Help with arthritis for aging dogs.

[leslie]

Has anyone had success using homeopathy to treat arthritis in aging dogs? My dog walks squeamishly about, and has pain when jumping from a couch, or bed. I would be curious to know what others have tried and the outcome of treatment.

[sumit_hmed]

My brother-in-law's dog is about 12 years old (chihuahua/fiest mix - so a small dog), and has had success with Joint Relief. He gave her 3-5 drops 3 times daily, and noticed steady improvement in her movement. I will see if I can dig up some other customer accounts for veterinary arthritis products.

Our old Golden started suffering from arthritis so badly he could not go up the stairs. A friend recommended Glycoflex by Vetri-Science (now easily obtained over the internet) which was a product sold by Veterinarians only at that time. Withing two days our dog started being able to go up the stairs by himself and be able to get up from lying down much easier. He lasted 4-5 years after this and passed away at the ripe old age of 15 1/2 two years ago.

This product is composed of Mussels, Brewer's Yeast and Alfalfa- which emulated a formula recommended by Dr. Richard Pitcairn made from Kelp, Bone Meal and Brewer's Yeast which I have also had very good success with.
I just prefer the convinience of the tablets and our dogs love how they taste.

Give it a try. Cannot hurt. Sorry this is not a "homeopathic" recommendation; but in order to go that route, it would have to be individualized to the dog's symptoms, not generalized.

Hope this helps you as it did us.

Hi Leslie,

It's a bit late, but I just found this site and saw your post. I can't help with a homeopathic remedy as my old girl, Hannah, refused to take them long-term! I did get Rhus Tox down her for a week or so, but that was not enough. But here's what worked for her:

I took her off Metacam as it was killing her – severe colitis caused by the Metacam and she also developed very shaky legs on it, which I’ve noticed happen to several other dogs. I got her Runaround from Stock Nutrition which is Green Lipped Mussel, Shark Cartilage, Vitamins C & E. Within 5 days on that, she was trotting a couple of miles, with no trace of a limp!, having previously only been able to stagger to the end of the road on very shaky pins, where she was lying down to watch the traffic. I immediately weaned her off the Metacam altogether and she was great on the Runaround for a couple of years.

Then her legs got worse again and I added in Garlic, Greenleaf Tablets from Denes, Osteotrace tablets from ARONHA, got her a magnetic collar, used crystals – Blue Lace Agate to start with, and others, she also had Acupuncture for months, but I eventually stopped that and did acupressure on her myself after having been shown by an Acupuncturist how and where would be most beneficial. These were all added in at various times as the need arose. She also latterly had Reiki which helped enormously and I believe gave her an extra 6 months with me.

There are loads of natural products and therapies out there which I am sure would help enormously. The trick is, as ever, finding the right thing for YOUR dog, which is where your gut comes in – you’ll know what’s right.

Homeopathy can also work wonders. Hannah just didn’t want it, she preferred herbs etc.

The book which helped me a lot and sent me in various correct directions for Hannah is - Natural Healthcare for Pets by Richard Allport. He covers a wide range of natural therapies.

Had I kept Hannah on Metacam, she would have been dead by 12 as the Vet prophesied, but once I changed her to natural treatments she was MUCH happier, healthier, fitter and had a much greater quality of life. She lived to 15 years and 6½ weeks!

Runaround is available from Stock Nutrition www.doghealth.co.uk

Denes website is www.denes.com

I know Glucosamine can be great too.

Some other products I believe can be helpful are :

Mobileaze www.aviform.co.uk I know someone who has used this very successfully with her Weimaraners.

Cortaflex

Synflex

Ease by Phytopet 01244 813162 email info@phytopet.co.uk

Deer Velvet www.velvetenergy.com

Copper Collars help some dogs.

Once you start hunting, you’ll find the right products.

A good Homeopathic Dog care book is Homeopathic Medicine for Dogs by H.G.Wolff

Good luck in your search.

Hi Leslie

We rescued a 7 year old newf who had some serious arthritis. We tried a bunch of stuff with her and finally found some things that worked for her. Our holistic vet recommended ARTH9 and Drynaria. May be something for you to investigate. I really noticed the difference when we ran out of the ARTH9.

[belle19]

Conquer K9 HA is a hyaluronic acid supplement for dogs which promotes joint health. They are chewable beef flavored tablets. I have heard they are really good. They are veterinarian researched. For more information, you can visit Kinetic Tech - Hyaluronic Acid Supplements.

