Juvenile Arthritis

[GillS]

Can anyone help?  My 8 month old black cocker, Dylan, can't jump into the car/onto the bed and has only been able to go down the stairs for the past 2 weeks.  He sometimes seems a bit stiff and sometimes lies down to have a drink after a walk.  We haven't had a cocker before and we thought it might be something to do with the breed. ( We thought he was lazy!)  Anyway we took him to the vets on Monday and he thinks he may have juvenile arthritis and has given him some tablets to see if they make any difference.  There doesn't seem to be any noticeable difference so far, and the vet seemed to think they would have a dramatic difference quite quickly.  If anyone has any advice or has experienced any similar problems with their cocker, I would appreciate the advice/knowledge.                    

[english.springer]

Hi gill

sorry to hear that Dylan is having problems. My thoughts and hopes are with you and dylan.

Okay the tablets the vet gave you firstly check to see if they are Rimadyl if so I would advise not to use them....too many side effects.


The tablets given could be some kind of joint mobility drug as to the thinking that he should be more able!

Is he okay when walking, running and playing?

The vet has some idea to the possible cause of the condition but with alot of cases it is frustrating waiting to find out whats up.

Hang on in there and keep smiling                    

[Jane S]

Sorry to hear about Dylan, Gill. His problem could be down to any number of things - juvenile arthritis is pretty rare & is not a common problem in Cockers as far as I know but only your vet will be able to diagnose for sure. I imagine he has been prescribed some anti-inflammatory tablets which do generally work quite quickly. Whilst Ian is right that Rimadyl can cause side effects in some dogs, don't panic if this is what your dog has been prescribed. It's a very useful drug for pain relief & for arthritis & is safe for short term use for most dogs. I can see both sides of this coin as we had one Cocker who was unable to tolerate Rimadyl but it has also been given to various of our others over the years without any problems whatsoever. I have a friend whose elderly Setter was given an extra year of pain-free life which he would not have had without Rimadyl (other drugs did not work for him) but as with all drugs, it does not suit all dogs.                    

[Luvlylady]

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[GillS]

The tablets are rimadyl.  What are the side effects?  He seems ok so far.  I'll let you know what the vet says on Monday.  He did mention an x-ray last week, but I don't know if that would show arthritis?                    

[Luvlylady]

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[Jane S]

Rimadyl is an non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug - it's widely used as post operative pain relief (following surgery) & also as a treatment for arthritis. If you do a search on the internet you will find plenty of information on this drug & the side effects experienced by some dogs. It's important to remember there are no drugs entirely free of side effects & while Rimadyl has caused problems in some dogs, its well tolerated by many more.                    

[Luvlylady]

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[Maria]

We had a similar problem with Boysie a few months ago. He had trouble getting up from sitting, couldn't climb steps and was getting quite lethargic. He had some anti inflammatories which temporarily worked. Part of the problem was the vet couldn't see the problem for himself - Boysie hates the vets and could still try and get away from him. After examinations, x-rays and a lymph gland biopsy we were all stumped. Then the vet put him on glucosamine, and after about a month of gradual progress he was more active than ever! He did also have some hydrotherapy, but I'm convinced the glucosamine (he is still on) is what did the trick. It might be worth a go?                    

[Karen]

I would think that this condition would be the same for dogs as it is in people - so the good news would be that they do grow out of it! My daughter had it from age 3 and was quite bad for about a year but now rarely suffers. She had anti inflammatory and pain killers when first diagnosed but had to do lots of swimming and is now fine. The clue is in the name ie: juvenile arthritis means it affects youngsters. Please ask your vet but I'm sure Dylan will be ok in the long run!!! :?:                    

[PennyB]

Don't know where you live but have you thought of hydrotherapy sessions (at least that way he can get exercise without weight-bearing); however, I don't think insurance covers this treatment

http://www.natural-animal-health.co.uk/hyd...ydrotherapy.htm

Also some people use magnetic therapy as well—bit like copper bracelets, but these are basically collars with magnets in them.                    

[T]

Charlie-Spud (10mths) goes to a hydrotherapy pool purely for fitness & swimming.

Talking to one of the kennel assistants we found out she started taking her own dog just to get him use to water and at first he didn't like it, but after a couple of visits he got on fine. But he suddenly had to have a knee joint operation so now uses the pool to aid recovery but she was so glad he was alreay use to going!

Therefore we thought we'd give CS a go just to get him use to the water & to make sure he could swim ok, but he looovvees it so much we've kept going! A real surfer dude!