Romeo is 7 yo and because he’s a boxer he’s considered an old man. I notice some stiffness in his walking occasionally and think that I should be giving him something to ease the pain he may be in.
Looking on Amazon, I see all kinds of different supplements. Cosequin is the one brand I’ve heard of most often, but that doesn’t always mean it’s the best. There are a lot of supplements that have the same ingredients as Cosequin so I’m not sure if that’s what my best option is. I’m sure the vet would say Cosequin (because that’s the one everyone knows). I also see a lot of the supplements contain hemp oil. Is that something that would be helpful or is it just something that’s the latest fad?
If Romeo is overweight, try to gradually drop some pounds. Our 15 year old 90 pound mix-breed is skinny as a rail, but getting around better than when he was 15 pounds heavier.
Some vets have laser equipment for joint pain. We had a Golden Retriever mix getting really old and lame and it seemed to help her; she eventually passed away from other problems.
The old, broken Dachshund gets treats with glucosamine in them. He loves to get them, but I have no idea if they really do anything or not. He’s pretty tight-lipped on the subject.
Adequan starts with a “loading dose” of 1 injection each week for one month (depending on the size of the animal). Then it’s 1 injection each and every month.
Where I live, Adequan costs about $39 per dose.
Adequan has done wonders for my two dogs that needed it.
My vet put my 13-year-old, 120 pound Labrador on Dasuquin. After the first couple of days, he (the dog, not the vet) was able to come up a flight of stairs to the bedroom. Dasuquin is available at Tractor Supply and PetCo.
I went the less costly route and gave my 90 lb Shepherd Costco low dose coated aspirin (same as adult humans take) when he started to get joint pain and stiffness starting when he was about 8 years old. 1 per day in his food or with a dollop of peanut butter on my finger.
Worked wonders for about 5 years until the pain got too bad.
I can’t remember what mine was on (it was expensive) but I do remember if I forgot to give him his pill at 5pm, he’d sure let me no it with constant barking.
My 12 year old Lab/Border Collie uses Cosequin/w MSM. It seems to help. He was starting to have trouble jumping into my SUV but now hops in much easier. So for my dog it appears to helpful.
I should also note that he has a prescription for Meloxicam. However I only give him that occasionally now.
I found Cosequin cheaper at Costco (Canada) than Amazon (Canada). I had my vet write a prescription with 4 repeats for Meloxicam. I fill the prescription from thepetpharmacist.ca which is substantially cheaper than buying from the vet.
I am not a veterinarian and you should seek professional advice.
Human arthritis is common and there are many types. Osteoarthritis is the most common and is largely characterized by nodules of bone and damaged cartilage “shock absorbers”. Rheumatoid arthritis and many of the other types are autoimmune diseases. In addition to pain medicine, these may benefit from disease modifying agents which affect immune mediated inflammation. (Gold, penicillamine, a big long list…)
The first line treatment of arthritis pain in humans is acetaminophen [Tylenol] 15mg/kg to a maximum dose of, say, 500mg given every 4-6 hours. You could ask your vet if this is appropriate for your pet. With good kidney function, antiinflammatories such as ASA or Naproxen are often added.
Steroid injections in people into a specific sore joint provide some relief, don’t always work or get to the right spot, and may not be much more effective than tablets (which have more side effects). Some medicines and injections are designed to affect the immune system and might not help osteoarthritis.
Surgery and joint replacements require a focused target - nodules of bone or the ability to replace and secure an artificial joint of the same size. Often arthritis is not much amenable to surgery apart from joint replacement, which generally requires considerable loss of function.
We’ve been giving our 30 lb, 13 y.o. schnauzer a glucosamine & chondroitin pill called Hip Flex
We can definitely see a difference if we (I) forget occasionally.
Somebody donated a bunch of containers to our local animal shelter and I bought a few.
He goes to a new vet next Tuesday and we’ll talk to her about what to give him going forward.
An orthopedic dog bed does wonders. A serious one, with differing foam densities. Probably added three years onto my Weim. In addition to making sure they’re as light as possible (works on their human too), glucosamine treats, and Rimadyl.
Towards the end water activities really made her lose years off her behavior. Retrievers gotta retrieve, and please their human. But swimming helped a lot. Cold water and weight off joints made for an active dog.
Never considered how swimming is a good exercise for dogs, as it is for arthritic people.
Someone who writes an e-vet column (and may or may not be qualified) suggests 5mg per pound/10mg per kg acetaminophen FOR DOGS and not to give it to cats. And only to give it twice a day/every 12h, not as often as a human. But your vet might suggest a better medication.