Spondylosis in GSD

My 7 year old GSD bitch, Flame, has been diagnosed with spondylosis (arthritis of the spine) The vet has said just to give her half an aspirin if she is having a particularly bad day, but to hold off giving Metacam for the time being, as he didn't feel it was severe enough for that.

Is there any other supplements I could give her in the meantime? A friend has suggested Rhus Tox, which I will look into, and I did try her on Cortaflex, but she refused to take it

Thanks.

hi kirsty,

not sure if it does the same thing, but I give bruno glucosamine for his athritis in his back legs, and only give metacam as and when he is a bit sore.

hope this helps
dani

Glucosamine worked well with MO and did nothing for Biff (who also has problems in his spine as well as his hips).
Our vet said cod liver oil was just as good, he wibbled on a bit about glucosamine putting in the building blocks but there not being a builder there to do anything with it. He said cod liver opil is cheaper and more effective. It does help Biff...

So sorry to read your news

http://www.fitnfertile.com/science.asp?id=175
My Aunt gave lifetime fitness to her GSD and he did look good on it. was pts age 12 yrs 10 months. Not sure if it will help a spinal problem though.

poor Flame

I read with interest that your vet has mentioned half an aspirin to help, as when I asked mine for Zak he said it was not recommended but may be thats because they wanted to sell me their painkillers . I shall be giving Zak 1/2 when he needs it now

Zak takes glucosamine and up till the other week has been doing fine on it but he is now back to normal since his anti inflams....

My mums X always had 1/2 an aspirin everyday with no ill affects so I am going with it

Hope Flame isn't too uncomfortable and she manages well in the future xxx

My Dad has this - glucosamine and sulphate helps and he is convinced cod liver oil too

I give Willow a glucosamine & condroitin tablet every day coated in liver pate for her arthritis in her back legs. I really noticed a big difference in her when i ran out & couldn't get any for a few days, she was very stiff again, so i believe they make her mobility much better.

Hope Flame is okay. Sending Healing Thoughts

Jann

For me personally Id see how the dog was, IMO if a dog gets 12mths happy relatively pain free living, id rather that than 3yrs of uncomfortable and painful living. Id opt for meds any time as againt hanging on to a dog in obvious pain.

One of my dogs has a back problem, due to an injury 7/8yrs ago, he is on steroids as a last resort and is thankfully responding, but Id not hesitate in keeping him on them if it meant he was happy in the time he had left.

The vet told me that there is a newer more advanced drug than metacam and Rimadyl, and far more suited to long term use, its called "Previcox" perhaps asking about?

I'm sorry to read this - all the ones i would have suggested have been mentioned: chondriotin, glucosamine and deffo cod liver oil.

It's worth having a look in Holland and Barrett or health food shops as a lot of the stuff is also cheaper than pet places. Thats assuming the supermarkets don't have it.

I don't know if Rimadyl would help at all - the only prob i had with that was it made the dogs still think there was nothing wrong and they could carry on as normal.

Give Flame a huge hug from us.

Linda

http://synflexforpets.co.uk/