Help Hips and Joints?

Question

How can I help my dog's hips and joints? She has a hard time getting on and off the bed and getting up when she's been laying down for awhile. We had been giving Glucosamine/Condroitin, and she was doing fine, so we weened her off of it, but her hips are hurting her lately, and I;m just curious if there's anything we can do to help

She's a Border Collie?/Golden mix, abput 80 pounds maybe? 7 years old

We;ve tried getting her ramp to help her get into the car, but she doesn't like it, she'd rather jump, and she's a b.c. golden mix, and goldens tend to be about 75 pounds maybe

Answer 1

Continue to give her those pills. My dog is 15 years old and has had them since she was 2. She got a rupture disk and then arthris in her joints, we took her off one time when she was 5 and almost put her down because of the pain and spoke with some experts out of state and was told to try her on them again. We did and she is now is almost 16 and still doing good. You are an awesome animla owner. More animals need owners like you. Good work

Answer 2

I am curious as to why you weened her off of the Glucosamine/Condroitin in the first place. That is something they can take their whole life. My advice would be to first get her back on that, or if you want get a food which has the Glucosamine/Condroitin in it. Although I'm not sure if the food alone would have the recommended dose in it. Second ask your vet if she could lose a few pounds as that could help. And finally try to reduce the amount of steps she has to use if possible and try to reduce her having to jump up on things by getting or making her a ramp.

If none of that helps you can talk to your vet about other options. There is Rimadyl as someone else mentioned but not all dogs can handle it. There can also be some nasty side effects like liver problems and it loses its effectiveness over a long period. They can also give Tramadol which is a pain reliever and like Rimadyl has it's limitations. If those don't help depending on what is causing the pain they may be able to give Adequan injections.Adequan is a disease modifying osteoarthritis drug for dogs and it is used to alter the disease and provide pain relief.

Answer 3

Need to keep her on the Glucosamine. The body metabolizes it quickly and when arthritus sets in, need it daily. Will take 4-6 weeks to see the affects of the Glucosamine, so be patient. As your dog ages more, when the glucosamine isn't doing the trick- keep her on the Glucosamine and start her on MSM. I have a 16 year old dog (and others in the past) that this combonation has done miracle for. All dogs will eventually get arthritis, so I started my 16 yr old on just Glucosamine when she was 9. Then increased Glucosamine as I saw fit then added MSM. She runs up and down 12 flights of stairs several times a day and just recently noticed she is getting just a LITTLE bit stiff when she gets up. So have increased the amount of Gluco./MSM and can already see the difference. She acts like she's still only 7 years old!

Answer 4

I would put her back on the Glucosamine. You need to have the Glucosamine a pharmacutical grade as the FDA only states that over the counter Glucosamine needs to have only 10% of the label dosage in the actual pill.

At 80 pounds she should be getting 1500-2000 mg a day of the supplement.

Cosequin is a well known Glucosamine supplement as well as Procossa II. I use Porcossa II on my bulldog and it has done wonders for her.

So much so that I now sell it as well. It is $24.00 for a bottle of 120 pills. 500 mg each. Spread the supplements out throughout the day with a little cheese or peanut butter on them. You should also give her an Omege 3 and Omege 6 combined supplement on her food. This will help with circulation as well as her coat.

Answer 5

Just curious, if the glucosamine/condroitin was helping, why not keep her on it? I would. I have terrible arthritis and I'm in pain constantly. I take anything the doctor will give me to help ease my discomfort. I'd do the same for my dog too. I think you can give her a little baby aspirin in her food also, but might ask your vet first. I give my dog baby aspirin when he needs it. I also know that mild exercise like a nice daily walk would help. It helps them keep off extra weight, which can contribute to the problem, and it keeps those joints moving which is good as well. I sympathize with your dog. Arthritis is no fun.

Answer 6

1) Put her back on the glucosamine/chondroitin
2) You can purchase or make "doggy stairs" to help her get up and down, and also they make ramps to help her get in the car (they fit in the trunk)
3) She may be overweight, and if she is, then losing weight (even 5 lbs) can make a world of difference. I'd have to see her, but 45-50 lbs is normal for a female border collie
http://www.purina.ca/dogs/nutrition.asp?article=292 <-- how to tell if your dog is fat
4) If it gets really bad, there's always the prescription pain medications, Rimadyl and so forth, but make sure you do blood work if you do use prescription NSAIDS or aspirin-rarely, a dog can have a toxic liver reaction, and this shows up on bloodwork long before the dog looks sick.

Answer 7

The hip joint is where your thigh bone (femur) connects or articulates with the hip socket (the acetabulum). This is a ball and socket joint , used when you move your leg around. It allows a wide range of movement. The sacroiliac joint is the joint between your sacrum (the end part of your vertebral column or backbones) and ilium which is a part of the body of the pelvis bone. This joint allows very little movement (during birth, movement increases to widen the pelvis due to a hormone called relaxin which is released) because of the strong ligaments which hold the ilium and sacrum together. thus why it's called the sacroiliac joint (sacrum + ilium)

Answer 8

Besides arthritis, she could have hip displasia. it's common in all large breed dogs, mainly goldens, rott, labs. I have a rott/lab mix and he's already showing the signs of it at 3. Take your dog to the vet and have them xray her hips. If she does have it there's a surgery to take the ball of her leg bone off so that it fits into the hip socket. I've talked to many owners that have had this done and they all said that their dogs are much happier and had no side effects. I'm going to have it done to Bosco when he's a bit older.

Answer 9

Don't ween her off the glucosamine. Just keep giving it to her in the dosage recommended. It's great stuff to help with aging and/or arthritic dogs.

Answer 10

You shouldn't take her off of the Glucosamine. Obviously it worked and in order for it to continue working keep giving it to her. Don't stop because you see improvement.