Arthritic Lab from from https://www.homevet.com/forums/forum/pet-owners-forum/

[Dr. Jeff]

This is an archived post from years ago. Let's open up the discussion again because arthritis in our pets is all too common and life-limiting.

It's a very important topic for us to keep discussing.

Let's share great products, what works for your pets, etc.

What follows is a thread from over a decade ago.

One of the messages even talks about his vet never hearing of Cosequin and dis-believing that it works!
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i have a 10 year old lab who has arthritis. we discovered thru xray that she has 2 vertibre in her back that are fusing.

she has been on cosequin ds for a long time now, but it seems not to be helping her any longer. she is getting stiffer and stiffer. getting up from a lieing down position is getting difficuly for her and just 2 steps on and off our back desk is becoming a problem.

our vet also suspects she may have cushings, which we are seeing the vet tomorrow and going to send off a urine sample to see if she does.

i need to do something to help dana, other than these problems, she is a lively dog, wants to run and play ball as usual but we can’t let her as she becomes worse.

i know i can not give her the doggie buffered asprin on a daily basis, but we need to do something to help her here.

i really do not want to put her on rymadyl as i have a friend who tells me that her dog, her mothers dog and her brothers dog all died from this stuff.

i found something online called “Nimble” that i am considering putting dana on.

have you heard of this and if so, what do you think of it. this product states to have the following ingredents:

nimble – a revolutionary, exclusive joint supplement with unique synergistic ingreeients (patent pending). this ultimate fol=rmula combines the sought after ingredient glucosamine HCI with the exciting new fatty acid CMO analog, plus omega-3 fatty acids & yukka.

there are other things as well, but i am wondering is changing her to this may help.

what do you think?

thank you
karen

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Dr. Jeff certainly will have some good input as a holistic vet but from a professional dog trainer, life long pet owner, and concerned consumer with older dogs too I can tell you first hand that VIBRANT PETS Joint & Muscle formula is an amazing product. A complete supplement than most on the market for better overall health.

My 12 and 13 yr old dogs wouldn’t move at all if not for this supplement I add to their food every day. They are nearly as active as they were when they were half their age.

Please check out their web site below and call the company to ask any questions you may have. I know it will help so much.

 

[Dr. Jeff]

MikeB,

Thank you so much for your input. I am going to check out this product you are talking about.

Although i do see a traditional vet with my dogs, there are some things i have to do on my own. i allow the normal vac’s, but do not want my pets to be given anything that could harm them.

Thanks again and i will now go to this site to check out this product.

one question, either this product or the nimble, i would stop the cosequin ds and replace with one of these correct?

thanks again
karen

 

[Dr. Jeff]

<strong>Does anyone here (in Holistic Actions!) see a big problem with what Karen says in her post?</strong>

Dr. Jeff

 

[Dr. Jeff]

hi again mike,

well, i showed my vet the stuff i printed out on the product you mentioned and the nimble. as i expected, she said she was leary of them as she has never heard of either company.

then she went and got a catalogue and told me i can check that website for stuff, but would not be able to order on my own and had to go thru them. (to me that is a red flag, more money)

i plan on trying either the product you mention or the nimble, if i do not get any feed back on the nimble, i will go with the one you mention as you are using it and like it and it is helping your dogs.

i like that, feed back from people who actually use the product and can tell me what it does for their animals. so i thank you.

regards,
karen

 

[Dr. Jeff]

hi teresa,

ok, i was just looking at some things my vet wrote down as i refuse to put my dog on rymidyl (this drug has killed too many dogs for me to even consider using it)

one is deramaxx and the other is meloxicam, which i see is also called metacam on this website you give.

my vet said both of these do look very promising and they have seen no side effects in the 2 years they have been using it. i am just a little uncomfortable with meds that can cause harm to the liver, but may go this route as dana does need help with her pain.

i gather you are using this metacam on one of your dogs? and having no problems at all?

thank you again for this suggestion

karen

<em>

Yeah for Karen here</em>!

Dr. Jeff

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Hi Karen-

My general approach to the older dog who happens to have arthritis is the same as any other pet with chronic disease.

First step is to optimize diet. Make it as fresh as possible with meat (not grains as in most dry foods) as the primary protein source. Make sure that diet is as fresh and varied as possible. If you are feeding veggies avoid the members of the deadly nightshade family, e.g. tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant.

Supportive supplements including high quality antioxidants, e.g. Nu-Pets and Antiox, glucosamine *sulfate*, omega-3 fatty acids, etc. Someone mentioned Cosequin which is a supplement (not a drug) derived from glucosamine and chondroitin. Personally I stopped using it many years ago due to it’s cost and the fact that purified glucosamine sulfate has been shown to work as well or better.

After optimizing the diet and supplements the hard work begins. This is the individualization of treatment which goes along with homeopathic care. By analyzing the totality of the symptoms the homeopath is able to understand the nature of the internal imbalance that lead to the arthritis in the first place.

Once the first homeopathic remedy is found then it becomes an ongoing process of listening to the body and making changes as needed.

Personally I don’t advise using any prescription ANTI inflammatories unless the arthritic discomfort becomes unmanageable by gentler means.

Good luck. Feel free to post here or contact me if I can help in any way.

Dr. Jeff

 

[tsharlo1]

I use Fidoplex from wondercide.com and Trixsyn from cogentsolutionsgroup.com for my dog with arthritis.

Debbie

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Debbie, did you see a difference when either (or both) of these supplements were started? Or if you stop them?

Dr. Jeff