Author Topic: Osteoarthritis  (Read 6219 times)

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Offline Nicola

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Osteoarthritis
« on: January 05, 2015, 05:45:34 PM »
I thought I would start a thread on OA as it is something that affects a lot of older dogs; it's certainly one that I've had a lot of experience of dealing with over the last few years with Tilly, so it might be interesting to share stories and maybe pick up some new or different treatment and management ideas.

Osteoarthritis: also known as degenerative joint disease (DJD), is defined as the progressive and permanent long-term deterioration of the cartilage surrounding the joints. Arthritis is the medical term for inflammation of the joints, while osteoarthritis is the term referring to a form of chronic joint inflammation caused by deterioration of joint cartilage. Older dogs are at the highest risk.

Tills is now 10 (:o) and was diagnosed with severe OA about 3 years ago, with noticeable deterioration in the joints showing on the x-rays at that time. She has it particularly badly in her hips and shoulders, but also in her elbows, spine, knees, neck, hocks, wrists and toes, and she has spondylosis in her lumbar spine. She also has a condition called IOHC (incomplete ossification of the humeral condyle) which has been evident from a very young age (diagnosed via CT scan at around 2 years old) which causes elbow lameness, although luckily she never fractured it which is extremely common. She has a very limited range of movement in her hips and especially her shoulders, which are the worst-affected joints. I initially took her for the x-rays as she was suffering from chronic lameness on her front legs, especially after playing with a tennis ball, and seemed generally stiffer and slower than usual. Her ball obsession was undoubtedly a factor in worsening her underlying condition and unfortunately for her had to stop immediately, the sudden sharp movements and heavy impacts involved in chasing and catching tennis balls is very bad for the joints.

She also has eosinophilic inflammatory bowel disease, having been diagnosed with this when she was 5. The vet believes that the two are linked, both being immune-mediated conditions. Her IBD is well under control though and the OA causes us far more problems on a day to day basis. It's interesting to me though that the two are linked, under vet advice Tills hasn't had any vaccinations since she was 6 as he believes that it would be very detrimental to her health. She has also always suffered from chronic ear problems (malassezia), and again, this is probably linked to immune issues.

Tilly's OA is quite severe, it affects most of her joints and she is probably in a degree of pain most of the time. This obviously causes me huge concern, but it is currently still manageable and so she is still happy, waggy tailed, stubborn and playful, and still eats like a horse, rolls in poo and goes mad to go out for walks (even if they are more gentle trots than runs now) and is as tennis-ball obsessed as she ever was (I don't ever throw them for her any more though, her shoulders give way and she chins the ground if she tries to turn suddenly to fetch a ball :-\). She isn't chronically lame but she walks with a rolling gait - a bit like a bear - and she sits and stands with her front legs bowed to take the weight off her shoulders.

There is no cure for OA, and it is progressive, so she is gradually deteriorating, and barring her developing cancer etc. it will be a life-limiting condition in her case. However we have found an effective management system for her symptoms that has so far let her maintain a good quality of life. She is currently on daily Tramadol (3x50mg), Pardale-V (paracetamol and codeine) as Tramadol works more effectively when given alongside a NSAID drug, plus the steroid/painkiller combination drug Prednoleucotropin (PLT, or 'poorly leg tablets' as the vet calls them :lol2:). This is an extremely hefty dose of painkillers; it's basically a post-operative management system which she has on a daily basis, but she tolerates it extremely well, has very few side effects (the Tramadol makes her a bit sleepy so I the highest dose in the evening), and it gives her a good quality of life in terms of managing her pain.

She still manages at least 2 daily walks, although I don't bring her on long hikes and she can't remotely keep up with Rodaidh and Caoimhe any more, but she pooters along quite happily on shorter walks. In terms of additional treatment, she goes to hydrotherapy once a month, she's always enjoyed swimming, and I think it does help her. She has had acupuncture and massage but she didn't particularly like either of them, and I was doubtful as to their efficacy in her case, so stopped taking her. In terms of supplements she has daily Yumove and fish oil along with Ro and Caoimhe - her condition is so advanced they are unlikely to make any real difference to her now but they can't do any harm so I give them anyway. I started giving all of them coconut oil and turmeric ("golden paste") every day last year as well, again my rationale with Tilly being that it can't do any harm. I monitor her weight carefully, I have always kept my dogs on the lean side of average and this helps, the less weight she has to bear on her joints the better.

