Do you know of an excellant supplement for....

[Linda Lee]

I need help finding a great supplement for orthopedic problems in dogs. Both my Goldens have problems, Buddy (6yrs old) has elbow dysphasia and repaired back knee ligiments in both hinds, he is full of arthritis. My other dog Beau (4 yrs old ) has just been diagnoised with hip dysphasia and is limping more and more each day! I've been giving Buddy Glucosumien(sp?) Sulfate from World Image.com and MSM for years now (all human grade). I started Beau on it too, but I would appreciate any supplement ideas from any of you experienced with these problems. Also if any one has had a dog with hip joint repair I would also love to hear from you, and how surgery went during and after.
Thank you, Linda
ps- Feel free to PM me.

[Scarlette]

I was going to suggest glucosimine but you're already trying that.

My Aunt had a black lab that had hip replacement surgery years ago. You would have never known it by looking at him. He could fetch and swim like there was no tomorrow. I think they paid quite a bit of money to have it done, but it was worth every cent!

[Linda Lee]

Thanks Scarlette! It makes me feel better there's hope for my younger dog. I would pay anything to keep him going as long as he can, and my husband agrees. Lucky me!
Theres not much they can do for elbow dysphasia except remove broken off pieces of bone, which I had done to Buddy twice.

But even if you know a better brand of glucosimine, theres all different brands and kinds mixed with what ever out there. It would be nice to hear if something really works, it's really hard to tell if it's working or not. It gets to be a desperate feeling after awhile when you want to see more improvement.
Poor Beau was running out in the snow today and nows he's limping so bad I can't believe it. I'll have to give Rymadil, but Ive heard long term bad affects from that drug. like it may make them feel better but it makes arthritis progress more.

[Linda Lee]

I'm bringing this to top because I found out my dog Beau did NOT have hip dysplasia. My local vet gave a wrong diagnosis.
We brought him to Cornell Univercity Companian Hospital a week and 1/2 ago and it turns out he had a crucial ligament tear. We had them repair it right away. He is home now recooperating.

Just so you know don't always trust your vets at home. My vet should of know my dog wasn't suffering from hip joint problems because he had absoulutly NO arthritis in his hips on X-ray.
Always get a 2nd opinion if your not totally convinced.
If you can get to Cornell in Ithica NY that's 1 of the best . I'm so lucky it's only a 3 hour drive away, but wish it was 10 mintutes.

[Scarlette]

oh my gosh! Thank goodness your baby didn't have to go thru hip replacement for no reason! I hope you called your vet and set him straight so another dog doesn't have to go thru that.

[Crittercall]

SHARK CARTILEDGE - both dogs!! I've had my daughter's Golden on it for years and I can walk in Erin's house and know within 10 minutes if she is slacking off on giving it to Daisy. We usually buy it by the bushell at Sam's. I'm sure you're familiar with the "loading dose" method now - I'd start out with 2 or 3 pills twice daily until you see some effect then cut back gradually until the dog feels better but isn't taking as many pills.

I personally don't like Rimadyl as it tends to give the dog a false sense of well being and they are more likely to cause themselves more pain because they don't realize they are going to hurt themselves in the long run. (An opinion formed from talking to many vets - not all on my own!)

Good luck with them. This cold weather doesn't help at all, I'm sure (doesn't help my arthritis any!).

[Linda Lee]

When I went back to my local vet with the x-rays I found out he left the practice and started his own . But I told the receptionist and I know she told the other doctors there. That might explain why he made a poor diagnosis, he didn't care because he knew he was leaving shortly.

I will difinately look more into shark cartiledge, right now I have them on Gylco Flex double strength. I also give MSM too, and vit E and sometimes extra C.
Someone else mentioned Shark cartiledge to me too.

[Crittercall]

You can give them all at the same time, but so far we have been able to keep Daisy comfortable with just the shark cartiledge. My orthopod suggested the chrondoitin (SP) and MSM for MY arthritis and the knee injury I had last summer.

Good luck. It hurts so bad to see them have to get up so slowly. And I'm assuming that you aren't overlooking the obvious - slick floors, climbing stairs, etc. I've tried to get Daisy to spend her winters down here with you, but you know how Goldens love the snow and making their snow angels!

I read about the problems that you are having with your dog. I have a ten year old white German Shepherd with severe arthritis. We have been giving her Synovi-Cre for 3 years now and it works wonders. We order it from a Fosters & Smith catalog. The sooner the better with this as it also helps build synovial joint fluid which helps lubricate the bones. On days that it is really bad we have a prescription for Etogesic from the vet. We were told that it is like giving a human Ibuprophen. When your dog gets older you may look into having Adequan shots for it also. We do this about once a month as she is getting older and it also seems to really help.

I hope this helps some.

macy21

[Linda Lee]

That's very interesting about the Adequan, my vet never told me about it. He told me when My dog "Buddy" gets really uncomfortable to the point where I would have to put him to sleep- he said that's when he could be put on steroids. He also said my dog would probably need a large dosage of it to even help and it would kill him in a year, so it's the last resort. My dog is no where near that point, both my dogs have been doing pretty good with the glyco flex/ and MSM plus the e or flaxseed oil too I've just started. I looked at the Synovi-Cre yesterday and I have to read over it again. looks more expensive but seems to have the same ingrediants as some other lower priced supplements. Having 2 goldens on supplements get's really expensive.
We bought an above ground pool for the dogs, it's being put up on Tuesday. This way they can get lots of good exercise without damaging their bones so much.
I'm still looking into your supplement suggestions here, I just loaded up with the glyco flexx a month ago so have to wait till I need more, than I may decide to go with something else .

Do they use Adequan on horses? I think I know someone who was having these shots every month for her horse with joint problems. Must of been the same stuff.

[Crittercall]

Daisy got really "down" a few weeks ago and was given adequan. I'd never heard of it and still haven't looked it up in my forumulary.

You know, it's hard when every vet you go to and everyone you talk to has a different attitude about what to do for them. I'm sure you realize that steroids do nothing but "mask" the symptoms so that they think they feel better. Is the synovi-cre strictly an animal product? My arthritic hips are acting up like crazy today; I've got to get to Sam's tomorrow for the MSM/Chondroitin and some shark cartiledge. I can't live in this drugged stupor and still hurt! Makes me feel so bad for the dogs because they can't really tell us what the problem is.

Good luck! If I hear of anything new and "cutting edge" on this issue I'll pass it along.

[Linda Lee]

I was looking over the Synovi-Cre again and it has the same exact ingrediants as Glyco flex,with 2 differences-the Synovi-Cre has 900 mg of glucosumien- glyco flex has 600mg- but the glycoflex has double the amount of perna mussle than Synovi-Cre does. I also think they're about the same price- but with KV vet I dont have to pay shipping if I spend $40.00- excuse my spelling Im too lazy to check it. Ialways new it was suppose to replace joint fluid.
I guess I'm always looking for some miracle , but there really isn't one. I can only do the best I can to help my dogs.
Now with the warmer weather here Buddy will feel much better.

We ended up getting the Synovi-cre from a Foster's and Smith catalog to get it cheaper. It was extremely expensive buying from the vet. We were able to buy it at about a third of the price.

The adequan shots are unbelievable also. They do give this to horses to prevent joint degeneration and to help after they get arthritis as well. We get macy one shot a month and it that's all it takes. I don't know if all vet's offer it or just the ones that take care of large animals also.

My vet did say that there are several different makers of the glucosamine supplements and that as long as they are getting something it will help.

Arthritis is unfortunately just a burden that our pets and us will have to bear. Hopefully we can keep them comfortable enough to make it ok for them.