Aging 4 legged friends

-
inkjunkie

inkjunkie

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 24, 2009
Messages
17,413
Reaction score
3,082
Location
......
Our Australian Cattle Dog

View attachment IMG_0404 (Medium).jpg

Queenie turned 12 the first part of April. Thanks to her front teeth being ground down we recently switched her over to canned food with a handful or so of dry food. She used to eat snap peas & baby carrots with her breakfast but has stopped eating the snap peas and I now cut the baby carrots into smaller pieces for her. She is very active still, and equally as alert. In typical Cattle Dog fashion she is tenacious. Soon as we go outside she will find one of the jolly balls and bring it over to us. Chases the neighbor up the fence line when he is riding his ATV, if she is outside when our neighbors drive by she runs the fence line chasing them. Then come night time she stiffens up quite a bit. Have spoken to the vet about it & she said it is probably just arthritis. So what are you fine folks doing for your aging 4 legged buddies to help them out with arthritis?
 
On our 12 year old German Shepard, we would give him a low dose
Bayer. Or a rimadil(spelling) that is a low dose pain killer for dogs, made him sleepy though.
 
When I had my older Dalmatian with arthritis my vet had him on Rimadyl.


Then one of my contacts from the Dalmatian rescue also recommended Cosequin. I asked my vet about this, and he said that it was a good idea. It also can be taken with the Rimadyl, and together with the Cosequin is as effective at killing pain for the dogs as vicatin is for humans and has minimal health risks for the dog.


It did help him. He was more active when he was on it. I did try that natural spray that they advertise on TV and over the internet, but it wasn't as good as the cosequin and Rimadyl combination and was not any cheaper.


Talk to your vet about Rimadyl & Cosequin. Also try Glucosammine which is natural and available at pet stores and pharmacies.


Here's a link to a page that lists different treatments and also their side affects:

http://www.2ndchance.info/arthritis2.htm
 
Our little Rat Terrier is 16 1/2 yrs old....has heart problems... Not sure how much longer he has....so he is eating well...and gets taken care of pretty good these days.
 
For ole Arthur, and the heart issues on the little 4 legged friends give 'em a chewable baby asprin everyday, will help the heart issues and also relieve any pain they may be in.....UNLESS the pain is greater then that of a normal Arthur patient.
 
67 Power Wagon said:
For ole Arthur, and the heart issues on the little 4 legged friends give 'em a chewable baby asprin everyday, will help the heart issues and also relieve any pain they may be in.....UNLESS the pain is greater then that of a normal Arthur patient.
Click to expand...

X2 on the baby asprin! Sometines I have to give it to my 12 year old beagle when she's had a rough day of playing.
 
We drop in two regular strength Bayer Asprin in the water bowl (it holds 1/2 gallon of water) for our older dogs.
 
Glucosamine. I take two a day and the dog gets one. Bear is a bullmastiff and rottweiler mix. 105 lbs. Walgreens has the formula just for dogs but it's the same 1500 mg that I have been taking. The vet said it was the same thing, so................... We've been splitting a large bottle about every two months. It's made a huge improvement in both of us :)
 
70aarcuda said:
Our little Rat Terrier is 16 1/2 yrs old....has heart problems... Not sure how much longer he has....so he is eating well...and gets taken care of pretty good these days.
Click to expand...

16 1/2 years old....that is impressive. We do give her low dose aspirin every now & then. A member messaged me about using fish oil pills....did a search of the net and found some stuff about it....

one of the hits was from the infamous Dr. Weil.....http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA400120/fish-oil-for-dogs.html
 
One day they're puppies, and it seems like you blink your eyes and they are old and tired. We give our 2 Shitzoos all the health care they need, as far as going to the Vet to have checkups, heartworm pills, flea prevention medicine, etc. Another thing I started doing years ago, with the 2 we had before these, is I NEVER,EVER,NEVER...EVER, EVER walk by them without speaking to them and rubbing their little ol heads. All a dog wants is love and attention, and they give it back ten fold. God love em......their little lives just aren't long enough.
 
moperformance said:
Glucosamine. I take two a day and the dog gets one. Bear is a bullmastiff and rottweiler mix. 105 lbs. Walgreens has the formula just for dogs but it's the same 1500 mg that I have been taking. The vet said it was the same thing, so................... We've been splitting a large bottle about every two months. It's made a huge improvement in both of us :)
Click to expand...

^This.
 
Hey Ink,

My lil buddy Sadie Girl just had back surgery last october for a ruptured disc in her back. She does get around ok, and healed up with a slight limp in her right back leg, she is now getting arthritic, so i understand what you are going thru. My wife said it well when she said to me you will grow old with her, but she will not grow old with you. Seeing them get old is painful because they are like perpetual children.

Here is,what i got from my vet. Its called Glycoflex. Its not a drug type medication, its a natural nutritional suppliment. This is a bag of dog treats theres a 4 month supply per bag, one per day. This helps with inflammation of the joints, and helps lubricate the joints. Sure they are $50 a bag, but the vet told me to give em to her only after she eats, and only one a day for the first month then every other day after that. She is doing really well. She used to wimper in pain from her joints, and it hurt me just seeing her that way. Now she walks so much better, and seems so much happier.

They give us so much love, and dont ask for much in return, so $50 every so often for my little buddy to be comfortable in her golden years is really nothing compared to all the years of companionship and unconditional love she has given me.

I hope this is the answer that helps your lil buddy out
Matt
 
My cat Stubby is a little over 15 now. He still gets around real good. Has regular runnin fits and still lets the other cats know on a regular basis that he's still the alpha cat, without question. But every now and then he does have his bad days. Whether it's arthritis, we don't know. Doctor says it's tough to diagnose in cats, because they are active through the pain. So we give Stubby a small dose of ibuprofen when we see he's down and it helps.
 
RustyRatRod said:
My cat Stubby is a little over 15 now. He still gets around real good. Has regular runnin fits and still lets the other cats know on a regular basis that he's still the alpha cat, without question. But every now and then he does have his bad days. Whether it's arthritis, we don't know. Doctor says it's tough to diagnose in cats, because they are active through the pain. So we give Stubby a small dose of ibuprofen when we see he's down and it helps.
Click to expand...

Kitties, nice to know.
 
Here is a pic of our dog Sandy. She is 18 yrs old , believe it or not. She is a mixed mutt, buy she looks like a miniature cocker spaniel.She is getting really bad lately with walking and getting around. Sue has been giving her glucosamine now for a while. I believe we will have to put her down very soon. Good news though.....my boy Gunner is only 4yrs old.
 

Attachments

  • 002.jpg
    33.8 KB · Views: 91
  • IMG_2089.jpg
    46.5 KB · Views: 75
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top