

 

[Briggs]

Thanks for the information!

We will check into the information you guys provided. It gives us new hope as it is hard to see Briggs suffer without us doing all that is avaiable!!