arthritis supplements/medications - Page 2

I like Hundmutter's point of treating the whole dog in terms of wellness...not just the joints. Can arthritis be halted naturally? Partially reversed? I think maybe. Keeping the dog thin; providing lower impact exercise/movement; and feeding a nutritious, anti-inflammatory diet plus supplements perhaps is the only safe, long term arthritis mitigation plan. Synthetic, industrial medications - whether prescribed by allopathic veterinarian or purchased over the counter - may be effective but not so safe beyond short term treatment.  How could they be?  It’s a disconcerting trade off - chemically mask pain/reduce joint swelling all the while slowly poisoning the internal organs. 

Nans, I used 125 mg. I broke the 250mg pills in two and gave one in the morning and late afternoon meals. If I recall I snapped them in half because they were already scribed down the middle. The dogs ranged from 80-100 pounds. Guess I have been dosing with aspirin for over 30 years. I still keep it on hand in case the younger dogs over do it. I just realized three of the old guys on my profile picture were on the daily regimen. I was still policing with the 4th.

And thank you again emoryg did you use long term on your guys or say, just a week at a time or if needed?

I've tried it all, multiple supplements, bone broth, cold laser therapy, very expensive CBD therapy, Chiropractor, Adequan injections, with no improvement but my dog's symptoms are mild and hard to see most times. Gabapentin, carprophen do nothing as well so I don't give them anymore, too much risk for no noticeable difference. Only thing that did help some was daily low impact exercises using balance discs and swimming. We still do the supplements and adequan injections because they can't hurt anything but honestly I'm pretty skeptical about any of it doing any good at this point.

Yes Astrovan have to agree at this point but just would like to hear all options from others that have worked; guess nothing new and good coming our way.

Nans, It was long term.  The older dogs were on the 250mg (125x2) buffered aspirin everyday. It was part of the daily feeding routine including a tablespoon of alfalfa that I would grind to a powder. I order the aspirin from a pharmacy as I can longer find it at the big box stores. I use some generic name instead of Bufferin. It’s still around $4 a bottle.

About once a month I would install the divider in the back of the patrol unit and take turns driving around one of the older dogs with me while at work. I kept them active physically, but I also think the stimulation from riding around with the younger patrol dogs helped in keeping them happy and healthy.

Still can't post pics.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/lk4dn2gbwzoxhf4/Four%20police%20dogs.jpg?dl=0

Talk to your Vet about ' Phycox ' . It has a combination of substances , someof which that have already been mentioned .In comibtation use the fish oil that some posters have suggested.

Thank you for info Centurian; what is in Phycox that is considered the Cox 2 inhibitor; does this mean we have to worry about the Cox 2 inhibitor in this like we used to worry about Vioxx for people drug that they took off the market.?? You can buy this Phycox over the counter, it's all over the place. Just curious.

also thank you to all others, Emoryg enjoyed seeing pix or your guys and agree with spending time with older dogs like they used to do with you to help to keep them young and younger at heart really does make a difference.

Astro only thing I have not tried on your list is BoneBroth and am disappointed it did not help your guy(s). Will check it off my list of hopefuls. But thank you for info.

Nans gsd I do not know the exact substances in Phycox , there are quite a number . I have all to do to keep straight in my mind all the phamacological preparations for people that I need to use . Aother considerations are CBD Hemp Oil , Acupuncture and Laser Light Therapy , Massage Therapy 

Emroyg ... you have a point . I cannot say this scientifically , but rather I say this empiirically and from my personal experience and observation . All throughout my life with GS , my adult dogs in senior years looked and acted quite young. They didn't act or seem old behaviorally according to their age or how they looked for their age. What I noticed : the young dogs , and kept the mature senior dogs active and vibrant. They seem to run and exercise in their senior years . So ... there are many theories out there relating to people . i.e " Use it or lose it '. Another recent idea is that stressing the body tends to slow aging and extend longevity . Some researchers feel the stress in eating , ie fasting now and then , and the habit of not over eating as well as eating certain foods , the daily exercise , the continued the use of your brain ... all these minor positive stressors they think slow the aging process and the rapid deterioration of the body . If this is true .. then it may stand to reason that this also holds true for canines too !

Nans, glad you enjoyed it. It was rare to get a picture of that many together due to their service life versus longevity. I have another pic somewhere of the first three dogs. If I can find it I will post a link.

Cent, I think along your lines and believe that stimulation has an effect on increasing life expectancy on an otherwise healthy dog. I try to keep them mentally active, but it was nice to let them out with the younger dogs to keep busy. Marking convoys, investigating what the young dogs were barking at or playing with, generally be nosy, rough housing, etc all did them some good I think.

Which makes me think to the aspirin. I remember one of the old guys, K-9 Bojar was playing tug with the younger police dog and almost ripped out a canine. It took forever to clot, which may have been due to the aspirin.