arthiritis/joint stifness

[northernleague]

hi all i have a 11 year old long haired german shepherd pedigree dog. hes fine and looks great still every1 thinks hes about 6 as he still really really active however probably for the past 9-12 months ive noticed that after hes been laying down he gets up and he has a limp in his front leg he ends up walking if off at first i thaught it was how he slept on it plus we have wooden floors through the house  which i thaught may of added to this but after it became more frequent it occured it could be what i mentioned in the title, his sister who was a year younger than him passed a way recently after her stomach twisted but she was suffering from arthiritis but it was more serious i know her owner took her to the vets and she was prescribed tablets for it and when she was on these she looked a 100 times better and her arthiritis didnt effect her 1 bit, now im thinking of asking my vet for these tablets but im unaware of there name, so i was wondering is there many variations of drugs used to treat arthiritis in dogs or what and do you suggest any? or if u know what 1s im ona about could you tell me there name please

[Crazymonkey9]

My German shep had arthiritis as well. My cousin is a vet and he said to simply put a tablet of regular Aspirin in her food. It worked for her almost instantly.

[Jaybay]

Rimadyl is a great medication for arthritis in dogs.  Our first dog had terrible arthritis in his hips and feet by age 7.  He lived until almost 14 so ended up taking Rimadyl almost half his life.  During the last year of his life, a new med came out called DeraMaxx.  It's more expensive, but I've found it to be even more effective in my dogs than Rimadyl.  Nobody I know has anything good to say about etogesic.  Every dog I've ever known has had diarrhea with it and it does nothing for the dog's pain.  Go figure.  :-)

[ginger899]

Sorry, I meant "he"...not "she" !!

[ginger899]

It could be Rimadyl you are talking about. This drug is commonly used for arthritis in dogs. It is a pain reliever plus anti-inflammatory. On NO ACCOUNT ever use human painkillers for dogs (with the exception of Junior aspirin, they can be dangerous)

Have you tried Glucosamine and Chondroitin supplement? This is not a drug, as such, but a natural substance obtained from shellfish, and often has very good results with arthritis.

Another thing you could try, which I have seen have VERY marked positive effects is a Homeopathic medicine called RHUS. TOX. The reason I mention this is because it is often effective when the dog shows stiffness when rising from its bed, yet improves with gentle or sustained exercise later in the day. I have used this with my own dog, and had some good results when she has shown stiffness sometimes in the past.
RHUS TOX may be available either from a pharmacy, or even bought online. The usual dosage is the "6" potency 2 tablets 3 times a day until improvement is seen, then cut down to twice a day. As soon as the symptoms disappear, stop dosing and only continue if they re-appear.

This might be worth a try before trying Rimadyl or another drug. (Of course that does depend on how severe you think her pain is. If it is acute or causing her to be lethargic, unable to eat, or unwilling to move, then a visit to the vet, and a painkilling drug might be the best answer.)

It may be something you have never heard of before, but Homeopathic meds are safe for dogs, have no side effects or toxic effects as many drugs have, don't cost the earth,taste nice, and can work very well. Maybe you can obtain a leaflet somewhere about them?
If you need me to find out some more for you about Homeopathic medicine, PM me, and I'll do my best to help.