Dog Hit By Car

Hello!

My name is Emily - I have a 3 1/2 year old Blue Pitbull mix named Blue. I adopted him when he was 5 months old... when he was 7 months old he was hit by a car. (freak accident - LONG story involving a cornfield and student driver) The car struck him and he was pinned underneath... he broke both of his hind legs, and suffered major tissue, muscle, and tendon injuries. He had a partial tail amputation, had a toe amputated from his left leg and multipule surgeries involving both an external and then internal metal rod inserted in his right hind leg. Both hock joints are now fused and he had his final surgery 6 months ago removing the metal rod from his leg.

The original accident was 3 years ago this past mothers day. He is doing very well - even though at times I do feel the right hind leg should have been amputated, he doesn't seem to mind. I have done hydrotherapy, message therapy and various bone/joint medications with him trying to improve his range of movement and ease his pain. His most recent surgery (removing the metal plate which had been in his leg for two years) seems to have improved his condition - but it also came along with recovery time and more therapy.

I recently have been introduced to the world of homeopathic medicine and am trying to find the best supplements and/or remedies for my dog to improve his joint, muscle and tendon health, along with some ways to ease the pain. He does well day-to-day but after laying around for too long or vigorous exercise he is visibly uncomfortable and will avoid weight bearing on his hind legs. The vet (traditional) says that this is to be expected and is not a big deal but it breaks my heart.

I have been suggested to buy something called Doggone Pain - very expensive. If anyone has any advice or suggestions please let me know, I am trying to do the best thing for my baby.

Thank you!

[Misfits4Me]

Hi Emily & welcome.......WOW, your guy has been through a lot...Bless you for the care you have given him......I'm thrilled to hear such a wonderful story!

Blue definitely needs to be on a joint supplement....I'm surprised your Vet has not sold you one.......I have a house full of Rescue dogs (Ages range from 2 to 11) with various orthopedic problems with everything from old age wear & tear, to broken bones, crushed feet, paralyzations, back surgeries, knee replacements, luxating patellas, you name it.....

We have tried the DGP & although I did see improvement, it made one of my guys have a terrible upset stomach every night! There was something in it that did not agree w/him, so we stopped......I have read many positive reviews about this one....

I have tried many supplements & happen to like just one, extremely well....It's name is "Phycox Soft Chews"....My holistic Vet recommended this product...He does not sell it, so I buy online......It is packed with numerous joint support supplements......We have had very good luck with it....

However, the turning point for the ones with the most serious issues here has been Acupuncture for pain management.....Although my Holistic Vet is Certified in Homeopathic Medicine, he has never offered me any Homeopathic medicines for any of my dogs.......He is also certified in Chinese Herbal Medicine & that is what he normally prescribes......We have had excellent luck Chinese Herbs for pain management......I use to buy them from him, but can get a much better deal online, so that's where we shop, now.......

The combination of the above listed has kept all my group going strong......They also eat a fresh food diet with NO grains......Carbs/Grains can create inflammation in humans & dogs........Just a thought......

I travel 120 miles to see this Vet (Monthly) because of the subperb treatment he provides my canines.......

To find a Holistic Vet in your area:  Go to the AHVMA  (American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association) webpage, there will be a link to search by state.......You won't be sorry!!!!

Let me know if you have any questions......I'll be glad to help you if I can.....Take care, Karla

[MyBoyBlue182]

Thank you Karla!!

Sounds like with what you do with all of your "special needs" rescue dogs you must really know what your talking about. Thank you for being such a wonderful person to the dogs that need you most - and THANK YOU for sharing your information with me :)

Blue has been on many joint supplements, muscle relaxers, and pain pills.. Cosequin, Dasuquin,  Rimadyl, Tramadol - the list goes on and on..I didn't like the side effects of the majority of them and others didn't seem to do anything (Cosequin) I also didn't have a ton of money for over a year after the surgeries and had to scrounge around for help to get by with him. Now that I have a new job and the gigantic vet bills are now just parts of credit card payments I"m trying to make a fresh start with his medication.

I did order some of the DGP from an online webiste - since that is homeopathic would I be able to give the Phycox along with that or should I hold off awhile and see how DGP works out? I read some of the reviews for the Phycox and they are all amazing - there is even a review about a dog who was also hit by a car with two broken back legs taking that supplement with amazing results!

I tried the natural food thing with him before but it was just too expensive and time consuming. He's currently on Since Diet Healthy Mobility - also rather expensive but it was recommended by his vet.

I will look in to that Holistic vet webpage now!!

Thanks again!

[Misfits4Me]

Blue's Mom:  The Cosequin & Dasuquin are basically the same thing.....Cosequin is one of the original products produced for joint health.....Both contain mainly Glucosamine & Chondroitin for Joint Health.....Statistics report that it does not work on all humans or dogs.....But works wonderful on some...So, it is worth trying to see what the effect is.....

