Old dogs

pilot_dude

pilot_dude

En-Route
Joined
Nov 2, 2010
Messages
2,793
Display Name
Display name:
pilot_dude
One of our dogs (Chow/St. Bernard mix) is about 11 years old and starting to have additional difficulties walking up stairs. As a result, we now take him up front to do his business but he hates not being in the pature with the other dogs and animals.

To help alleviate discomfort we put him on a baby aspirin and glucosomine regimen. That seems to work most days but other days it takes him a bit to get up and about. We had someone recommend using Cetyl-M but we have zero experience with the stuff.

Does anyone have a first hand opinion of Cetyl-M? Thanks!
 
I've had big dogs for decades. I haven't tried Cetyl-M, but I give my dogs Dasuquin with MSM. If your dog has severe problems, Adequan injections work very well. Adequan is super-strength glucosamine given as injections. My vet gave the injections. I used that for years with one dog. If you want to be even more aggressive in treatment, you can try Vet Stem stem cell therapy. I also tried that on one dog and it worked very well on his arthritis.

Oh, another thing that works well is Dog Gone Pain, DGP. It's an herbal pain-relieving mixture. Aspirin isn't recommended for long-term use.

I'm sorry to hear about your dog! Been there, unfortunately.
 
Try whatever you can. Individual dogs can be far more different from one another than individual people, so what works for one dog may not work for another. But I hope you can find a treatment that works for yours.
 
Halyronic acid (HA) is the active ingredient in Adequan and Legend. HA promotes the production of synovial fluid, the lubricant in the joints. Adequan is the straight stuff, Legend also contains an anti-inflammatory. Works well in the horses, and a friend has good results with her retriever on the Legend.

A recent study showed msm and Chondroitin taken orally had no effect on equine lameness. We always use the joint injections, but care has to be taken not to introduce infection into the joint capsule.

Good luck. Nothings worse than seeing a pet a little gimpy. A little baby aspirin can go a long way too, as long as the pup's stomach is tolerant.
 
bluee said:
I've had big dogs for decades. I haven't tried Cetyl-M, but I give my dogs Dasuquin with MSM. If your dog has severe problems, Adequan injections work very well. Adequan is super-strength glucosamine given as injections. My vet gave the injections. I used that for years with one dog. If you want to be even more aggressive in treatment, you can try Vet Stem stem cell therapy. I also tried that on one dog and it worked very well on his arthritis.

Oh, another thing that works well is Dog Gone Pain, DGP. It's an herbal pain-relieving mixture. Aspirin isn't recommended for long-term use.

I'm sorry to hear about your dog! Been there, unfortunately.
Click to expand...
Thanks, Blue! I'll look into those products. Our vet is a traveling vet that takes care of our domestic and non-domestic animals and routine inejections would be cost and time prohibitive.
 
steingar said:
Try whatever you can. Individual dogs can be far more different from one another than individual people, so what works for one dog may not work for another. But I hope you can find a treatment that works for yours.
Click to expand...
Thank you. The glucosomine and baby aspirin helps some but it's losing potency. I tried Rimadyl on a Rotti about a decade ago and I'm convinced it was a major contributor to his internal organ failure. (note, I cannot quantify that belief)
 
Chip Sylverne said:
Halyronic acid (HA) is the active ingredient in Adequan and Legend. HA promotes the production of synovial fluid, the lubricant in the joints. Adequan is the straight stuff, Legend also contains an anti-inflammatory. Works well in the horses, and a friend has good results with her retriever on the Legend.

A recent study showed msm and Chondroitin taken orally had no effect on equine lameness. We always use the joint injections, but care has to be taken not to introduce infection into the joint capsule.

Good luck. Nothings worse than seeing a pet a little gimpy. A little baby aspirin can go a long way too, as long as the pup's stomach is tolerant.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the info, Chip!
 
pilot_dude said:
Thanks, Blue! I'll look into those products. Our vet is a traveling vet that takes care of our domestic and non-domestic animals and routine inejections would be cost and time prohibitive.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure you can ask your vet for a prescription for a bottle of Adequan, and make sure you know how to dose and give the injections. I should have done that, but I don't like giving injections.
 
Our 17 year old has been on Deramaxx for years now. Along with regular liver function tests to go along with it. Helps a lot.
 
Update: we put the old man on 21st Century k-9 Max Senior Formula which has glucosamine, chondroitin, msm and hyaluronic acid about a week ago and he is showing some, albeit small, improvement. We're gonna run this regimen for a couple months to see how he does.
Thanks again for all of the insight and advice.
 
pilot_dude said:
Update: we put the old man on 21st Century k-9 Max Senior Formula which has glucosamine, chondroitin, msm and hyaluronic acid about a week ago and he is showing some, albeit small, improvement. We're gonna run this regimen for a couple months to see how he does.
Thanks again for all of the insight and advice.
Click to expand...
About 9 months into this therapy it appears he is no worse than before and possibly a touch better. If nothing else this regimine seems to have stopped the negative progression and he isn't in pain. Negating the pain was the primary motivator. As with all of us putting years under our belt, some days are better than others. Thanks again to all who provided input!
 
I have had St Bernards my whole life.... Ya gotta love big dogs.:yesnod:.....

Our best remedy was something called Gycoflex (sp). ????

Give your dog all the love you can because he/she is now 12 going on 13 and that is about max for large breeds.... :sad:
 
We used Bute on dogs as well as horses. If it's an old dog you're not going to shorten his lifespan with it and it does seem to work wonders, cheap as chips as well, normally available at the feed and tack store or local vet supply, can be formulated as injectable or as a topical liquid. City folks can probably pick it up on the interwebz.
 
Last edited:
Aspirin is not a good long term therapy, and if used that way he should have periodic blood testing. It also shouldn't be given every day as dogs take longer to metabolize it than people do.
Dausequin and adequan injections have been mentioned, and they are good drug therapies. Glucosamine with MSM has been shown to be effective in some dogs, but results are not consistent or guaranteed.

My wife is a board certified (feline) specialist. Yes, I know you have a dog, but my point is that she even though she is a specialist in Western Medicine, she is also a certified veterinary acupuncturist and she has seen remarkable results from acupuncture. Neither she nor I used to believe in acupuncture, but we have seen too many good results. Including my ankle that the human podiatrists all said needed surgery.

We also use a class 4 therapy laser on our patients (and ourselves). This is the closest thing to Star Trek medicine that I have ever seen. It really does alleviate pain without drugs. We use it post-surgery on all of our patients and the recovery time is greatly improved. We have used it on old cats that could barely walk and no way could they jump up on a bed. Owners report their old cats acts 5 years younger and DO jump up on the bed with them.

Good luck on whatever route you choose to help your dog. That is the problem with those big breeds; they have relatively short lives. You must have been doing something right to keep him for 11 years. Consider the rest of his life a gift to both of you and try to make him as comfortable as you can. And go see a good veterinarian. (Board Certified if you can find one).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top