Recommend natural remedies for arthritis

Coles has been off his steroids for two weeks. Unfortunately, I think the steroids have masked the fact that he has arthritis in his back legs. I have made an appointment at the vets on Saturday to check his skin and I'm going to mention his stiffness in his back legs.

I took him on his usual long walk on Saturday for 3 hours and what a mistake that was, he could barely walk all night or get up, so, it is with sadness, that I have decided this was his last long walk ever

Can you good peeps recommend some natural remedies for arthritis please?

Devil's claw is a natural anti-inflammatory, I used it for a GSD with hip dysplasia and believe it helped. My nan is actually taking it for arthritis in the base of her spine and feels it is helping.
This is a good read in regards to a personal account of arthritis and supplements to help
http://www.dogaware.com/health/arthritis.html

It may be his last long walk but no need for it to be his last walk. You really have to keep him mobile, so a few short walks a day are better than one long walk. 10 minutes round the block 3x a day can suffice. If you don't walk him he will stiffen up and be in more pain.

In terms of natural supplements it is a question of playing around and seeing what works. Tango is on Synoquin (high quality glucosamine and chrondontin) as well as fish oil capsules. She also has oily fish as a meal 2 x a week. Currently she is on daily metacam and we are using paracetamol as and when we feel she needs extra pain relief. She is doing really well. We had to try another couple of painkillers when she got an upset tummy...but she is currently doing well again on metacam. She has also just started hydrotherapy sessions, she isn't impressed but I have to say it really does seem to be helping her bless.

Thanks for the advice. I'll have a read of that article.

Thanks for the advice. With regards to his walks, I've already decided that he can manage two 15 mins walks a day. This regime is starting tonight. I noticed last night he had half an hour walk and he was a bit stiff, so that’s too long, so going to start on two 15 mins walks a day and see how he goes. TBH I have also noticed lately he is letting me know when he wants to go home by stopping dead and looking at me and then turning around to head home. He doesn’t actually leave the field or anything, but you know when you know your dog's trying to let you know.

I currently give Coles the fish 4 dogs salmon oil for his skin, so this will be helping him.

I was thinking he may need metacam for a short period as I do believe he is in pain. I have been massaging his legs for him.

I didn’t know you could give dog’s paracetamol. How much would you give a 24kg dog? As I’m thinking he could do with some until Saturday.

I was thinking hydrotherapy may be good for Coles. I think I will have good chat with the vet on Saturday.

Thanks again for the ideas.

Personally I wouldn't give my dog any human painkillers unless it was under vet advice. If you feel the pain is bad enough to warrant self-treating then it probably warrants a vet trip earlier than Saturday IMO

Green lipped mussell is good for joints as well

Thanks for the advice. Coles is not in pain today, it appears he is in pain when he has been walked too long. As I said he is okay today and as he is only having two 15 mins walks today so he should be fine until Saturday. If he does appear to be in discomfort, I will take him to the vets sooner. Thanks for your concern though.

Check your insurance too as they may pay for hydrotherapy.
I don't want to tell you quantity of paracetamol as we are giving it under the vet's guidance. Have a chat to your vet, over the phone if necesary

Go get some tins of sardines, he will love you for it

I agree with this.
Our vet is trying to target Tango's chronic pain. The metacam works on one pain pathway and the paracetamol on another. Paracetamol has not been approved for use on dogs., nor am I recommending that people self treat. I was explaining what we do with Tango, who has severe arthritis in one joint. As I say we do it with our vet...who is hugely knowledgable about chronic pain. She explained that paracetamol is not necessarily recommended for use in dogs, it has not been approved...and it has been hugely out of favour in recent years. With current work and research into interrupting pain pathways with different drugs and at different points though, some vets are trying it, her included, as she uses it with her own dog. We do it in close liason with her. She is an amazing vet (she knows we raw feed, doesn't moan, she knows we don't vaccinate Tango because we don't want to compromise her immune system after she had a cancerous lump and she went out of her way to ensure the hydrotherapy place would still let her go, despite their policy being that all dogs should be vaccinated. )I love my vet and trust her implicitly...but yes..DO NOT GIVE PARACETAMOL TO YOUR DOG!!! Ultimately we will also have to introduce another drug, but Tango is a somewhat 'special' case.
Tango's arthritis is caused by no one bothering to have her treated when she broke her leg in her previous life. As a result new bone has grown over the injury site (on a joint) and she has chronic arthritis. It is the only joint she has it in. Ultimately, the joint will calcify and she will be unable to move it and her pain will be such that there will be a quality of life issue. It is vital we keep her as supple as we can and in order to do that we need to manage her pain carefully and conscientiously. She is 7. It is...although I haven't tried this.
Interestingly one of my old dogs didn't respond to glucosamine and chrondontin but did exceptionally well on cod liver oil...it was the same dog that didn't do well on metacam but did do well on rimadyl...

I've recently heard that many vets are leaning away from the glucosamine and chondroitin option and favouring GLM which is interesting