Practically speaking, keeping her warm helps, she definitely suffers more in the winter and slows down considerably when it's really cold. I got her a new Equafleece with a zip up the back as it was impossible for her to get her front legs into the normal one. She doesn't wear the Equafleece on walks as she doesn't like it when she's moving around, but I make sure she gets dried off immediately on return from a wet walk and put it on to warm her up and she'll happily go to sleep in it. She finds lifting her back legs up difficult so I stand her on a towel and just dry the tops of her paws with another one. I lift her in and out of the car - she hates this but she's no longer capable of jumping in and out safely. I have considered getting a ramp for her, and as she doesn't really like being picked up I may actually do this fairly soon.   

OA is a difficult condition, it causes pain and undoubtedly affects quality of life unless carefully managed, but it's not something acute that's going to actually kill them, so you have to constantly monitor and weigh up said quality of life. It's a very individual thing, but with Tilly I have always taken the view that while she still wants to go for walks and can still manage to pooter along and she's not chronically lame, falling over or in severe pain, then I will manage her symptoms like this for as long as possible. As soon as she no longer wants to or is capable of coming on walks, loses her playfulness and appetite and/or she has a level of pain that cannot be managed with the medication she is on - I will not up her current dosages any further, put her through surgery or consider putting her on morphine etc. - then I will make a decision for her, because I know her and what reasonable quality of life is for her.

I've gone on a bit here, but any other thoughts or experiences of dealing with OA or other chronic joint/mobility conditions would be welcome!
Nicola, Tilly, Rodaidh and Caoimhe x



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Offline vixen

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Re: Osteoarthritis
« Reply #1 on: January 05, 2015, 08:55:16 PM »
Over two years ago when she was just 5, Marley started limping on her rear right leg - it came after a wonderful day out at the beach when she had really exerted herself.  I thought it was a result of doing too much and left it for a few days to settle down.  It didn't so we went to the vets.  They suspected a torn cruciate ligament and took x rays.  The results were that she didn't have a torn cruciate but OA and the deterioration had been going on for quite a time  :o I felt terrible as I felt I should have known but Marley hadn't displayed any symptoms at all apart from lagging behind a little on the occasional walk but I had credited that to wanting to be near me.  The vets gave me the option of sending her away to a veterinary hospital where they would cut through the bone, rotate the joint and then pin everything together again.  There was no guarantee of success and the thought of putting her through that  sounded horrific to me and I knew Marley wouldn't cope with the separation.  The second option was to manage her pain with prescription drugs but when I looked into it, their long term use could cause other problems.  I decided to try to manage the OA myself.  She has a magnetic collar, she has Flexijoint tablets,  salmon oil, turmeric paste and I try to keep her weight down.  To begin with she went to weekly hydrotherapy sessions but she absolutely hated it so much so that I had to stop as it was distressing her too much.  I have no idea if the things I am giving her help her or not.   :huh:  If you saw the speed she can run to get to her sister and join her in poo rolling, you would never think she has OA but adrenaline can mask the signs.
She still enjoys her daily walks but she simply can not keep up with her sister.  I know when the pain is getting to her as comes to me and walks at a leisurely pace but most days she doesn't display any symptoms. I try to keep her warm in winter as I feel this helps and she is the first to be dried after a wet walk.
I am very conscious that my more natural approach to her pain relief won't always be effective and I will have to give her the prescribed drugs.  I am just taking each day at a time but I wouldn't let her suffer if I thought there was a more effective treatment.
She is still only seven so things will get worse but at least I am now aware of her condition and will help in every way I can.
Max (GSP)  always in my heart

Offline Ben's mum

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Re: Osteoarthritis
« Reply #2 on: January 05, 2015, 09:23:18 PM »

