Osteoarthritis

[Wildside]

Originally Posted by mykee

I am about to give your dog a new lease on life with two simple words: before I give you these two simple words, let me give you a bit of history about why and how I found this product:
Willow, our 11 year old chocolate, tore both of her back cruxiates when she was 8 months old (long story). She was faced with either surgery (which would have required her to be completely bed-ridden for 8 weeks post) or moderate pain for the rest of her life from light to moderate activity.
My wife and I looked for a third alternative and found: Sashas Blend. This stuff has been an absolute life-saver for Willow. It is a powder formulated by a dog owner (possibly a vet) in Australia for her aging, arthritic dog. It contains some fairly innocuous stuff; New Zealand green lipped mussel, marine cartilage, abalone, perna canaliculus to name a few, but the product gave Willow a new reason to live. Prior to Willow being on this stuff, a ten minute walk would have her limping the rest of the night. Now Willow can swim for two hours and not be sore (aside from normal soreness).
It can only be purchased through a vet, its a powder that is sprinkled on their food once or twice a day and comes in a 250g tub.
A tub lasts Willow almost two months at 86 lbs. and costs $60. Willow gets 1.25 tsp. a day, you dog at over 150 lbs. would get 1.75 tsp a day.
Smells horrible, is a miracle product.
Good luck.

Interpath Sashas™ USA

Is this the right stuff?

[Wildside]

Originally Posted by Falconeer999

I have an older cat that has this and the vet recommended we give him glucosamine (sprinkled on his food). After a month or so we saw major differences. He use to whimper when jumping from the floor onto the couch. Now he has no problems jumping from the floor onto the washing machine.

I'm not sure if it has the same effect on dogs or dosage, but may be worth asking your vet about.

Got some of that. He must be able to smell it on the food because he absolutely will not touch it The other dog likes it though lol. Might as well start joint maintenance early.

[mykee]

That's the stuff Wild, an absolute life saver!

[Wildside]

Originally Posted by mykee

That's the stuff Wild, an absolute life saver!

Great! I will try that.

[Gungirl]

Mykee, Thanks for sharing the product information. I know a few people that would love to know about it.

[mykee]

I'm so happy when I get a chance to share that info with anyone having issues. Like I said, it gave Willow a whole new lease on life and if I can help even just one dog be painfree and fancyfree, I'm all over it.

[Wildside]

As soon as I can afford to I'm gonna get some of this stuff. The unexpected vet bill kinda broke me for the moment

I am happy to report though that King is getting much better! He's actually attempting to move around on his own now and the pain finally seems to be subsiding. I noticed that I have to get him up and moving a couple times a day or he gets pretty stiff. I'm just glad he's gonna pull out of this one though.

[rivkah]

When my older dog, Yoda, developed arthritis, he did not respond to the glucosamine, it had litt effect, and I saw no imporvement. "Metacam" from my vet put the sping back in this walk, he was like a puppy again, dancing, prancing, and generally being his old goof-ball self within only a day of starting the drug. What a miracle!!!!

I am actually not sure what type of drug metacam is, it is a liquid, dispensed by weight and added to his food, very easy to give.

Talk to you vet and see what s/he recommends... but get a second opinion if you don't like the first. I inherited this older dog (he came with the boyfriend) who had previously taken him to a different vet, who said that "he was faking it", when Yoda would limp or wimper in pain. My vet determined that Yoda had arthritis in all but one joint.

[mykee]

Metcam is essentially dog Morphine. It can be given daily on a maintenance dose, as well as a "double dose" for an almost immediate cessation of pain.
As stated previously in this thread, Metacam made my Willow a stoner. She was a mere stoned out shell of the dog she was without it.
Here's their website:
METACAM - Pain Relief for Dogs and Cats

[Wildside]

They put King on Carprofen which doesn't seem to be doing **** I thought he was getting better but now his elbow on the injured side is swollen. He's losing weight and now refusing to eat, but on the other hand is now getting up and moving around on his own without having to be coaxed. I just don't know what to do. I'm at my wit's end!

[Falconeer999]

The not eating may be loss of appetite associated with the Carprofen (According to wikipedia, so take it for what it's worth: "Pfizer acknowledges a problem with some dog owners, especially a consumer group that mounted a campaign dubbed BARKS, for Be Aware of Rimadyl's Known Side-effects—which include loss of appetite, wobbling, vomiting, seizures, and severe liver malfunction. Reports say the drug company has contacted pet owners who told their stories on the Internet, offering to pay medical and diagnostic expenses for dogs that carprofen may have harmed." (rimadyl is a brand name for carprofen)).

Extra swelling could also be associated with walking differently to compensate for the injury so putting extra stress on the elbow?

Sorry to hear you're having such a hard time finding just the right remedy. Hope it all resolves itself soon and King is back to normal!

[Wildside]

Originally Posted by Falconeer999

The not eating may be loss of appetite associated with the Carprofen (According to wikipedia, so take it for what it's worth: "Pfizer acknowledges a problem with some dog owners, especially a consumer group that mounted a campaign dubbed BARKS, for Be Aware of Rimadyl's Known Side-effects—which include loss of appetite, wobbling, vomiting, seizures, and severe liver malfunction. Reports say the drug company has contacted pet owners who told their stories on the Internet, offering to pay medical and diagnostic expenses for dogs that carprofen may have harmed." (rimadyl is a brand name for carprofen)).

Extra swelling could also be associated with walking differently to compensate for the injury so putting extra stress on the elbow?

Sorry to hear you're having such a hard time finding just the right remedy. Hope it all resolves itself soon and King is back to normal!

Thank You so much! You just made me feel so much better You guys have all been so helpful! I am so glad I found this forum.



This was him a year ago, one month before his 9th birthday and looking like he's gonna live forever. He still looked like this except with a lot more gray 2 weeks ago. Other than his recent problems the vet said he's in great condition. I truly hope he pulls out of this. I'd love to have another year or two with him.

[mykee]

He'll be fine. It's pretty obvious (to me at least) that you're one of "those" dog owners; the ones that will do almost anything to keep their dogs happy and healthy.
It warms the cockles of my heart.

[Wildside]

Originally Posted by mykee

He'll be fine. It's pretty obvious (to me at least) that you're one of "those" dog owners; the ones that will do almost anything to keep their dogs happy and healthy.
It warms the cockles of my heart.

LOL! Wait until I update my BP thread

[Wildside]

Alright so I didn't give him the Rimadyl this a.m. and tonight he ate a monster bowl of food. After that he felt so good he wanted to take a little walk around the yard and actually started bearing some real weight on it. It's weak, but man was it good to see him use it I think all he's gonna need is some time.

He does need to start a joint therapy regimen though. For tonight I made him doggy cookies with the Osteo Powder stuff that I already paid $100 for mixed in. That was interesting, but my daughter and I had fun making them. I'm just waiting for them to freeze to see if they're a hit. If I can get him to eat those then I know I'll be able to get him the Sasha's Blend and that will just be awesome!