Melanie L Chang wrote:

I was wondering what sort of experience you guys have with back injuries.

No personal experience at all, just throwing out some ideas.

he seemed to be in a lot of pain, so they sent us home with Rimadyl. The
pain gradually seemed to resolve itself over the next couple of days.
While it was really bad he didn't move his bowels at all for a day and a
half and he only seemed to get relief if he was up and walking fast but
his left hind would drag slightly at slower speeds.

Was he X-Rayed at the time? I am thinking that if there are significant
changes to his neck/back, it might get picked up.

He is currently on glucosamine,
chondroitin, and MSM.

Just FYI. Pan's previous owner reported that she did substantially
better on liquid glucosamine than she did on the pills. On her advice,
a friend of mine switched her severely dysplastic GSD over, and the
difference has to be seen to be believed. This dog who had a hard time
stepping up to his orthopedic bed now actually attempts to chase his
younger and much more agile sister down. You may want to switch to see
if that makes any difference.

I am wondering if he shouldn't jump anymore, period,

I would do that, at least for a while to see if it helps. If in the
long run that doesn't make any difference, and Solo is unhappy that he
isn't able to participate, maybe try it again.

and if swimming would help him.

Definitely a good option for getting exercise. From our last experience
though, he didn't seem much like a water dog.

Suja

Melanie L Chang wrote:


Acupuncture and chiropractors are out of the question due to Solo's
temperament issues and extreme fear of people in white coats. Even if I
could get him to submit to the treatment (and I could get the
practitioners to agree to treat Cujo) the stress it would put him through
probably wouldn't be worth it.

Just a thought, but we have an acupuncturist that will come to our
building or even to our house. No white coat! And once needled, the
endorphin rush is often so powerful in the dog that they get addicted to
their acupuncturist. I had a very shy dog with extremely painful
Wobblers. She didn't like anybody but me--and her acupuncturist. She
would get the most indescribably blissful look on her face when she was
needled and would turn into Doberman Soup.

You also might find an acupuncturist that's willing to do several visits
of just desensitization, especially if they're willing to do it away
from a vet's office. Most are into whole body health and understand
stress issues very well.


He is currently on glucosamine,
chondroitin, and MSM. I am wondering if he shouldn't jump anymore, period,
and if swimming would help him. I am also wondering if keeping a blanket
over his back to keep his muscles warm when he needs to exercise (agility,
working sheep) would help.

I agree with the xray suggestion made by somebody else. Yes, warmth
would also probably help. You can also learn how to do massage. Swimming
is good for everything, except that swimming in cold water might stiffen
muscles. This time of year water is cold around here.

"Melanie L Chang" wrote:
snip
Later his behaviorist, who is a veterinarian and also experienced with
gait analysis, watched him move and said she thought he had injured his
back in the lumbar area (perhaps knocking a disc slightly out of whack)
and at the same time strained a knee. At the time she advised that I rest
him, not allow him to jump, and put him on joint supplements, which I did
and we haven't had a relapse since then.

snip
He is currently on glucosamine,
chondroitin, and MSM. I am wondering if he shouldn't jump anymore, period,
and if swimming would help him. I am also wondering if keeping a blanket
over his back to keep his muscles warm when he needs to exercise (agility,
working sheep) would help.

Any suggestions?

Melanlie,

Shane has 5 discs in his lumbar region (nearly all of them, that is to say)
that are being compressed together. At this time he is in no noticable pain
but he does have some bad days. We have him on 1000mg of glucosamine sulfate
and 1000mg of chroidroitin sulfate as well as bromelain. We swim for 45min
every other week. The point of all this of course is to keep the vertebre
lubed up and him thin and fit. He is not allowed to do _any_ jumping or
stairs and I moderate the amount of running he does. When I stayed with him
in a hotel room for 3 days I had difficulty in preventing him from jumping
on and off the bed. We could tell it messed him up when we got home.
Occasionally he has pain on cold days or when he strains himself, but
generally he's pretty okay. He's been shown in Vets classes and I've been
complimented on his sound gait. I can't tell you how happy that made me. No
one can tell he's my little busted back dog.

I would be very careful of the type of exercise you give Solo. I can no
longer do roadwork with Shane and I wouldn't dream of lure coursing.
--
-Andrea Stone
Saorsa Basenjis
http://home1.gte.net/res0s12z/
The Trolls Nest - greenmen, goblins & gargoyle wall art
www.trollsnest.com

"Suja"
snip
Was he X-Rayed at the time? I am thinking that if there are significant
changes to his neck/back, it might get picked up.


