Following on from my previous post, my three year old GR has severe arthritis in one hind leg and moderate in the other. After further talks with my vet yesterday she had said to put him on Rimadyl twice daily to see how he goes and then to look at other options if that doesnt help.  Given that he is so young I am worried about the long term prognosis and wonder if anyone else has experienced this in a young dog and how things progressed.
Just to add to my wonderful week I have just been diagnosed with two fractured verebrae and osteoporosis!  However I am more worried about him than I am about me. Any advice on the best way to help him would be gratefully appreciated.

Ouch, poor you!

For him, joint support and making adjustments should help delay progression of it as long as possible.  That means no slippery floors (so runners down, if you don't have carpets), little and often exercise, decent joint support (e.g. Riaflex Canine HA or whatever it is, I never get it quite right!), and complementary therapies if possible, such as physio, acupuncture, hydrotherapy, laser and so on.

Are you on Facebook?  If so, get yourself onto the Holly's Army group.  They are the social media front line for the Canine Arthritis Management group (their website is excellent for info if you're not on FB).

The most important bit, as your vet is doing, is to get on top of the pain now.  It feeds itself and it is MUCH easier to get on top then manage it daily, then to try and reduce it only when it flares.  What I wouldn't do is only do the rimadyl and add other things if that doesn't work; the best approach for arthritis is a multi-modal one.  BUT - only add one thing at a time every few weeks so you know what's working and what isn't.

There are many options for painkillers these days too so if the rimadyl doesn't help, or if it doesn't agree with him, don't give up!

Thanks so much Nikita!  I have just bought a supplement that has clucosamine, msm, chondroitin and curcumin in it. I will definately have a look at Hollys Army also.  The vet did say that if the Rimadyl wasnt helping maybe tramadol could be prescribed.  Im just so worried about him being in pain for the rest of his life.  Thanks again!

Just to say that I'm sending you positive vibes for your back!  I fractured 2 of my vertebrae too, and have osteoporosis. Having had extensive spinal surgery, I have my fingers crossed for you.

Thanks Jean.  Was the surgery for the fractures?

Yes, it was L4 & L5 and they had started to separate from the other vertebrae.  He did a decompression to release the trapped nerves in my leg, took bone from my pelvis to do a bone graft and then put in nuts and bolts.  I call it my scaffolding, because that's what it looks like to me on the x-ray!!

Goodness sounds like a big job!  As i said I am more worried about my boy than i am about me.  He doesnt understand whats happening to him.  I think he is getting depressed as he seems to have lost interst in everything. All he wants to do is sleep and lie on his bed and its breaking my heart to see him like this.
Hope you dont get any further probs with your back x

Tramadol is not great for arthritic pain.  But there are plenty of other non-steroidals similar to rimadyl that may work better, or there are the coxibs (trocoxil, onsior etc) that can be very effective, or there is the new Galliprant, or cartrophen injections which I'm considering for one of mine who can't have non-steroidals, as well as all the joint supps and therapy options.  Paracetamol can also be quite good.  And combining drugs often improves their efficacy.

Thanks Nikita, he has been moving slightly better for the past day or two, (only slightly but its a start!).  Seems a bit better in himself as well. Managed to get him out for two short walks yesterday.  Keeping them short as although he sometimes would walk further he doesnt realise that the further he walks the further it is to get back home!
I guess its just wait and see how he gets on with the rimadyl and the supplements.

My old boy was on Galliprant and had no side affects with it at all. Much gentler on the body than other pain killers and worked well.

Thanks Harley, I have been reading up about Galliprant today and will speak to my vet about it as she is going to ring me tomorrow to see how he is.  At the monent the Rimadyl seems to be working quite well, he has been moving better today and even brought me a toy this morning and played for a few minutes, something he hadnt done for a while.  Early days I know but I do feel a bit of hope creeping in!

My oldie was a Golden too and I was impressed with the Galliprant. My vet started to use it not long after it came on the market over here and she said that vets are known for sticking with the medicines they know best but the Galliprant had so impressed her that she started to prescribe it in place of other NSAIDs and would continue to do so where at all possible.

Fingers crossed that your boy can be kept comfortable and today definitely seems to have been an improvement for him x

> vets are known for sticking with the medicines they know best

I think this is so true.   My vet has, despite my saying I wasn't keen, put Frankie back on Metacam.   He too suggested he could have Paracetamol if needed.   I'd not touch Tram. after another of mine who was terminal cancer, was put on this.  It so spaced her out that she came off it!! 

With arthritis, as I know only too well, there will be fluctuations.   Not so good in damp/cold but significantly better when it's warm and dry.  I know myself that if the initial pain can be worked through, it's better to keep moving if possible.   Just to adjust when it flares.

Sorry to hear about your dog. I have a ten year old cocker spaniel who has had severe arthritis in both her front elbows for the past 3 years. I find the yumove supplements to be very effective and she gets two daily in her dinner.  I also used CBD oil and thought she showed further improvement but haven't used it for the past 2 months and she has remained the same.

It's certainly worse in the cold and wet of Winter even though she is nearly always indoors stretched by the stove. I found Metacam to be the most effective at making her comfortable and she was on 1.5mg daily with her dinner. I wouldn't be so keen on using it regularly for a young dog like yours though. Lucy has never had any side effects from it though.