[annice]

Arthritis or joint pain is a common problem occur in older aged dogs. Several factors are responsible for arthritis in old age dogs such as weak immunity, obesity, lack of proper diet, injury, hip dysplasia and elbow dysplasia. When dog suffers from the arthritis, he/she suddenly stop doing physical activity. As far as the homeopathic formula for curing arthritis or joint pain in dogs is concerned, it is 100% safe and effective. Pet bounce is one such homeopathic formula available for providingjoint pain relief pets. For any information visit:
Joint pain relief cats

[black99]

The problems that lead to arthritis begin early in your pet’s life. But because joints are tough and reparative, you probably will not notice pain or lameness in your pet during its younger years.
Thanks

[mark12jon]

When dog suffers from the arthritis, he/she suddenly stop doing physical activity. As far as the homeopathic formula for curing arthritis or joint pain in dogs is concerned, it is 100% safe and effective. Pet bounce is one such homeopathic formula available for providingjoint pain relief pets.

[willsot_20]

Arthritis or joint pain is a common problem occur in older aged dogs. Several factors are responsible for arthritis in old age dogs such as weak immunity, obesity, lack of proper diet, injury, hip dysplasia and elbow dysplasia. When dog suffers from the arthritis, he/she suddenly stop doing physical activity.

[Gabriella]

I have a near 7 year old female Doberman who's suffering from bad arthritis, she's a rescue and has been with us for 3 years now, her condition increased a lot for the worse, tried everything from Cartrophen injections, which gave her a brief respite but the result wore off a few days after the course of injections stopped.

I'm giving her Flexi-Joints and cod liver oil to aid her as much as possible but I was seriously getting desperate, it's horrible to see a beloved pet in pain and limping. I didn't want to have her put on permanent pain medication as I was worried that she might build up a resistance and then nothing but steroids would be left and started researching like crazy. Read up on how well leeches work in arthritis for humans and thought it couldn't do her any harm, the worst thing that could happen would be wasted time and money and her losing a few drops of blood to the leeches. Sourcing medical leeches in the UK wasn't easy, even harder to find a vet who was willing to do the treatment (they all wanted to stick to drugs and possible surgery), but finally had success.

My dog had her first treatment at the end of September and the results so far are amazing, she's so much more active, can keep up with my other (younger) dog and instead of short little walks she now takes long walks, I don't have to lift her into the back of the car again, first she managed to jump in with a run up, now she jumps in without a run up, today they were chasing after a squirrel and she cleared a fence with ease. I'm seriously amazed and super happy and would recommend it.

It's very messy and bleeds for quite a while after the treatment (and it is important to let it bleed was explained), so be prepared for something that is super messy and a lot of cleaning up (possibly ruined carpets - I had a few changes of clothes, ruined towels, etc.) but the results were worth it. She's going for another treatment and the vet went from "Don't get your hopes up, I try it as you insist on it" to "We have to keep at it, the joint is less stiff and I can manipulate it without her showing discomfort".

Just don't go off and put your dog into a water with leeches, they have to be a certain type of medical leeches and applied to the right spots (anchor points of the joint they said), but yes, I am so incredibly happy and excited about it. We went through almost 3 years of trying everything we could (including herbal remedies - I put her off the Metacam as it was giving her tummy problems and she just seemed a bit odd, not quite herself almost like in a daze), I was prepared to wait for quite a while to see a result, but it was almost immediate and then you could see a daily improvement. The company who supplied them said they have not been used in veterinary medicine and they would be interested in seeing how it works, that's why I kept a diary for them.

I know I sound like an advertisement, but anybody who has a pet and was worried for years about a condition getting worse and being helpless to do anything can possibly understand how I feel now.

I can't recommend it enough and seriously hope that more vets are willing to at least give it a try (though while mine is enthusiastic about the results, they're less enthusiastic about how messy it is - especially with a big dog who likes to lean on walls, people and doors), so if you're thinking about pushing your vet to give it a try, best keep quiet about that part and possibly keep your dog in just one room, preferably one without carpets, but to be honest, I wouldn't have cared if I had to replace all the floors and repaint all the walls, it's such a joy to see her run again and enjoying her running.

We're going to repeat the treatment next week (after roughly a month) and then wait again for a few weeks, if she shows further improvement she's going to get another treatment and the same procedure, once she stops improving or has full movement again, it's recommended to stop and only start again when there are signs of lameness again.

It's not cheep (though the leeches are the cheepest part of it, the vet charges are quite heavy as a vet sits with the pet while the leeches suck and until they drop off when full, to avoid the dog picking them off and eating them - which could be fatal) but a hell lot cheaper than the other treatments that didn't really work nearly as well.

Please don't try to apply them yourself, go to a vet or if the vet is unwilling at least somebody who knows a lot about joints and will put them in the right places.

[oxana]

Our pets always suffer from deseases. Sometimes we cannot even understand why a cat or a dog does not want to play or just to eat. That it is why we should consult pets doctors from time to time. We can learn much more about our animals if we also read some books or articles devoted to such problems. I read an article about arthritis remedies concerning people and it was very useful for me.
arthritis remedies