Kasey has been limping some in the past few weeks - front leg. He's not as anxious to play ball sometimes, and has been a little stubborn when we want him to get up to go outside at bedtime. Coupled with the roaming at night we decided it was time for a vet check.

I took him in today and it was impossible to tell by exam because this dog is completely non-reactive to pain! The vet can do just about anything to him and he just sits there. So we decided xrays were in order. They xrayed both front legs - elbows, 'wrists' and shoulders. The left elbow has definite arthritis showing up, along with a couple small bone spurs. The rest of the leg and shoulder look fine (initial readings - they are being sent to the xray specialist guy to be read and we'll hear his thoughts tomorrow). The right leg looks pretty normal.

She put him on tramadol to get the pain down since the limp makes it obvious he's hurting. I'm wondering if any of you use any supplements or do anything that helps dogs you've had with arthritis? I know Connie has told me her dog sleeps on a heating pad, but Kasey is always wanting to sleep on tile or bare floor where it is cooler so i doubt he'd want to lay on one - plus since it's his elbow that would be hard to accomplish!

So any tips or suggestions would be appreciated. Also, our vet said you have to pretty much let them be as active as they want to be so they can be a real dog! Do you put any restrictions on yours?

I have had good results with Adaquan. It is an injectible ( I'M or Sub Q). Need an Rx from your vet. Needs to be done on a schedule for the first 6 weeks or so for a pre load dosage & then a monthly shot. Is a bit pricey but very effective for most dogs. Used it for years with my horse.

Trixsyn (liquid over food or put into mouth) works pretty well..but is like Cosaquin..but a step up. I purchased from my chirp/holistic vet along with the Adaquan.

Also 'GAGS' Over the counter pills(glucosamine/chondroitin) is a bit less expensive then the trixsyn or Cosaquin.

I try to keep my female from jumping & any extreme exercise...but want her to keep moving...which is not a problem...keeping her limited from the craziness is a lot harder. She has never had all 4 feet on the ground at the same time for more than a couple of minutes when not sleeping most of her life. I don't throw her ball..I just roll it a few feet away so she is less likely to jump up to catch it or do somersaults, fast turns etc. She has an arthritic knee & had a back injury a few years ago & has been retired from any real work since then. Hard to restrict a very high drive dog & still offer enough to keep her sane. It's a balance like everything else.

You will figure out what works for Kasey over time. But do keep him moving as much as possible...the not moving is worse for the arthritis.

We use a liquid supplement called Liquid Health K-9 Glucosamine with OptiMSM, Hip and Joint Formula - it's more effective than any of the other supplements I've used yet, previously I was using powdered Glucosamine/Chondroiton/MSM and this stuff blows it away for the difference it makes.

bump

The xrays were read by the radiologist expert guy and he found arthritis in the left elbow along with what they call Calcifying Flexor Tendinopathy - a big name for calcifications on the elbow tendon. He suggested surgery to try and clean off the calcifications but my vet disagrees. She said she rarely sees much improvement on elbow surgeries, especially in an 8 yr old dog. They believe there are signs that point to him having a Fragmented Medial Coronoid as a puppy that led to the arthritis.

She said she doesn't think the surgeon would agree to do the surgery, but even if he did the only thing he could do is try to make it a little better - can't fix it. So it seems like a bad choice to spend thousands, and put Kasey through surgery when a good outcome is not in the odds. Hard choices for sure.

It's sad to think that he will continue to get worse through the years. She said it will be slow and he still has a lot of life left in him, so let him be a dog and do what he wants as long as he can so he'll be happy. We are doing pain control 24/7 for 2 weeks and then as needed.

I know he likes to sleep on tile and linoleum ... is there any time when he will nap on a cushion or blanket?

I ask because there are such excellent joint-aid beds now.


Weight control is crucial, as you know, particularly with a big guy like this.


And the point about liquid GAGS supplements is something I agree with, after lots of research.