help for bad hips

D

David Allen

Active member
My German Short Hair has a heart that says go but a body that says no. Specifically, he has a bad hip. We have been giving him an aspirin but it is not helping enough.


Does anyone have any more effective treatments?
 
Advanced Cetyl M Joint Action Formula for Dogs, from Valley vet is what we used to help Belle, my late Chesapeake. It helped for a while and I could see big improvement with her when we first started using it.
 
If it's arthritis there are a number of things I have tried that seem to help

Dasaquin: a chewy supplement that I get from Amazon
Adequan: a shot that is given that is supposed to help rebuild cartilage
Metacam: a liquid antiinflammatory that is given orally based on the animals weight

My lab Drake (10 this month) has an arthritic elbow and he does well with the Dasaquin and Adequan shots. The shots start out first 2 shots a week for 4 weeks, then after that you have a maintenance shot. He's been on it for a year now and initially he responded very well to the first 4 weeks. He's been getting a shot once a month but I think for him he needs it every three weeks and so that's what I'm going to begin doing because at least recently, you can definitely tell when he's ready for another shot. But it has helped a great deal.

Metacam has been an outstanding anti-inflammatory that both boys will get. Kenz (around 13 years old) gets it every night because he has bad hip arthritis. It seems to help a lot. Drake gets it pretty much after he's been working hard, usually right after we're done hunting.

Kenz did VERY well with Dasaquin but he was allergic to something in it. He was so miserable with itching while he was on it. Because of his allergy to the Dasaquin, I didn't even try him on the Adequan because the active ingredients are so similar. I didn't want to take the chance with him possibly being allergic to the shot. So be aware that there are possible allergy side effects.

Those three, all together or in some other combo or by themselves, is what I'd suggest if the bad hip is arthritis related. The Adequan and Metacam are prescription so you'd need to talk to your vet about it.

It sucks watching our dogs get old.....truly does......

Dani
 
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David,

I am sorry your dog is going through this. Irt is not easy and there are not any silver bullets. I have had to deal with several dogs who have had degenerative hips and/or elbows. See your vet. There are some products that can help with joint lubrication and stronger anti-inflammatory/pain relievers.

My experience has been that by the time aspirin has lost its effectiveness pain management is the goal. Once the joints are worn down past a certain point they don't seem to get better. I had a dog that had good results with Rimadyl. There are other drugs too. Some of these drugs can be hard on the liver, be aware.

The dog in my avatar was on 325 mg of aspirin daily for the last several years of his life. The last year of his life he was on one aspirin and 10 mg of tramadol twice a day. It kept him fairly free of pain. His hip finally got to the point where he could no longer get up. He was put down on 6/15 of this year. He was a few weeks shy of his fourteenth birthday.

Tom
 
I feed my dogs victor performance it has glucosamine for their joints (the ones 15 and still retrieving, slowed down a bit but still going).
Also Doc E Nutriceuticals has several glucosamine supplements for different age dogs.
Good luck
 
Carprofen is a good pain reliever but do not buy it from your vet..... www.allivet.com 180 tablets is about $125 for the generic. What your vet will sell you is about $70 for 30 pills.... It is a prescription and they probably have your vet on file. you fill out the online form, picking your vet. They contact the vet and get the prescription, then they bill your card and ship.

Sucks having to retire your dog early. Had to retire my lab two seasons ago and I'm dogless in the field for at least another year.
 
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