Pain relief ideas?

Hi everyone, I have a black Labrador who has recently been diagnosed with Spinal Spondylosis, he's prescribed Loxicam but it isn't touching him and he's in a lot of pain, he also has some Doggy glucosamine but 5 days on it doesn't seem to be making much of a difference, it's awful to see him in so much pain, does anyone have any ideas or experience of other treatments that I can discuss with my vet?

Hi, I'm sorry your poor dog is suffering, bless him. I had a dog who benefited greatly from acupuncture. The vet who performed it said some dogs respond and some don't, but you can tell if they are benefitting almost immediately - my boy sort of zoned out and went into a trance when the needles were in, it was amazing. He didn't suffer from a great deal of pain (he had some arthritis) so it may well not be comparable to your situation, but I would say it definitely helped him.

Sorry cannot give you any help but just to say so sorry for you and your dog, not nice seeing them in pain. As for the doggy glucosamine i had my old boy on Yumove by Lintbells. It did take a few weeks before i saw any improvement in him, but he only had old age joint problems. How old is your dog.

Different dogs respond to different treatments.
First - a soft bed. Sensible exercise - gentle and regular.
Warmth if he gets cold. A coat in winter.
Swimming is good but dry him off afterwards.
Supplements - fish oils, glucosomine, chondroitin and MSM help. Human brands are fine.
If you feel either side of the spine you can feel where the knots of muscle are - these make the pain worse so very gently massage them (not the spine iteself) to loosen them.
One of mine did better on Rimadyl. It`s worth asking your vet to try different types of NSAIDs to find the one that is most effective.
And remember the pain will come and go. They will have good times and bad times as the spurs form and then the body adjusts.
One of mine responded well to a session with a chiropractor when he was bad.
And keep their weight down.
Acupuncture worked wonders - make sure the person is qualified though/
It`s a condition that can be managed to give the dog good quality of life.

Hi, chondroprotective agens such as glucosamine will not filter through to the joints etc until after 6 weeks, so you need to look at this as a long term strategy.

You can buy supplement singly or as a combo.

The main thing is to look at the quality of them as many on the market do not contain effective quantities etc.

So

Chondroitin (marine rather than bovine)
Glucosamine (HCl rather than KCl)
MSM
Green Lipped Mussel
Rosehip
Vitamin C (Ester C)
Fish Body Oil (ensure that it states DHA/EPA content)
Vitamin E (natural rather than synthetic)
Bromelain
Cetyl-myristoleate
Curcumin (active ingredient from Turmeric)
Devils Claw
Hylauronic Acid

As for other therapies it is VITAL that the vet okays any (no qualified therapist will treat your pet without his permission in any case)

Hydrotherapy is often CONTRA indicated where spinal problems are concerned, for several reasons. It is important that to determine whether swimming or an underwater treadmill is appropriate.

If you the vet recommend this then you should try to find a NARCH registered therapist/centre in order to assure yourself that the person is appropriately trained and qualified.

http://www.narch.org.uk/

Depending on the area of the spondylosis, massage therapy may nor may not be appropriate, in any case, to do it effectively you need to either go to a trained therapist or be trained yourself.

http://www.k9-massage.co.uk/

Natalie runs this courses for dog owners, has a team of therapists and has produced a DVD.

Chiropractic again may or may not be advisable. You can find qualfiied practitioners here:

http://www.mctimoney-animal.org.uk/

Alternatively you might like to see an Osteopath see here for qualified professionals

http://www.uksoap.org.uk/

There is also the option of physiotherapy where ACPAT would be the source of info

http://www.acpat.org/about-us

They will use not only manual physiotherapy but will have a range of electro techniques available including lasers etc

The association that looks after animal acupuncture in the UK is:

http://www.abva.co.uk/

Have you discussed something like Gabapentin with your vet?

Are you insured?

Hope some of the above may help