OA is a difficult condition, it causes pain and undoubtedly affects quality of life unless carefully managed, but it's not something acute that's going to actually kill them, so you have to constantly monitor and weigh up said quality of life. It's a very individual thing, but with Tilly I have always taken the view that while she still wants to go for walks and can still manage to pooter along and she's not chronically lame, falling over or in severe pain, then I will manage her symptoms like this for as long as possible. As soon as she no longer wants to or is capable of coming on walks, loses her playfulness and appetite and/or she has a level of pain that cannot be managed with the medication she is on - I will not up her current dosages any further, put her through surgery or consider putting her on morphine etc. - then I will make a decision for her, because I know her and what reasonable quality of life is for her.


I can really relate to this part of your post, it causes me huge concern weighing up Ben's quality of life.  I struggle not to fall into the trap of giving him human emotions, but I worry that stopping him doing all the things he loves makes him low in mood/depressed or whatever the canine equivalent is  ;)  Like Tilly, Ben is very much an outdoor romping across the moors sort of chap, we always suspected he is half mountain goat as he will climb anything!  At nearly 12 he never does anything at a sedate trot, even now he runs full pelt all the time, and leaps around and over things where possible and he loves to jump.  If there is more than a few inches of water he wants to swim.  Its what I love about his character  :luv:

However over the last year it is clear that this impacts on his hips and back.  I have tried doing practical things like cutting out hills and walks with stiles, lifting him in and out of the car and keeping his weight down to protect his joints etc.  I also ensure a couple of days a week I do on lead walking while OH takes Harry on a longer walk.  But it is clear Ben finds the lead walking miserable, he doesn't seem to be animated or to be particularly enjoying the lead walks and I worry that if his arthritis deteriorates and he has to do more lead walks he will not be getting the same quality of life.   Weighing up how much to let him do is difficult for me he wants to run and jump, but clearly I have to limit this to some extent.

I would be keen to hear if others have had to manage an alert, lively and very fit dog and find a balance between keeping them active and enjoying walks and managing arthritic joints.
It's good to hear Tilly is still enjoying her walks and is happy in herself, it amazes me just how stoic our dogs are sometimes they are amazing.

Offline Ben's mum

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Re: Osteoarthritis
« Reply #3 on: January 05, 2015, 11:32:00 PM »
Over two years ago when she was just 5, Marley started limping on her rear right leg - it came after a wonderful day out at the beach when she had really exerted herself.

 I had no idea it could affect such young dogs  :'( I have read a bit about the benefits of turmaric for dogs do you find it helps Marley?

Offline vixen

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Re: Osteoarthritis
« Reply #4 on: January 06, 2015, 10:37:51 AM »
I had no idea it could affect such young dogs  :'( I have read a bit about the benefits of turmaric for dogs do you find it helps Marley?

I really don't know if turmeric helps Marley or not  :huh: She does have other supplements so it is hard to accredit her improved health to any of them or a combination of them  :huh: I have read how turmeric does help other dogs and as it isn't harming her she will continue to have it.  It is quite cheap to buy a large bag from the World Food aisle at supermarkets.  I also give the same supplements at a reduced level to Stevie even though she isn't showing any symptoms of OA just as a precaution as initially Marley didn't show any symptoms either - it was diagnosed by x rays.
I also suffer from OA as did/does a lot of my family.  Even though OA is usually associated with age my younger daughter started having symptoms when she was just 10.  My elder daughter has had no such symptoms but may develop them as she gets older.  As mentioned, Marley was diagnosed at just 5 but the vet said that the condition had been there for a considerable time to have caused such damage to her hip joint.
I know Marley is not an 'oldie' but I have posted on this section as Nicola asked how others coped with OA in their dogs.
Max (GSP)  always in my heart

Offline Nicola

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Re: Osteoarthritis
« Reply #5 on: January 06, 2015, 03:22:10 PM »

I would be keen to hear if others have had to manage an alert, lively and very fit dog and find a balance between keeping them active and enjoying walks and managing arthritic joints.
It's good to hear Tilly is still enjoying her walks and is happy in herself, it amazes me just how stoic our dogs are sometimes they are amazing.