Good point - an X-ray is a good idea. Shane was X-rayed which indicated 2
bad discs. An MRI revealed 5. I would definitly curtail Solo's exercise
until you had a conclusive diagnosis.

--
-Andrea Stone
Saorsa Basenjis
http://home1.gte.net/res0s12z/
The Trolls Nest - greenmen, goblins & gargoyle wall art
www.trollsnest.com

"Robin Nuttall" wrote
snip
Swimming
is good for everything, except that swimming in cold water might stiffen
muscles. This time of year water is cold around here.


Warm water swimming only! Cold water in the winter would be bad indeed.
--
-Andrea Stone
Saorsa Basenjis
http://home1.gte.net/res0s12z/
The Trolls Nest - greenmen, goblins & gargoyle wall art
www.trollsnest.com

Melanie L Chang wrote:

I may try the liquid glucosamine. Right now Solo is on tablets from
Puritan's Pride that I squish up with a mortar and pestle. Only problem
is that the only affordable liquid joint supplements out there are made
for horses, and the percentages of glucosamine and chondroitin they
contain tend to be really off compared to human and canine supplements.
Any brand recommendations? I suppose I could give liquid glucosamine and
make up the chondroitin % using chondroitin-only tablets.

The one that Luca and Pan use is called K-9 Glucosamine by Liquid
Health. The stuff is marvelous, although a little pricey. It also
contains Chondroitin and MSM. The gallon bottle is about $100, and I
think that a dog Solo's weight probably needs about 1 ounce per day (128
doses per gallon).

Now that I look at this, I'm thinking that maybe we should try the Synflex.
http://www.arthritis-glucosamine.net...mine-pets.html

Suja

Suja wrote:


The one that Luca and Pan use is called K-9 Glucosamine by Liquid
Health. The stuff is marvelous, although a little pricey. It also
contains Chondroitin and MSM. The gallon bottle is about $100, and I
think that a dog Solo's weight probably needs about 1 ounce per day (128
doses per gallon).

Finn was on their Level 5000, and it did help him a *lot*. I don't think
it was quite that expensive though....but then at that point, money was
burning a hole in my pocket when it came to his pills and supplements
and such. It certainly helped as much as anything else did.

Now that I look at this, I'm thinking that maybe we should try the Synflex.
http://www.arthritis-glucosamine.net...mine-pets.html

How come? I see that its a slightly purer grade, but it looks like it
has just over half of the glucosamine per dose when compared to the k-9
Gluc. Were there any other factors you were looking at?

Tara

Suja wrote:

Tara wrote:

How come? I see that its a slightly purer grade, but it looks like it
has just over half of the glucosamine per dose when compared to the k-9
Gluc. Were there any other factors you were looking at?

IF their price analysis is correct, this one would be a lot cheaper.
Synflex has about 30 doses per 8 oz. bottle, per 100+ lb. dog. You can
get it on ebay for about 20 bucks. It would cost twice as much for the
K-9 (64 doses per gallon bottle).

Gotcha.

Haven't decided anything yet, just thinking out loud.

Aw hell, I do that alllll the time. There doesn't even have to be anyone
else in the room :-)

Tara

Tara wrote:

How come? I see that its a slightly purer grade, but it looks like it
has just over half of the glucosamine per dose when compared to the k-9
Gluc. Were there any other factors you were looking at?

IF their price analysis is correct, this one would be a lot cheaper.
Synflex has about 30 doses per 8 oz. bottle, per 100+ lb. dog. You can
get it on ebay for about 20 bucks. It would cost twice as much for the
K-9 (64 doses per gallon bottle).

Haven't decided anything yet, just thinking out loud.

Suja

wrote:
I am wondering if he shouldn't jump anymore, period,
and if swimming would help him.

You might want to contact these people and ask for advice:
http://www.hipdog.net/ - they may be able to give you some pointers on what to
do with him in the water, since he won't tolerate a therapist helping him.

---
Canine Action Dog Trainer
http://www.canineaction.com
It's A Dog's Life
http://hometown.aol.com/dfrntdrums/m...age/index.html
Get Healthy, Build Your Immune System, Lose Weight
http://www.re-vita.net/dfrntdrums