My dog has developed arthritis in his hip and knee. The vet gave us vitamins and pain medicine. If your dog has arthritis how do you treat it?
Our vet put our cocker spaniel on rimadyl and it worked wonders! She lived pain free until 14 when cancer finally took it's toll.
In addition to what your vet prescribed, get some triple cod liver oil from GNC (90 softgels for about 8.50 - lots of times it's buy one get one free) they are high in Omega 3 Fatty Acids which is beneficial for arthritis as well as teeth, coat, and cognitive health) All of my dogs take them - have for about 4 years. . the little one 10 lbs gets one soft gel cap per day - the others - over 40 lbs, get 3 per day.
One thing I am finding out about the Rimadyl is long term exposure to it could cause liver damage. Cause My Laila is on Rimadyl and gets bloodwork done twice a year to check it
This is all good info. Thank you! Right now it was the vitamins and pain meds, but I'm assuming it may turn into a daily care med if things get worse. I'm just glad he doesn't have to get surgery. After we lost our first dog this year to that awful disease I couldn't deal with the pain of my other baby in the hospital!
We were fearful of the liver complications mentioned with the Rimadyl so we only gave our "girl" the pills when she had a flare up. Once the inflamation settled down she usually was able to go a couple of months without needing it again.
That's what I'm thinking with the pain meds as well. He doesn't seem to need it all the time. Also, does anyone do warm compresses?
Get some of that dog food with the fish oil in it. I'd recomend using the Pet Pantry brand online. I'll try to find a link.
http://www.feedyourpets.com/ Good company, great products. Plus you get discounts for referals. Consider this a freebie, I aint gonna make no money off of my online buddies.
If you already have a ton of your existing food, get those capsules I mentioned - that's what they are fish oil. . .you wouldn't have to worry about gastric distress in changing over the food either.
