Cocker Specific Discussion > Oldies (Over 9s)

Osteoarthritis

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Nicola:

--- Quote from: Ben's mum on January 05, 2015, 09:23:18 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.

--- End quote ---

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.


--- Quote from: vixen on January 05, 2015, 08:55:16 PM ---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.

--- End quote ---

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.


--- Quote from: vixen on January 06, 2015, 10:37:51 AM --- 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

--- End quote ---

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...

jasper_boy:
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

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