Fit fur life - Page 1

Hello all ;)

sorry this is such a long post lol...

As some of you know our old rescue hasn't been doing all that well recently, his hips are poor and he seems stiff and isn't enjoying going out at all ATM.

The cold weather really affects him and he will point blank refuse to go out some days:(

Sye is a LAZY 9 year old GSD X Malamute, and has moderate hip  and elbow dysplasia . He was rescued by us 5 years ago when we got a call about a rabid GSD who had spent his life in an outside toilet, and was Extremely aggressive towards people and other dogs (he is much better now although he isn't too keen on men) 

Any way to cut a long story short we adore the old nutcase and are desperate to help him get better.

The vet thinks he still has a good quality of life and isn't in that much pain so we know its not time to say goodbye yet. 

After talking to my vet at length regarding what we could do he suggested that it might be beneficial to get  him doing some physiotherapy

(we tried hydro and he was a nightmare lol stubborn bugger..)   

He is starting to lose muscle on his back end and put on excess weight. we have put him on Orijen senior food and are only giving him 250 g per day

My question is has anyone tried the Fit Fur Life treadmills?

My vet highly recommends them but I would like to hear your opinions on using them. As it will be a costly investment.

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Here is the link to the site, im looking at getting the Superior Fit Fur Life Treadmill.

 http://www.fitfurlife.com/categories/fit-fur-life-models

What type of hydrotherapy did you try? There are different types... I would think a treadmill would be pretty high-impact and not the best for a dog with hip/elbow issues.

Did you try a regular 'still water' pool? A pool with a current? A water treadmill? Dogs may react different to those types. I did water treadmill hydrotherapy with both my senior dogs and it helped them a lot. The water supports their weight making it a low-impact exercise, and the treatment allowed them to build muscle mass while not exacerbating their deteriorating cartilage/joints. My terrier was stubborn but by using treats I was able to get him moving. A friend of mine had a very untrusting fear-aggressive young GSD mix who did wonderfully with the water treadmill after hip surgery (it took some time to get him to accept it.)

I have also heard about using exercise bands or exercise balls for physiotherapy with dogs which you may be able to find out more about from your vet or online. Another thing which I've heard good things about is Adequan injections.

Here are some other things you could look into. These are things I have done with my two dogs who both had hip problems and arthritis and I found helpful. One dog also had hip dysplasia and FHO surgery and the other had severe bridging spondylosis in addition to the arthritis in her wrists/hips.

Things I've had good results with my own dogs:

Acupuncture

Chiropractic treatments

Massage (you can learn to do this on your own)

Range-of-motion exercises (your vet may be able to show you how to do this)

Syn-Flex glucosamine/chondroitin supplement

DLPA supplement

SeaCure supplement (helps retain muscle mass)

Does anyone have any experience with this?

Vet takes fat tissue from dog and sends to Vet-Stem.
Vet-Stem processes the fat to get T-cells which are sent back to vet.
Vet injects T-cells into hip Joint.
A new cartalige is formed. Works on 80% of dogs and can be pain free for up to 4 years.

http://www.vet-stem.com/smallanimal/

http://www.vet-stem.com/news/ very interesting news clips.......

http://www.veterinarytherapeutics.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&AudID=CCFC098958F240C5BE70D8E32B4533F9&tier=4&id=563FE60EB28C419987DADF3074CF87B3

Many dogs fit on a large platformed treadmill for humans which are much cheaper to buy.

I found that an aggressive dog often finds hydro pools too much to cope with due to the numbers of dogs/people there.  I have successfully managed similar exercise using the local canal.  I used to attach a harness and long lead to it and encourage the dog into water and then continue to walk up the tow path.  I used to get one of ours to swim approximately 1 mile but this did take some time to master.  Mind you on days where it is as cold as it is here I wouldnt want them swimming in the canal.

I have heard that getting them bathed at grooming parlours where they have hydro baths can also offer some help.

We tried a jet pool and a still pool LMAO he wasn't going to go anywhere near the water

sye is not the easiest of dogs to handle and if he doesnt want too do something you haven't got a chance (he is HUGE)

his list of tricks is endless he will make himself sick lie down and not move scream like a banshee and if that doesn't work he will growl snarl and make a right scene so we didn't go for the second appointment .

we use glucosamine chondroitin supplement

cod liver oil and salmon oil

will look into the other suggestions although I don't think acupuncture is an option ..........

I do some massage on him and the vet has shown me how flex his joints.

the canal isn't an option as we have had a "INCIDENT" involving a swan .....say no more 

 Hi, troll again. What do his hips and elbows look like ??? Are they ground down, or are they too loose ?? This is something you should mention before you get advice. Loose hips can respond to exercise, but when the hips are misaligned and grinding, then it is something entirely different.

When a dog is refusing to get up, and is showing distress, then the pain is bad. The troll says to euthanize and spend the many months getting homes for dogs that are not nutcases. Every month he is there takes up space for a good dog without problems that needs a home.

Do the right thing. Rescue is a numbers game, and some dog is not getting a home while you waste time on a nutter.

hello troll

his hips are loose .

he s a pet and I don't ever give up on a dog because of  minor behavioral problems that I am more than willing to live with, he has given 5 years of joy to us ....I owe him

He is not in that much pain at the moment so having him PTS just isn't an option.

I do the best by all my dogs and am more than aware that he will probably have to be PTS later on,

but that will be when he has little quality of life.

he is quite happy at the moment.

Tracie

Tracie

Its so nice to know that I'm not alone with having GSDs with attitude - wouldnt they be boring without it.

I can understand not wanting to repeat the swan incident - thats why mine goes out with a long lead!  Its a shame he's not willing to be a bit more helpful for you as it would make his life so much easier.

lol having sye has taught me a lot about dogs!!!

when he first arrived he looked like a whippet you could see every bone in his body:(we took him too the vets he shaved part of his leg and there was large raised bruises all up his legs and back ... he had been beaten with a stick or a pole. he had been fed on the cheapest food available.

it took weeks before we could pet him but gradually he began to trust us.  he still has his vices but like i said i don't give up that easy.

as the years have passed he has become the dog i always dreamed of loyal (fairly obedient) and my best friend. my hubby thinks i love him more than him (he is right)

long leads just don't work with him esp the nylon ones ooh the rope burns, when he gets up momentum he could pull a tractor and im not kidding.

as for the poor swan well he wont be hissing at dogs any time soon :(

the best stunt he pulled so far was when we took him training with a retired police officer.

he destroyed the cages in the back of the van, 

ate the bag (7kg) of expensive food.

then puked and pooed all over the van.

wouldn't do any of the training.

then to the best bit he decided he didn't like the van and wouldn't get back in 2 hours later we got home......NEVER AGAIN

Oh dear - at least he keeps you on your toes.

They are so stubborn a donkey has nothing on them once the decide not to do something.  Our oldie couldnt cope with the walk on boxing day and my oh decided to take him back to the car, Asher managed to duck out of his collar so many times it was untrue, and oh had a real job with him - I think he carried him half the way in the end (35kg) so it wasnt funny.