Ageing joints

[Emily]

Ella is still energetic, agile and loves her walks and zoomies. She still charges around the house with a toy and leaps onto furniture.

However, there have been a couple of occasions in recent months where her zoomies have left her a little sore in the hips. One occasion warranted a vet trip (the examination revealed a little tenderness in her hips) and anti inflammatories.

I've also started to notice a little stiffness when she's been lying down for a while and occasionally, if she's been particularly "zoomy" that day, I'll see a slight hesitation before she jumps onto our bed.

Ella's hips have previously been xrayed (we chose to do this when under GA for another reason) and there were no signs of dysplasia.

Last time when we chatted to the vet, she suggested that we might be seeing the early stages of general stiffness/ageing/arthritis. Ella turns 11 in a couple of weeks so I suppose this isn't uncommon.

We're heading to the vet for a cytopoint injection so I'm going to chat to the vet about our options and their recommendations for her mobility.

I know many have been down this path but I can only think of what everyone is doing as the discomfort increases, not what you did initially.

If you have any tips, pointers or suggested questions for the vet, I'd be grateful

 

[Atemas]

At the very first signs of arthritis (and she was much younger than Ella) we gave Sky (our previous black Lab) salmon oil on her food. We then started on Yumove tablets

 

[Cath]

At the very first signs of arthritis (and she was much younger than Ella) we gave Sky (our previous black Lab) salmon oil on her food. We then started on Yumove tablets

Yes both Fred and Annie have these too. Fred is on Max Plus and Annie just on Yumove plus. A tablespoon of salmon oil on their food a day.

 

[HAH]

If you have any tips, pointers or suggested questions for the vet, I'd be grateful

I’d suggest asking about low key adaptations and management at home, so things like rugs in slippery areas, adding a step or two to high points, raising her bed a little, considering a ramp for the car if you don’t already have one - just to make things a bit comfier for Ella. And possibly ask for suggestions for home physio exercises to help keep her flexible, like gentle massage or cavaletti poles. Things you can do and maintain that will help Ella, but aren’t too onerous in terms of time and execution.
It’s really positive you’re thinking about this now rather than waiting, I hope the vet’s helpful.

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Like @Cath and @Atemas , I give a joint supplement similar to YuMove that was recommended by my vet in Germany. You’re probably already doing that with Ella. I was surprised as I’d given something similar to my previous dog Brogan and didn’t notice a difference. With Carbón it made a massive difference, noticeable after about a month.

What helped a lot with Brogan was changing his physical environment and the pace of what we did together. I taught him paws up so I could lift his backside into the car, into the sofa, etc, so no more jumping. When I bought my own car, I chose it specifically because he could step into it without me needing to boost him. If I would have already had a car, a ramp would have worked.

I also learned how much activity he could take before he’d be affected. This isn’t what he showed - he’d go all day! But I learned over time that he could go x minutes, need x minutes rest, then go another x minutes without it having a bad affect. The ‘x’ changed as he aged. In his last year it was 45 minutes. I have a lot of good memories of sitting with him in squares in Italy having his imposed rest and essentially holding court, with people coming up to him to pet him.

It became important that he had a soft but supportive spot to lay down and not be cramped up. Cumulative laying on the floor (which he actually preferred over a bed or sofa) made a noticeable difference in his overall mobility. Curled up? Also bad, even if it was his choice.

The last year I also got him a harness and helped him stand up each time. He could do it on his own, but it took money out of his joint health/energy bank, if that makes sense, that I preferred to use on walks.

I know Ella isn’t at all to that point, just sharing what helped with my last golden oldie.

 

[Jacqui-S]

Yumove and salmon oil here too.
Also thought about weight a bit more, does Ella need a kilo or so off? (She looks good, but keeping her slim is important particularly if her activity may be reducing subtly)

 

[Jacqui-S]

Oh, and we also went to regular hydrotherapy to help maintain range and muscles, although it was also great fun, so having your pool may be a huge benefit!
I was always told 20mins in the pool is equivalent to an hour exercise on land.

