We have been so fortunate and never had a dog with arthritis before Kasey, so we are in new territory. He started limping upon getting up from sleeping earlier this year and xrays showed moderate arthritis in his left elbow (that was about 6 months or so ago). We went to Mammoth last week as we do every year, and he just loves the hiking and throwing sticks in the lake.

This year it was hard to watch him He so wanted to do everything he's always done, but about 3/4 mile into a hike he was showing signs of limping. I started him on a max dose of glucosamine/Chon about 2 weeks ago, and he takes a low dose of Tramadol twice a day (the vet had me give him more while we were in Mammoth).

Our vet is a wonderful woman, who herself has arthritis dogs, and says that we have to let them be dogs in spite of arthritis or they get depressed. We still take him along on our exercise walks everyday, and know that exercise is important, but how do you know how much?? Should you go only as far as he can go without limping? or is a little limping ok?

He just turned 9 years old, and he's a big golden (not fat at all, we keep him on the lean side), but he weighs 89 lbs, and if he can't walk some day, we're in trouble, so I want to do what's best in terms of exercise now so he doesn't go downhill any faster than necessary.

Lori, I am in the same situation with my girl. Bon has been on Loxicom and Yumove for ages now, for arthritis is in her front right paw. It is twisted into a claw, and she is pretty much walking on tip toe, plus she has degenerative myleopathy in her back legs.

Initially, I restricted her exercise, and she was depressed and miserable and it broke my heart to see her like it. My vet said if she wants to go out, take her, so she gets to amble about on much shorter walks, her tail wags furiously when she picks up a scent; she is doing what she lives for, being off lead over her fields.

I tried nose games in the house, and she wasn't really interested, and the rest of them were beating her to the hidden treat anyway!

If Kasey wants to go, my thought would be take her, just be prepared to shorten the hikes to manageable distances that won't exhaust her. I really feel for you, the energetic and lively walks of the past with a dog that is full of life, seem like a life time ago for me now, and I miss taking my pack on endless yomps.

Do you have a canine rehab or physical therapist in your area?

I'd consider am appointment with one to see about simple exercises and massage techniques that may help mitigate some of the pain, keep him comfortable and minimize muscle loss

Mara, my vet and I discussed that, but based on where the arthritis is and the stage it's at, she said she doesn't see much success in PT. She showed me how to massage it and I do do that. I even asked an acupunturist about that and he was honest enough to say that elbows are really tough to get much help with.

Have you tried Adaquan? It is an injectable with a load dose & then a monthly shot. Can be given intraomusclar or sub-Q. Can see the difference with in 24 hours of a shot. Will add that the results can be less dramatic for some dogs.
Has worked very well for Zasha. She has been on it for a few years. Used it with the horses four years.

 Quote: Anne Jones

Have you tried Adaquan? It is an injectable with a load dose & then a monthly shot. Can be given intraomusclar or sub-Q. Can see the difference with in 24 hours of a shot. Will add that the results can be less dramatic for some dogs.
Has worked very well for Zasha. She has been on it for a few years. Used it with the horses four years.

http://www.caberfeidh.com/Adequan.htm

Should also add that Adaquan is pricey....but I feel well worth it due to the excellent results.
I also use a GAGS supplement.

Anne, how pricey? We already have to pay for Apoquel for his allergies that is pricey also!

Lori I use the horse single dose vile & get 3 1/2 doses out of 1 vile. Dosage is weight basesd. Zasha is 65 lbs. I cannot find an old Bill. But I know that it is about 1/2 of the dog dose vile. Care needs to be taken to keep chilled & only insert needle one time as there are no preservatives in the single dose horse vile. Many vets will only dispense the dog Adaquan to dog
owners. I think that the dog vile was around d $ 100 but cost will vary depending where you live. I also haven't used the dog Adaquan in a over a year or so.
Don't know how much this I do not know how much this helps. Call your vet to get a price. Might even try one of the pet supply catalogs ...if your vet will call in an Rx for you. Prices are high in my area.

Just looked it up on Dr foster & smith. Pkg of 2Dog viles are $140 '... I used to get the 2 viles when I first load dosed her...that is where I got the $100. Then I switched to the horse Adaquan & pay like $ 50 for the horse viles. Now that makes more sense. Been a really long day. :-(