I have an old German Shepherd, a sister to two others we once owned, now passed away. The two girls had bad hips for much of their adult life and now the one still with us has progressing problems. The vet prescribed the usual steroids and glucosamine, but I found a good quality fish oil, Traumeel, and vitamin C helped much better. I'm wondering though, if there's something else I might add to this or change. She doesn't seem to be in a lot of pain, but doesn't get around much, and sometimes I have to help her get up. Any dog lover's here that deal with this?
We once had a dog that had hip dysplasia. We would give her the doggie asprins for flare ups but other than that we would just try to give her moderate expercise on a daily basis. If she jumped up or over ran, she would be hurting pretty bad later that day. Try to limit over exercising and any jumping. Check with your vet to see if a moderate, daily exercise routine would be beneficial for your dog.
Sorry, I don't have an answer for you, but my friend's GSD seems to have similar problems. I think I will tell her about fish oil and vitamin C. She gives her dog calcium but I haven't checked how much. I will also talk to her about exercising her dog. She doesn't take Sandy out so much these days . She is ready to try anything.
I try to get her out of the house to get some fresh air, but I don't push it too much because she's so old. My main concern is she that because she's getting older, I don't want her to be in pain. So far she's not complaining unless she doesn't get her supplements, but I don't want it to get worse. I'm not looking forward to having to make the decision to let her go. I'm a real crybaby when it comes to that. I just want to keep her as comfortable as possible, and this is helping so far.
My dog is 14 years old and 50 pounds, and is starting to have problems with his hips and joints. A lot of the things other people have said are great! I'd also recommend gettingLog In to put anywhere she likes to climb up to that is hard for her to get to now, like if she sleeps on your bed or climbs up on the couch. They also makeLog In to put around their middle that give you a handle to hold them up if they have trouble with getting up, walking, or climbing stairs. I'm actually considering getting one for my dog, as he fell and hurt his leg a few weeks ago and getting it healed up was a nightmare! Good luck to you and your pup on finding something that helps
Keeping your dog active and helping relieve the pain with the use of warm/cold compresses and occaisional aspirin (with food) will go a long way to keeping him comfortable as he ages. Im not a big fan of steroid use...it does help, but there are side effects such as eating/drinking and eliminating more as well as the potential to cause Cushing's disease. I would stay on the glucosamine...I know it's a bit expensive, but it does help.
