I've got a 6 year old Sheltie with possible arthritis in his shoulder. He started limping about a year ago. NSAIDS - rimadyl and metacam didn't help at all. An X ray didn't reveal anything abnormal in the joint.He then had a course of 4 cartrofen injections which more or less got rid of the limp.At the beginning of the year the limp came back and he had another course of injections but this time they didn't really help. I give him glucosamine every day and I've just tried him on a new drug, zanthofen which again didn't have much effect.I've also tried a magnetic collar and he isn't overweight! I would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has had any experience with acupuncture in arthritis. If anyone has found anything else to be helpful in arthritis I'd love to hear from them as well.

I have arthritis and am yet to find something that eases it. :( I'm starting the glucosamine route, which is supposed to be most affective for arthritis in the knee ...

JG have you tried arnica gel?  I know of people who use the gel with great results and there is also a bath soak available on QVC.  Not sure if it works on animals or not though

Hi JanetE, Mmmm - I would have thought 6 year old is young for Arthritis????   Has there been an old injury in the joint?  NSAID's work wonders for pain relief and you should have definitely seen an improvement - that's if it was arthritis.  Is he in much pain? 

If nothing has shown on x-ray (ie, joint degeneration) and your dog is not responding to NSAIDS, then your vet can't be sure it's arthritis.  If it me, I'd be pushing for a specialist's opinion.   

For arthritis - Acupuncture is good for temporary pain relief.  Hydrotherapy is great for improving muscle tone while placing no force on the joint itself.  Magnetic therapy which you're doing, Glucosamine & Chondroitin, fish oil, a good diet, kept on the thin side but not too thin, massage and sensible exercise.  Hope this helps. :-)

Have you looked at what a Chartered Physiotherapist can do, I use one for the horses who is registered with royal vet college she does dogs as well and is uses acupressure, ultrasound and laser therapy. I also use her for myself and wouldn't be upright if i didn't, my mum has arthritis in her feet and hands and beggining stages and finds it makes a great difference. My insurance company paid for her with my horse who has kissing spines and hock problems. Any way just a thought!

Many thanks for all the replies. I'm taking him to another vet on Friday as I have been wonderering whether it really can be arthritis causing the limp. I've been told dogs rarely get osteoarthritis so if its rheumatoid the NSAIDS should have helped firstly as a pain killer and secondly by reducing the inflammation. He doesn't seem to be in a lot of pain he's just very slow and can't keep up with my other 9 year old sheltie.As far as I know he's never had an injury but he has jumped over lots of stiles in his time and done a lot of walking over very rocky terrain. The idea of an animal physiotherapist is interesting especially if it turns out to be a soft tissue injury, I'll certainly mention it to the vet.Thanks again.

Physio worked wonders for our cat and she showed us how to do some of it ourselves - saving loads of money. Also there is a type of vet bed called flectabed that is working wonders when there isnt a sunny sopt to lie in. It reflects their own body heat back helping to stop them from stiffening up too much when asleep. Now do you thing I can find a piece that is about 6 foot by 3 as I could use some of that!