Arthritic dogs

My Labrador is 8 and starting to get pretty stiff joints. Has anyone tried any effective supplements that have helped or is it going to have to be prescription medicines?

Glucosamine gave an elderly arthritic cat a new lease of life.

My 9 year old developed arthritis 4 years ago after snapping her cruciate and having titanium plates fitted
We have not found anything that works year round, she gets bad at certain times of the year when the weather changes mainly
Best thing we found was normal human glucosamine and chondroitin tablets from holland and Barrett, one a day
Also really keep the weight off, a stricy diet (hard with a lab) know her limits with exercise and the occasional swim helps too (vet offered hydrotherapy but its very expensive)

As above, plus ordinary cod liver oil (teaspoon a day added to food was recommended by the vet for my GSD / collie cross – so about lab sized).

Had hydrotherapy sessions at a local greyhound facility – not too expensive and great for keeping the joints mobile. Otherwise exercise as normal.

We use either Seraquin or Synoquin on our 9 year old Springer and it’s like having a puppy again. They’ve made a massive difference to his joints.

Ours are prescribed through the vet and the pet insurance pays for them.

Our last lab developed arthritis in his elbows aged 3 and was on all sorts of medication and supplements from a very young age. 8 years and £40k of treatment later (including rebuilding his spine twice) the only thing that kept him going was prednoleucotropin, or PLT – a steroid. It was pretty nasty stuff but worked where others such as Metacam, Zantin (sp?) etc all failed. It is a drug of last resort but he was on it for 5 years and when we tried to wean him off it and go to other “softer” drugs we always ended back at the PLT. Side effects were not drastic – his coat became a bit thin but I can honestly say it gave him maybe 4 years of quality life where all else failed. It has the added benefit of being cheap as chips. I cannot praise it strongly enough. And +1 for keeping the weight off – not easy with a lab but makes a world of difference.

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Just 2 months before he died. Still missed.

Get the dog on a diet asap.. Hills w/d is a good diet food for weight loss (maybe not the best nutritionally).. Also cut out all treats except maybe a dentastick as they are very low calorie.

My Lab has terrible hip dyspasia and was 32.5kg when diagnosed.. 6 months later he was 27.5 kg. Combined with low daily dose of metacam has given him a new temporary lease of life. He’s 8 too and probably on borrowed time now.

A recent study by arthritis UK showed that most supplements made little difference in people including glucosamine etc.

An anti-inflammatory such as Metacam combined with weight loss if appropriate and controlled exercise will make a bigger difference.

Our old lad Buck tore his cruciate a few years ago after slipping on ice. Lots of rest for a few weeks and a trip to the vet and got told he would need an op. He was 11 at the time and is a pointer cross so not a little dog.
Didn’t think he’d get through the op so opted for hydrotherapy. Never did swimming as they can thrash about un-controlled but he did underwater treadmill. He did it for 3 months with only very short walks on the lead and was loads better. 2 years on he can run off the lead and is happy. Has cod liver oil capsule each day and we’re looking into those green lipped muscles. People say they are really good for joints and i think they’re about £10 for 3 months so not bad either.

You could try asking the vet about cartrophen injections.

Weight loss for definite, if its needed. This is the single most beneficial thing you can do by a long shot. Also nice and cheap 🙂

Cartrophen injections +1
It’s old skool, but works very well in majority of dogs. Course of 4 jabs a week apart. It’s a cartilage rebuilder and after first course you may just need a top up jab occasionally.

This plus a GOOD glucosamine/chondroitin supplement. Science is contradictory on the benefits, but all studies conclude there are no deleterious effects. Green lipped mussel extract is another form of glucosamine and is possibly generating better results in canines than plain glu/chon, so watch out for this type

Omega 3 fatty acids are also getting very good clinical reviews indeed at the moment for helping to control joint pain. Can be used alongside all of above