 

[Selina27]

I'm also at this stage will Cass, who will be ten next month. Like Ella she is still has plenty of energy and is as agile as ever, but she does have a degree of hip dysplasia on the left side. It tends to manifest itself when going up or down steps or turning sharply from a standing or walking.
She gets Yumove to help the supporting structures, the lowest strength and dose, PetPlus as a food additive and she has a good supportive bed from the Baavet company.
Last week we went on a new walk which had 2 styles with dog gates that you pull up and they go under. She seemed to find it uncomfortable to do as she had to sort of duck down and afterwards was visibly sore for a couple of days, so something for me to bear in mind.
Our local dog trainers employ a veterinary physio and I am thinking of getting Cass checked out by her.

 

[Joy]

I used Yumove (glucosamone) for years but I'm not convinced it did much good. A collagen supplement I've used for the last couple of years seemed more effective (I buy one by Pawable called 'Collargen').
To treat advanced symptoms I've been stunned at how effective the Onsior tablets are proving for Molly.

 

[M.F.]

I read a recent report of a study (I didn’t read the actual study) that compared joint powders with golden paste. And the results were that golden paste had better outcomes for anti inflammatory and pain relief. If I can find it I’ll post it here. I make golden paste myself and I gave Snowie some every day.

However, the biggest effect on him were pain relief meds in the form of paracetamol every day. Occasionally he got petcam. Pain meds made a massive difference, we were surprised how much happier he became. He started jumping onto the sofa again. I think we started them around 12 or 13 years old, but I’d have started earlier had I known the effects.

For the car, we had a ramp, but it was awkward. We found a firm foam cube was all he needed to step from the seat down onto it and then onto the ground. To get in, I helped him with my hands when he started to jump in.

 

[Selina27]

I'm not convinced it did much good

I agree it's difficult to tell, but Cass does seem to be more comfortable than when I started it a few months ago. I was advised to get a supplement that is both condroitin and glucosamine. Sometimes she sits with her left rear elbow at a funny angle, but it seems to happen a bit less now , but who knows!

 

[Cath]

Yumove helped Fred so much. He didn't want to go for his morning walk. Then I start to give him Yumove and there is no stopping him now.

 

[Selina27]

Yumove helped Fred so much. He didn't want to go for his morning walk. Then I start to give him Yumove and there is no stopping him now.

I have a friend whose elderly spaniel had stopped getting up on the sofa but within 6 weeks of starting YUmove was doing so like a young dog!
I guess no two circumstances are the same!

 

[Anne123]

Finn got Yumove and greenlipmussels, then when this didn't work anymore he got Librela, At first he reacted good on the librela, but after a year we noticed it didn't work well. He then started to get onsior in combination with the Librela and paracetamol. After a few month we stopped the Librela, for it didn't work that well even we upped the dosis. He then got gabapentine which made a huge difference, we were sorry we didn't give him this earlier. We stopped the paracetamol after we noticed he didn't take it. He spit it out on different places, as we didn't notice he did this. Then we upped a few month ago his gabapentine. When he deteriotates we are out of alternatives according to the vet. He will be 13 in October

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Finn got Yumove and greenlipmussels, then when this didn't work anymore he got Librela, At first he reacted good on the librela, but after a year we noticed it didn't work well. He then started to get onsior in combination with the Librela and paracetamol. After a few month we stopped the Librela, for it didn't work that well even we upped the dosis. He then got gabapentine which made a huge difference, we were sorry we didn't give him this earlier. We stopped the paracetamol after we noticed he didn't take it. He spit it out on different places, as we didn't notice he did this. Then we upped a few month ago his gabapentine. When he deteriotates we are out of alternatives according to the vet. He will be 13 in October

Gabapentin can be a miracle worker, I hope it keeps working for Finn for a long time yet.

 

[MellowYellow]

With old / stiff dogs I check out the house and find areas that could be made easier for them - so ramps where helpful, non-slip mats on the floor, good quality supportive beds, raising their food bowls, restricting jumping and charging around while maintaining steady exercise, etc. Aquatherapy also seems quite effective. Pain relief as needed. I'm not convinced by supplements, though of course I also use them! hope Ella stays fit and healthy for ages!