How can I help my aging, arthritic toy poodle to be as comfortable as possible?

Question

My toy poodle is blind, bowlegged now, wheezes, and has arthritis. Any suggestions to help him to be as comfortable as possible would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

Dog arthritis
Most large dogs develop arthritis as they age. Although there are no miracle cures, much can be done to make old dogs with arthritis more comfortable and improve their lives.

Soft comfortable place to sleep
Your dog's bed should be as comfortable as your own. An old mattress or soft couch is excellent. Soft foam rubber at least four inches thick is good. Scout around for an old baby mattress.

Gentle, regular exercise
Provide limited, gentle exercise. Once around the block two or three times a day is about right. Avoid strenuous activity on the weekends alternating with little or none during the week.

Weight control
Older large-breed dogs often tend to be overweight. This discourages them from getting the exercise they need and aggravates their arthritis. The more weight on those poor old joints, the harder it is to move around. You should be able to easily easily locate each of your dog's ribs when you feel for them. See canine body condition. Any "light" diet is helpful.

Promote joint health
There are dozens of products for animals intended to relieve arthritis by promoting joint and cartilage health. Their active ingredients usually include glucosamine, chondroitin or perna caniculus, sometimes creatine, and often an assortment of miscellaneous vitamins and minerals. Their use has become nearly universal among veterinarians, no safety problems have arisen, and they are generally quite effective. In our opinion, every dog showing even the earliest signs of arthritis should be receiving one of these products. They work best in the early stages of arthritis, while there is still reasonable joint function left to preserve. For more information about these nutraceuticals, see "nutraceuticals for arthritis in dogs".

You can also go to your vet and ask for arthriris madicine.

Answer 2

We helped our arthritic lab mix with Glucosamine supplements (gotta get the expensive kind, unfortunately... the $10 stuff isn't worth the bottle it's sold in). I think Cosamine was the brand we used (Cosaquin also a good brand). Best price I've found is on Amazon of all places, around $60; I've seen the same 120 count bottle for $90 in stores. It takes a few weeks to know whether it's helping, which means you'll know by the time you've finished the first bottle.

If you have an dog acupuncturist in your local area, this can also make a gigantic difference for your dog. You may laugh (we did when we started going!), but our girl's arthritis had gotten so bad that she couldn't walk up and down stairs anymore. This was life-threatening, because we were living in a 3-level townhouse where you had to go down a long flight of stairs to get outside. We thought she was finished. Within the first few acupuncture treatments, she was handling the stairs again. With continuing treatments, she kept trucking along for another 2 1/2 years. We got where we could go longer and longer between treatments, but we could always tell when we needed to go back because she'd start tripping on curbs.

So there does come a point when you have to question your dog's quality of life and whether it's fair to keep them alive, but there are also a lot of options (dietary, supplements, etc) that could make a big difference. You'll just have to make your best judgement about whether your dog is still happy, but when the time comes, just remember that dogs do not fear death. My girl taught me a lot about growing old, and she wasn't afraid of it.

Good luck with your boy.

Answer 3

First off, I put my 12 year old cat to sleep at the Vet's yesterday. So I understand how you feel. I called him "my little shadow" because I couldn't even go to the bathroom without him coming with me, lol. He followed me EVERYWHERE. When I would shut a door, he cried for like 20 minutes or until I opened it up.

What I would do is this: Get some large step like pillows (more like seat cushions for the couch) and place them around the couch and bed, so he doesn't have to JUMP on the bed or couch and back off, simply walk down to the floor.

Also, you may run a "vaporizer" to moisturize the air in the room to help with the wheezing, but be sure to keep the filter clean (better yet, get one without a filter). Since he's bowlegged, keep everything as close together for him as possible, to keep him from running all over the house.

Good luck. I hope you don't need it!!!

Answer 4

A heating pad underneath a soft doggie mattress would be nice for your poodle.

Strongly consider "spiking" his daily food with aspirin.

Take the dog outside for bathroom breaks more often than you used to.

The day is soon coming when your dog will look at you and want something you don't understand. This will be frustrating because old dogs don't ask for new things --what could it be? The dog will be asking for relief from the pain --asking for euthenasia at the vet's. When that happens, no matter how reluctant you will be, "give your dog what it wants" because it's life has become too miserable.

Answer 5

Imagine for a moment your arthritis completely vanishing right now.

If, in a moment, your pain and stiffness melted away. And your joints all of a sudden functioned like a well-oiled machine.

Like a magic wand was waived, you'd be able to jump up from your chair and run around the room like a kid.

And imagine that you'd never have to suffer as much as a pinch of arthritis stiffness or pain ever again.

I know this sounds impossible right now, but bear with me, because sometimes miracles happen.

It was a gift from a woman on the other side of the world. From the kindness of her heart, she took pity on my suffering and taught me how to completely reverse my arthritis.

Today, I want to do the same for you!

Answer 6

ARE YOU SERIOUSLY ASKING THIS QUESTION? Non poodles are not vicious at all! Are you kidding me? If you think poodles are vicious, you must own the wrong breed of dog! I have 2 cavalier/poodles are they greet any stranger they see. They love attention, learn tricks very quickly, and never bark. But the best part of all is that most poodles are hypoallergenic (not allergic to there hair) . Poodles one of top 5 smartest breeds of dogs. They are very playful and don't have a mean bone in there body. Poodles are super laid back dogs. They aren't protective but they don't always like to share either. My two cavapoos are best buddies( see profile pic). They are very gentle with kids and eldery people. We take one of our dogs to a nursing home and everyone loves him. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

Answer 7

An orthopedic mattress (the egg crate foam kind) takes some of the stress off the joints, and you can put a hot water bottle (wrapped securely in a heavy towel) to give him something to help keep him warm. There is a dog biscuit with glucosaime and chrondrontin in it, that really seems to help my dog with his joint issues, but if you have him on arthritis medicines, check with the vet first.

Talk to your vet about giving your dog something for the arthritis. I think they prescribe rimadryl alot, but there are side effects.

Don't move the furniture around. Give him lots of love and affection.

Answer 8

It sounds like it is the time to think about putting him down. I know this sounds harsh, but at some point in time this has to be considered. Believe me, I know the pain of watching a pet grow old and see them suffer. My Lab was at the point where Rimadyl would no longer work & suffering side effects from the drug. It's sad to see this, but we need to realize that often animals suffer in silence. They'e in more pain than they can tell us.

Their suffering is never about us and how hard it is for us. It's about our pets and what is best for them. I know it's hard to seperate the need to keep him alive and the need for him to be at peace. This will probably be one of the hardest things you will ever do, but letting go is the most humane thing of all.

I wish you well in your decision.

Answer 9

Vitamins. I think there is a place called KV Vet Supply and I purchase vitamins and arthritis supplements for my elder siberian husky. I also make it a point to hug her, kiss her, and tell her I love her. She is going onto 13 years now, so the attention is worthwhile for her. Also, I like to treat my dog to food like half peanut butter sandwiches and so forth.

Answer 10

hey,
i am not a vetrinarian, but i house/dog sit for one with a couple of dogs with some major arthritis. he swears by "cosequin" to make their achy joints and stiffness as manageable as possible. i'm sure your vet can hook you up with some. we ran out for a couple of days when i was sitting the last time and i could see a marked difference in the dogs overall demeanor. i hope that helps!