Looking for recommendations on forums that discuss senior dog health. As my youngest human is about to graduate college, I am seeing my senior dog starting to show his age and slowing down. (English Springer Spaniel, male, 12 years, sweetest guy on the east coast)
Specifically, I am interested in how to deal with aching joints. He has been on Dasaquin since the fall and just did some baseline blood work before going on Rimadyl to help with pain. In a test run with baby aspirin, he was like a new puppy, but that cannot be used for more than a few days.
I have to disagree, I think MY dog is the sweetest guy on the east coast.
Mine is a 15 year old English Setter. He has good days and not-so-good days. I don’t purchase the huge bags of dog food any more, or anything else in bulk, because I’m not sure how long we have. We did get some yoga mats because he was slipping on the wood floors. Too many downward dogs were happening!
Will need to look at Dasuquin. I recently started giving him Glucosamine Chondroitin.
Unfortunately my dog isn’t going to be on Rimadyl as the week after going on it his liver tests shot up further. He is going to switch to a pain med that doesn’t go through the liver. I am bummed because the pain meds really seemed to make him feel better and now he has been cut off for a week and I can see the slow down.
There is probably a facebook group for that. Our Westie recently celebrated her 17th birthday. She is in great heatth, thank you. I posted some pictures in the facebook Westie group (14,000 members) and noticed that someone had shared my post into a group that I was not aware of - a group for “senior” Westies, 16 years+.
Try glucosamine with chondroitin (you can get big bottles from Sams–doesn’t have to be made for a dog).
Daily dose would be 500 mg of Glucosamine and 400 mg of Chondroitin per 25 pounds. Many people have had great results for their pets aching joints.
Thanks, gouf78. He has been using glucosimine with chondroitin for several months, and we did see an increase in movement and wags after about 4 weeks, so it did something. With the baby aspirin for 3 days he was like a new puppy, which is why we concluded the need for daily pain meds.
I will switch him to the new pain med (not Rimadyl but one that doesn’t process through the liver) this week. Hopefully it works and he will be more comfortable again.
NJres, congrats on the longevity of your Westie. Wow! What is your secret? Special food or exercise? Good genes? Great owners?
My previous elderly dog did well with Metacam, which has the advantage of being a liquid that can go on food. My current slightly-arthritic dog (age 10) is on a low dose of daily Rimadyl and doing fine with it. I have also given Adequan injections to both dogs and found them beneficial where oral glucosamine made no difference at all. However, since adding Rimadyl, the Adequan no longer makes sense. I also give both of my dogs flax seed oil (not fish oil, as Sylvia Earle has spoken out against the harvesting of fish for oil).
Edited to add: two other things that help my older dog are massage and warm baths. She loves to get her hips massaged while we’re watching TV. I have a dog bath and she comes running when I invite her into it, and afterwards she plays like a puppy.
My wonderful agility dog … shown in my avatar … gets laser acupuncture every month. Even generalized laser over the back helps her a lot. She’s got different issues than most older dogs (and the Bellerina is only 6) and she cannot use most of the oral meds. However, the laser therapy is supposed to be very good for all sorts of stiffness.
@dmd77 will know what I mean when I say that she is just 2QQ from PACH2 and 150 points from Nationals qualification for 2017. The goal is to retire after 2017 Nationals.
My dog sitter recommend acupuncture but I don’t know much about it. Sounds much better than meds processed through his liver or kidney. I will do some poking to see where I can go in VT.
Congrats on your agility achievements! My sister is an accomplished ability person with her dogs (border collies) so I am vaguely familiar with the points you mention. Alas, my Springer is the slow and pokey kind, even when younger, so he didn’t get excited when my sister tried to teach us beginner weave poles, something about, “he just doesn’t have much drive, does he?”
FYI laser acupuncture uses no needles! The laser energy is focused into the acupuncture points. It’s amazing – she has a nice relaxed back after her treatments.
Honestly, a big part of it must be luck and good genes. She has had almost none of the typical skin, joint and assorted health problems that are associated with the breed. But I have to give credit to my wife also, who takes very good care of the dog - brushes/wipes her teeth every night. Ironic- many have accused the dog of being overweight, which always offends my wife and she responds, 1. It’s just her fluffy coat that makes her look big - you should see her when she is soaked, and 2. Her vet says she is perfect weight. I have tried to contact her breeder back in NJ but have gotten no response.
I haven’t found an acupuncture place yet near me, but my dog is responding well to the 2nd pain med – gabapentin. It took several days before it seemed to work, but he is moving much more and his walking doesn’t seem as painful. I bought him a kiddie pool to stay cool in this hot weather we’ve been having, and when he got out of the pool yesterday, he ran around like a puppy because he was revived from the heat. I was worried he was going to pull a muscle or hurt himself, but he eventually wound down in one piece.
It been 3 months on the Gabapentin to help my dog with arthritis in his hind legs and hips. My old guy is holding steady, so that certainly helped him improve his quality of life. I highly recommend these drugs, as much as I don’t personally like to take myself, modern meds are giving me 6 more months with my dog than I expected, and I really appreciate each wag.
Besides moving his dog bowls to a stand so he doesn’t have to bend down to eat, I also started adding yogurt to his dry dog food. I first soak the dry food in a little hot water for 10 minutes before his meals, and then I push his pills into the food, then I plop a rounded tablespoon of Greek yogurt onto it. Doing this does two things … Hides his meds, and maybe gives his gut a few more enzymes. He actually looks healthier than he did last year, even though he moves much slower, pees in the house more often, and sleeps a lot more.
My kids will be home next month … And then they both head west for many months for different opportunities. It will be great for them and the dog to go see each other.
Our vet just started our old girl on Gabapentin also. She already takes Deramaxx and anabolic steroids. It’s a lotta stuff, and she’s still not moving very well.
Has anyone here used a belly band for an older dog? I just ordered one on Amazon. My English Setter is 15. He usually doesn’t have accidents, but if the lobby of our apartment is really crowded with people blocking his way, he has freaked out and started peeing. Which of course is the worst time to have an accident, in a crowded lobby with lots of people.
Ironic- many have accused the dog of being overweight, which always offends my wife and she responds, 1. It’s just her fluffy coat that makes her look big - you should see her when she is soaked, and 2. Her vet says she is perfect weight. I have tried to contact her breeder back in NJ but have gotten no response.