One of my dogs, Honey was diagnosed with arthritis in her hips about 2 years ago. She was only 7 years of age at the time and for a Tibetan terrier this was pretty young. Her littermate Millie is as spritely as a puppy and so having a direct comparison between both just demonstrated how bad Honey actually was. After discussions with the vet we transferred her onto Science Hill JD and Glucosamine and started her on acupuncture, I was also given Metacam that I could give to her when she needed it. She did improve after her acupuncture sessions and certainly the Metacam helped if she was in pain, but throughout the last year she had some poor periods where a short walk up to the local park resulted in her laying down half way and really swinging the hips and displaying pain afterwards. But now after 18 months I think I have finally found a balance that is working for her. In the last month I have made the following changes:
Diet: I have placed her on a holistic food called Robbies, this is a natural food produced by a company called the land of holistic pets.
Glucosamine: I changed her from a powder Glucosamine to a liquid Glucosamine called Flexicose, the reason I chose this particular Glucosamine was because a colleague of mine started taking the human form for his own knee and can now run an Agility course after the doctors said he needed an operation!
Magnetism: I bought a collar that has a small Magnet stitched into it which she now wears on her neck.
One month later after making all of these changes Honey more than managed a 3 hour mountain hike in our local mountains with no ill effects or signs of pain either during the walk or afterwards. I really never thought she would ever manage anything like that again and I am so happy for her. I cannot say which of these changes has had the most effect because I introduced them all around the same time. I know if I had been scientific about it I would have introduced each one individually, but all I care about now is that she is back enjoying her walks and not in pain. So for anyone out there whose dog suffers from arthritis just keep looking for solutions that work for your dog. You just never know!
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Comments
Hi Lisa,
Thank you so much for posting this information on dealing with arthritis which, I have no doubt, will be very beneficial to many. I am lucky not to have had a dog develop arthritis (she says, touching wood!) but know many who have and it is marvellous to have this positive feedback on managing the condition.
I first came across Robbie Holistic Foods about 2 years ago at the first Petexpo and thought it was brilliant and it is great to know that DTI are stocking it now. I can vouch for it’s tastiness as I tried it myself! No – I am not mad (well, only about dogs) but generally smell/taste anything new I come across that seems interesting. I am seriously considering using the liquid Glucosamine, Flexicose, for myself as I have been diagnosed with it and know just how painful is the condition. Are you stocking this too?
Honey is such a lucky little dog to have you as her carer
who first of all noticed the little dog’s uncomfortableness and went all out to get a diagnoses. There are far too many owners who just say “ah, he/she just has a touch of arthritis” and never do anything about it, no matter now often one tries to inform them how painful it is for our pets. When I meet a ‘brick wall ” owner (grrrr) I say in my head- “hope you develop it so you know how painful it is for your pet”. They might change their tune then but won’t be holidng my breath!
My very best wishes that Honey lives a painfree life for a long time to come and continues to enjoy her hill walks! It would be great to hear regular updates on her – maybe every 6months??