Your DGP is an Herbal supplement with Various herbs selected for Joint Health & Inflammation......The Phycox does contain Glucosamine, but also has Antioxidants (Vitamins) and other nutrients for Joint Health.....The only duplication in these two supplements is Turmeric....Turmeric is a wonderful pain relieving spice w/Anti-Cancer properties......The extra amount (If you combined both) is not harmful & probably is an added plus....So yes, both of these supplements can be given together.......Each are completely different!

I'm more concerned about his food......Science diet is an extremely Low quality food without ANY proper Meat source......Dogs must have meat to thrive.....What the company has done is  basically make their regular food & have added Glucosamine & Chondroitin & call it a Joint Health Dog Food! Nothing could be further from the truth.....If these two supplements are Baked to death in the food, then they offer no benefit at all as they don't even exist after baking....More than likely they are mixed with Fats & sprayed on the kibble after baking......The fats used in SD is an unnamed Fat so it can come from anywhere......More often than not, it's usually used restaurant grease from places like McDonalds or Kentucky Fry that is sold to the petfood industry...These are unhealthy fats, but it flavors a product that otherwise a dog would refuse to eat......

Your Joint Health Food has 5 Problem ingredients in the top 5 spots of the ingredient list.......Corn, Wheat, Chicken By Product (You don't want to know what this is), Soy bean, Animal Fat in that order....This means the bulk of this food IS these ingredients.....NO Nutrition here for a dog!!!!!! This is NO better than a bag of $5 Chicken Feed........DoGs have no use for any of those ingredients...Your Vet sold you that crap because he makes a kick back from doing so.......

Hills Science Diet takes advantage of this outrage because they feel people will not do their own research & All clients trust their Vet...This is a scam!!!!!  I DO trust my Vet with Medical Care, but since they receive only a few hrs (Like 6 total) of Nutrition in Vet school, they are not qualified to judge what is best for to dog to eat....Oh yes, by the way, guess who provides the Small nutrition class? You got it......Hill's Pet Nutrition...Hum??????

All Right.......I'm off to do something else......Just thought you should know......Karla

[MyBoyBlue182]

IKarla-

Thanks again for the info! I know that what you feed your dog is the most debated topic on almost ANY dog forum. I went through a whole list of foods - a lot of which made my dog very sick and frankly I cant afford to have an allergy test done on him... too costly and too much time. I have done research  - I guess just not enough. I knew that the ingredients weren't the best but honestly I can't afford high quality food, nor have the time to cook for him constantly. I'm open for suggestions if you know of any inexpensive food that I won't get criticized for feeding him.

I've come to the conclusion that nobody agrees on the same food but I thought science diet was a good less expensive food for him.

[Jaybay]

On the food issue, just start reading ingredient lists on different foods.  You want to see meat or poultry as the first ingredient.  Prices vary brand-to-brand and some aren't as expensive as you might think on a per-serving basis.  Corn is the big ingredient to avoid.  It adds no nutritional value and you'll be awash in a sea of poop.  For now, it wouldn't hurt to add a good vitamin supplement.  There are plenty available for seniors that include glucosamine and chondroitin for joint health, although those are mostly preventive ingredients.

Since your dog's injuries are complex and were so severe, he's probably going to need more pain relief than holistic medicine alone can provide.  I had impressive results for my senior dogs who had hip dysplasia and severe arthritis with Deramaxx.  It's a cox-II inhibiter like Celebrex for humans.  My dogs had no side effects at all and they felt great until they died of other causes.  In another case, my neighbor was ready to put down his lab a couple months ago for orthopedic reasons.  He's always been weird about giving meds to his dogs (think it's an older generation thing) but he finally tried Deramaxx after his dog literally could not stand up anymore.  The dog is doing great now and I haven't seen him this perky in years - he's even chasing his ball again.  Apparently this medication is kind of hard to get now due to some manufacturer problem so the vet switched him to vetprofen, which is a lot cheaper.  It's working great too.  So there's a couple of different options for you to look into.

Exercise is even more important now than ever before.  The more muscle mass he can build up, the less strain he'll have on his skeletal system.  If you have access to any body of water for swimming, that's the gold standard for dogs with bone and joint problems.  Otherwise, think daily walks twice a day and gradually increase the time depending on how he does.  You know how much exercise is too much, so try to keep it regular but not so intense that it causes more pain. If you can get Blue on a good anti-inflammatory med like Deramaxx or Vetprofen and it helps his pain, it'll be a whole lot easier to build up his muscles and you may eventually be able to wean him off full time meds.

Best of luck to you both!

[11hugger]

I feed my dogs 4health.  Cats also.  It is a good food & it is affordable.  I have only found it at Tractor Supply.  I just retired and could not afford to feed them the real expensive food.  They do very well on it.