Arthritis in senior dog

[ShelbysMom]

My 12 yr. old Doberman is starting to show some signs of arthritis. Unfortunately we have a big flight of stairs in our house that she cannot avoid using. Last month at her annual exam the vet mentioned monthly glucosamine injections. When I inquired this morning, I found out the injections are $52 each and need to be given every month.
My last Dobie developed arthritis and I occasionally gave him an aspirin which worked fine.
Is it still okay to use aspirin?? She's a petite little girl at 55 lbs.

[TheSkeptic]

Aspirin is fine.. We give our old dogs aspirin and they do fine on it.

I would be leery of the Glucosamine injections as the clinical trials have not been completed and there are inidcations of problems. You may want to try the pills first. Preliminary studies show that Glucosamine w/ Chondritin works best. You can get them OTC at local pharmacys.

Rimadyl and Ectogesic work wonders, but can have serious side effects. I know of several dogs on both meds who are doing excellent, but you will find many horror stories on the web about these meds. Many of these Horror stories are overblown IMHO for several reasons.

A: Often the drug has not been proven to be the causitive agent of the problem, and the conclusions are based on hte post hoc logical fallacy. (I gave my dog Rimadyl, My Dog Got Sick, Rimadyl did it. While Rimadyl may have been the causitive agent, these are all older dogs and any number of other things could have been the cause.)

B: Second many are distraught and looking for something or someone to blame.


Still these are powerful drugs and powerful drugs have serious potential for harm. Dogs should be otherwise very healthy before being put on them.

Hope this helps.

[ShelbysMom]

Thank you so much.....I wanted to avoid harsh drugs if I could. She has good days and bad. On good days, she runs around and goes crazy chasing squirrels in the yard and does young dog things. On bad days, she won't want to jump on the bed or get out of the Jeep. I have to help her. Or, instead of lying down she does this sort of flop down thing that tells me she's stiff.
I'm going to try the aspirin, I feel it's safer and my last Dobie only needed it occasionally when he was having trouble.
I wanted to tell my vet that he's out of his mind with that $52 injection.

[k9Karen]

I'd also like to recommend the glucosamine/chondroitin mixture. Several clinical trials have proven the efficacy of these nutraceuticals used in combination. I've had Mickey on it for over 5 years. It really helped in the beginning, but he began to deteriorate about a year ago. I had him on yucca for awhile, but discontinued it. I've put him back on it, along with MSM to try to help him be more comfortable. (At 16 he has very severe arthritis in his hips, back, shoulders, and elbows - poor pup, his only 'good' leg has a tumor re-growing on the foot making it harder for him to walk). Mickey can't take aspirin (throws it up in 5 minutes or less), but I do give it to him with his food and hope he keeps it down when he really seems to be hurting. Rimadyl, I think, made him quite ill (this could be one of TheSkeptic's logical fallacies - but the pieces sure fit).

The gluc/chon mixture actually helps with joint lubrication, which, in theory at least, helps the joint heal, or at least prevents further damage. Aspirin is an anti-inflammatory agent, which helps lessen the pain, but the disease process in the joint continues, so damage also continues.

[momPaws]

Hi Shelby's Mom...sorry your baby is hurting. But wanted to give you some hope. Honey is 10 and was getting so lame in one leg that she limped constantly. Even my vet recommended we try Glucoa/Condr. combo before going to any stronger drugs that may have side effects. Thank goodness it is working right now. I was amazed. Started her maybe a yr ago and over time she kept getting better and better..now uses leg pretty normally. MUCH improvement. I get the drug store human brand and just cut one pill in half. Wanted to start with low amount, but is working! I hope whatever you decide to do it works for you.

[TheSkeptic]

Another note about the Glucosamine/Chondritin -- It takes about a week before you start seeing results from it and check with your vet about dosage. ....

[ShelbysMom]

I gave her one aspirin this afternoon and she was running around like a puppy. In the future, if I find that she has more bad days than good, then I'm going to try the OTC glucosamine/Chondritin.

[k9Karen]

I'd like to encourage you to start now before the damage gets any worse. With any luck, you'll be able to stop the degeneration process where it is right now. I waited too long with Mickey. I wish now that I had started him on it as soon as the symptoms started, but to be honest, I didn't know about it at the time and really didn't think anything could be done. I've learned alot - much from the old Acme Board and researching on the 'net. I'll know better next time and won't let Allie suffer the way Mickey did before I do something about it! (Angel is also on it, and in the 4 years I've had her, her symptoms from hip dysplasia have not gotten any worse than when we first adopted her).

[jdf]

just wanted to add a link to the Senior Dogs Project..they have some good info that may be helpful. Use their links on arthritis under conditions and diseases:::
http://www.srdogs.com/Pages/care.fr.html

[Traci]

Shelby's Mom, please exercise extreme caution when giving aspirin. I think we would all feel better if you did this under your vet's supervision, particularly checking platelets/coagulation factors if this has not been done before.