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#1
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German Shepherd, Arthritis?
I have a German Shepherd of five and a half years old.The vet has given him
a course of steroids for the treatment of arthritis.Is there any other alternatives i.e. accupuncture.Has anyone else experienced this with a German Shepherd? Thanks,ES, |
#2
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"mm" wrote in message ... I have a German Shepherd of five and a half years old.The vet has given him a course of steroids for the treatment of arthritis.Is there any other alternatives i.e. accupuncture.Has anyone else experienced this with a German Shepherd? Thanks,ES, At 5.5 I would really try and keep him off the steroids ~ my GSD was pts recently @ guestimated 14. She's been on steroids for 15 months and they carried her through well, at the expense of her body and muscle mass. I keep wondering if I would have continued with that treatment if I had known and in her case I probably would have ~ but she was already old. I would certainly get a second opinion ~ which part of his body does he suffer most in? ~ his hips? Can you try a homeopathic vet? Swimming is great exercise and acupuncture works well for some dogs. Green lipped muscles have also highly recommended by a few people on various lists. Try this list ~ it's mainly for DM sufferers but you'll get a lot of help for arthritis too: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DegenMyelopathy/join Diana |
#3
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"mm" wrote in
: I have a German Shepherd of five and a half years old.The vet has given him a course of steroids for the treatment of arthritis.Is there any other alternatives i.e. accupuncture.Has anyone else experienced this with a German Shepherd? Thanks,ES, Our current GSD, Penta has been taking "Metacam" (UK name) for her painful hip joints for 4 years now. After a few days of treatment she had started to steal food from the kitchen counters again (she had not tried that trick for a long time), she had not been able to get her front legs up that high before the treatment started. Being on the drug has really improved her mobility, and she is certainly not getting any pain from the joint anymore. Metacam is a NSAID, so it works against inflammation and pain. The active ingredient is meloxicam. It comes as a suspension with a syringe, I just squirt the dose into her mouth before her food. It costs about £45 for a 40 day supply, and you use it long term to keep the inflamation away. |
#4
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"buglady" wrote in message rthlink.net... "Diana" wrote in message ... Try this list ~ it's mainly for DM sufferers but you'll get a lot of help for arthritis too: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DegenMyelopathy/join ........To the OP, at 5+ years arthritis would be a bit unusual. The above mentioned disease DM - degenerative mylopathy - is common in GSDs. How did the vet diagnose arthritis? Just an assumption or were X-rays done? buglady take out the dog before replying Looking again, I see that the poster is English... one thing that angered me a lot about Stone's death was that the vet was referring to the hip displaysia as arthritis. OK, they might be somewhat related but the only arthritis we ever discussed was in her hocks. I didn't know that her hips were so severe ~ we thought her struggling was down to the painless symptoms of DM, not the agony of hip displaysia, or I would not have continued to stretch her legs in accordance with the physiotherapy sheet for DM dogs ( a sheet that I also showed my vet!) , and might have put her down sooner. Knowing how much pain she was in hurts a lot. Maybe by the term arthritis the vet is referring to hip displaysia, which is very common is quite young GSD's and Labs in the UK? Diana |
#5
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Having been a German shepherd owner all of my life and with a 15.5 year
old female resting behind me, I guess I've been through the mill on rear end problems and arthritis. Here's what i've learned to date: 1. I don't think that you can use steroids for a long time, only for a short period. Therefore I don't think that steroids are the ultimate solution. 2. I'd stay away from Rimadyl and the other NSAIDS. They're advertising Deramax as not having stomach related side effects, but that's in dispute. Check the web for Deramax info from dog owners if your vet suggests using it. I had Shali, my 15 year old on Rimadyl with nearly disastrous results. She started gastric bleeding--dark, smelly stools,etc. That kept her off of her feet even though I stopped the Rimadyl right away. That meant that her old muscles were beginning to atrophy further and her mobility has been adversely affected. If you opt for Rimadyl, get a CBC first to establish organ baselines, then watch your dog for any signs of problems. Then get another CBC in a week, then two weeks, then four weeks, then continue periodically to make sure you're not seeing liver damage. There have been catastrophic side effects with Rimadyl, but primarily in black labs. Still, the NSAIDs involve some risk. 3. All available from KV Vet supply: Glycoflex (has the green lipped mussel mentioned by another), Arthi-Soothe (I use it with Shali daily), and most recently I'm trying her on Myristin. I have a relatively inexpensive Myristin source if you want to go that route. Shali's on the Arthisoothe and Myristin at the present time. 4. Swim your dog. I don't know where you are, but a number of canine swim centers have sprung up all over the place. 5. Don't let your dog sit around. I did that with an older male that I had five years ago. He didn't want to go out. It was hot. So I let him have his way. End result: his muscles atrophied. 6. No jumping or other high impact sports. No frisbees in the air. Hope this helps. |
#6
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Rick wrote: Still, the NSAIDs involve some risk. Indeed they do as do they with humans. Strangely when humans have degenerative joint disease or degenerative arthritis the very first drugs they are given are the newest most expensive meds on the market, ie Celebrex, vioox, and Bextar. All of which are of course NSAIDS but supposedly easier on your stomach. And there are definite risks with the use of these and dogs. I prefer to try liquid glucosamine. Of course the downside of that is there aren't enough tests run with many of the supposedly holistic approaches. Gwen |
#7
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However, Metacam is not available in the U.S. It is being used in Europe,
Australia, N.Z. and Canada. I had Molly on it for about a half year (much of that at half dose) before and between multiple ACL surgeries. It was so good to be able to give her something during the acute injury phase that allowed her to sleep without leaving her acting "drugged". We now give her Glucosamine, Chondroitin, MSM and Salmon Oil to keep the arthritis at bay. Carol Ann, Toronto Our current GSD, Penta has been taking "Metacam" (UK name) for her painful hip joints for 4 years now. After a few days of treatment she had started to steal food from the kitchen counters again (she had not tried that trick for a long time), she had not been able to get her front legs up that high before the treatment started. Being on the drug has really improved her mobility, and she is certainly not getting any pain from the joint anymore. Metacam is a NSAID, so it works against inflammation and pain. The active ingredient is meloxicam. It comes as a suspension with a syringe, I just squirt the dose into her mouth before her food. It costs about £45 for a 40 day supply, and you use it long term to keep the inflamation away. |
#8
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#9
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I've had good luck with Adequan injections and accupuncture.
:-) V Rondo Farms, Home of Rambo the Wonder Horse |
#10
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I've had good luck with Adequan injections and accupuncture.
:-) V Rondo Farms, Home of Rambo the Wonder Horse |
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