In January she was diagnosed with a heart murmur and began medication for that as she was quite symptomatic. We tried a few different pain killers for her arthritis as metacam states that it is not for use in dogs with cardiac conditions.  However none were as good at the metacam. So after discussing it with my vet,  we decided keeping her comfortable and happy is our priority so she gets her metacam in her dinner. She is in great form and back to her old self and bossing the others.  I found her arthritis kind of plateaued and has remained the same for over a year now.

Sorry about the long post! In summary definitely try the yumove supplement. I'm undecided about the CBD oil but I would certainly try it if I had to again as I felt she definitely improved.

Thanks Kate H, good to hear that your dog can be kept comfortable.  My boy was very bad again yesterday and still not so good today.  Just have to take each day as it comes I guess.  My vet has suggested metacam but said to keep him on the rimadyl for the time being and see how he goes.  Still giving him the supplements as well, but its been less than a week since he started on both the painkillers and supplements.  I will try CBD oil.  I will try anything that might help him.

I found it took about a month for me to notice any real improvement when I started her on the supplements. I tried two others but settled on yumove. Have my 11 and a half year old German shepherd on it too and he is definitely less stiff. I recall reading that it was important that the supplements contained hyaluronic acid.
I'm sure you will get things under control and your dog will improve. It's just a bit of trial and error at the start to find what works for him.

I've just joined and thought I'd reply.  I lost my beloved staffie at 17yrs last year and he was on Yumove from about age 8 or 9.  It completely turned him around.... it's brilliant stuff and all natural.  It's a personal choice but I used as many natural remedies as I could in preference.  I also put a smudge if organic coconut oil on his treat after each meal ,which helps keep teeth and gums and all sorts healthy.

I was lead to believe that Metacam long term is not good for dogs kidneys?? Obviously sometimes there is no choice,bas we don't want our companions to suffer, but I can't recommend the Lintbells products highly enough and I hope your beloved dog finds the remedy

Thank you Suzi.

> I was lead to believe that Metacam long term is not good for dogs kidneys?

This is true BUT any owner has to weigh up whether the possibility of long-term use side effects is worse than the pain the dog is in.   Mine has been on it for quite a long time now (at least 2 years) and he was only in trouble when he had a gastric episode (bloat although it was food not going through, not gas) a while back.   It wasn't to do with the Metacam and he is being monitored re any side effects from that.

Metacam may cause liver or kidney problems long term.  But it's not definite.  And as MamaBas says, you have to weigh up pros and cons.

For me it's always quality over quantity and I'll always choose a shorter life with less pain than prolonging a painful one.  Obviously I want my dogs to live as long as possible though so I also look at all the options!  So I tend to avoid things like metacam as long as I can and try natural anti-inflammatories first.  But if they aren't removing as much pain as possible (and I always aim for total removal, rather than just making the dog more comfortable), then I'll use it.  Or whatever works.

Just to add that at a previous vet Practice I used, there was one vet who was qualified in homeopathy.   Frankie had some acupuncture years ago now - whether it did any good I have no idea but he wasn't upset by the treatment, and in fact looked as if he was dozing off.   The trouble with her is she'd push homeopathy ahead of basic treatment,  which I'll admit I'm not really into - most of my vet needs are more 'urgent' than homeopathic treatment would suggest.  

If people find this is the way that works best, for what ails their dogs, I can't criticise them for using that approach.

my young dog 4 1/2yrs has the most terrible looking hips, the ball part are like cauliflowers, he had arthroscopy x2 age 6mths and has had luxating patella repair on one knee, then for the pins to be removed 6mths later as were carrying low grade infection making him lame. the other knee luxates but we decided against surgery as not as bad.
He has been on metacam since 6mths of age and will never be able to come off it, so far he's been ok, he does have blood in his urine but has had all tests done and nothing says why but his blood tests for kidney are all good. he also takes Gabapentin 300mg once a day but I'm not sure on this drug, has not good side effects in humans. I could give him more throughout the day but it makes him zonco, but I have to think of his pain and making him comfy.

I have tried many supplements over the years but found none to be very effective, I'm now giving turmeric so will see that works. I think he needs more pain relief but its what to go to next.

On the plus side he is very happy out on walks and can run, albeit wonky style. he seems to keep going without much issue on walks, jumps about in the river etc. He always struggles to get his back end up when he's been sleeping.

I'll look up Gallipant.

Hope you find something that works for your boy, its tricky I think when they are so young.

Lorripop I am so sorry to hear about your dogs problems.  As you say its a real dillema knowing what to do for the best when they are so young.  My boy is on a supplement called Pure Movement and I am also giving him hyaluronic acid as well.  He has three types of days at the monemt, very bad, bad, and not so bad! He has only been on the supplements for a week but if they seem to be doing any good after another few weeks I will let you know.

It takes longer to get on top of pain at the beginning than to manage a flare-up in an already treated dog, so it might take a wee while to kick in.  River's been on tramadol three times a day for a week for her disc pain which has been creeping up for a while and that's just starting to show an effect now.