I have a 10 year old English Springer Spaniel who is suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis in his shoulders. We have tried a magnetic collar and ibuprofen, but it doesn't seem to be working. Any suggestions for alternative medicine or treatment, or general ideas?

I seem to have had very good results with my nearly 14 year old Dandie Dinmonts generally mobility difficulties using NewZealand Green Lip Mussel, of course 1 dog isn't much of a trial but she certainly seems to lose interest in moving about if she is off them for any period over a week or so. We have used them for about 5 years now.
PS There have been good research published to show that fish oils do improve joint mobility in humans and I have myself started taking just Cod Liver Oil but only for about a fortnight so nothing much to report yet (I can't afford NZGM for myself :))

The green lipped muscle is quite a good mobility supplement but its certainly not a pain killer. I dont know about you but when my shoulder stiffens up it hurts like anything. Remember our dogs dont show pain the same way we do so its always worth a visit to the vet to see if its just a supplement or if a pain kliller is needed to.

certainly I've been told that nay human drugs like ibuprofen are a no-no for pets as it just wasn't designed for them.

Rusty has OA and has been on Metacam for ages, I've found it really easy to give as the soluton just gets added to his food - no more messing with tablets for me. It was just like getting him back as a puppy once he's started it. trouble is now I cant keep up with him. :)

You are right of course NZGLM is not an analgesic but if it has got some element that reduces inflamation it could well prevent the pain occurring. I can only guess that is the case but judging by her general demeanor and willingness to move about when she is on it as compared to when she is not it seems to give her a good quality of life. Metacam is a NSAID like Brufen so although I would be perfectly happy to give it to my younger dog as a short term measure I feel, as in humans, it is not all that appropriate for the elderly and particularly not for my Dandie who has a history of colitis.

You are of course quire right that there is scope for the 2 products one to aid suppleness of joints and one for flare-ups in pain, or in Dandie's case when colitis is an issue. However I must correct (hope this doesnt sound rude - its not meant to be) you in that Metacam is nothing like brufen. Brufen is an ibuprofen and should never be given to dogs. Meloxicam is one of the newer COX-2 NSAIDs which means fewer side-effects than the other older pain killers available, in fact globally it has the fewest. My dog used to get Rimadyl tablets until a friend referred me to the BARKS website in the USA where the company have actually had to put death on the side-effects list due to public uproar.

It does make me wonder though how may of us use both a pain killer and a nutraceutical in combination and how many of us use the pain killers on an ad hoc basis. Anyone care to enter the Zan survey?

Metacam alone
Metacam + nutraceutical
Rimadyl alone
Rimadyl + nutraceutical
other

Magnetic collar did seem to help our Golden Retriever with arthriis, but only noticed the difference after he spopped wearing it for a few weeks and we had to replace it again. Our vet suggested asprin as a better painkiller for dogs than any of the other 'human' pain killers, apparently dogs cannot deal with many human painkillers that can build up in their system and cause problems. The best results we have had have been with 'hokamix' a dutch herbal suplement, this really seems to be helping.

That's interesting about the Hokamix as I've just bought some to use as a supplement for raw diet but didn't know it could help stiffness. Hope it helps my old lady
Anne

yes....glucosamine with chonditorine...available from health span..in human form..is safe for dogs
£7.99 i think for100 caplets it takes a while to start to work..marvellous stuff.

Holland and Barrett have got a sale on at the moment and glucosamine that should cost £6.99 is down to £1.99. The sale ends at the end of the month.

HTH someone,

Fiona
x x x

Hi i've just discovered a new product called Syn Flex available from hwize.co.uk. It is basically Glucosamine with several other ingrediants and the reviews are amazing, it is also a lot cheaper than veterinary Glucosamine products at £24 for a months supply. I am about to start giving this product to one of my dogs after having good results with veterinary Glucosamine so fingers crossed.