They really are, Tills is incredibly stoic, but that makes it more difficult at times because it's so hard to gauge how much discomfort she's really in. There've been times we've been at the vet and he's pulling on her front legs trying to see how much motion she has left and he's saying 'I know this must be really hurting her!' but she just stands there, lets him do it and doesn't react. Tilly has slowed down hugely in the last couple of years, she was always an extremely fit and active dog and the change in her has been massive, she still loves to swim and mooch around but she can't run much and hasn't a hope of keeping up with Ro and Caoimhe. She still trots along at her own pace, investigates everything and is still very playful though.

It's really hard to find the balance of letting them do what they want to do but without them ending up suffering too much for it :-\ I hate leaving Tills behind when I take Rodaidh and Caoimhe out, she hates being left and it breaks my heart to do it so unless I'm running or going hillwalking or on an all-day hike she still comes along and I just let her take it at her own pace. I trail run a lot but it works quite well as Ro isn't particularly keen on it but Caoimhe absolutely loves it so she is my little running buddy and I don't feel guilty about leaving Ro and Tills at home together for an hour or so! I know that after a particularly long walk Tills will feel the effects and will be very stiff and sore so I up her evening Tramadol dose and just let her sleep it off, it's all I can do really. It's such a tricky one but I think her quality of life would suffer more being left behind all the time. I could moderate it more, only take her for short walks or keep her on the lead, but she'd hate it and my view is that given all that's wrong with her she's here for a good time rather than a long time. I'd rather she was happy leading as close to her normal life as possible even if that means she wears out a bit sooner.

I am very conscious that my more natural approach to her pain relief won't always be effective and I will have to give her the prescribed drugs.  I am just taking each day at a time but I wouldn't let her suffer if I thought there was a more effective treatment.

I think if it's possible to manage it naturally at least while they're younger then that's always preferable. It was a bit trickier with Tilly as she has been on steroids for her IBD since she was 5 - ironically though although the Prednisone helped her stomach it probably accelerated her OA degeneration as it's a catabolic steroid - and by the time she had the OA diagnosis it was already at the stage where she needed pain management. Pred isn't compatible with NSAIDs so we had to do a bit of juggling to find a combination that suited her and could control both conditions.

I also give the same supplements at a reduced level to Stevie even though she isn't showing any symptoms of OA just as a precaution

I have both Ro and Caoimhe on daily Yumove, fish oil and turmeric/coconut oil paste too. Neither of them have any joint issues as yet, at 8 and almost 6 they're both fit as fiddles, but it's a precaution and will hopefully help to keep them mobile in the future.

Tilly is a rescue, I got her when she was 2 after she was ditched in a hideous 'rescue kennel' by her first owners, and although I have her registration documents and pedigree I've never been able to trace her breeder. I know there were only 3 in her litter, she has two brothers, and I would love to know if they have had the same extent of health problems as she has. She's such a fantastic dog and back in the day was extremely fit and active, but pretty much from the get-go she has always had at least one serious chronic health condition. I adore her but health wise she's been an absolute nightmare for the last 5 years, she's a total crock :lol2:

Here she was a couple of months ago not caring that she's given me so much grey hair by the age of 33 :lol2: :luv:


And on a recent walk with Ro and Caoimhe and Ro's daughter Kelsey (lemon) and his son Kody (black). You can see how she sits with her legs bowed out here...
Nicola, Tilly, Rodaidh and Caoimhe x



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Offline jasper_boy

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Re: Osteoarthritis
« Reply #6 on: January 07, 2015, 02:23:11 PM »
I am not sure if you have considered acupuncture for pain management as well? Jacob has been on metacam since 6 months of age and tramadol from 15 months and I find that acupuncture really does take the edge of his pain. He doesn't have it regularly, so we don't over use the points but if he has a blip, then he has a series of 2-4 sessions and the difference in his pain levels are almost instant  :D