new addition to the family

[mandy_moo_64]

I've just rescued my Rottie,Lennox, from the local dog pound.He was in a dreadful state,very scrawny, covered in sores, and had trouble walking.I fell in love with him at first sight, so I took him along to the vets to get checked over, only to be told that the poor thing has arthritus in his back legs and hips,and that it might be kinder to have him put to sleep :(
He's about 6 or 7 years old, and he seems really happy in himself.He's loving all the love and attention that he's getting now, and I couldn't bear the thought of giving up on him,so I found this site,and after reading comments about Glucosamine/chondroitin &MSM , and Alfalfa , I've been to my local health food shop,and started him on it today.I've also massaged his hip muscles with diluted eucalyptus oil (which he loved!) which someone suggested.
Anyway, I just wondered if anyone had had experience of using these things, and how long before I'd see any marked improvement, plus do you think it'd be okay to use these medicines instead of returning to the vet?
By the way,great site :D I'm working my way through it !!

[my2rotties]

Bless you for saving the poor old boy. Thank God you came along. I am in a very similar situation myself and it makes me so sad that an older dog would be abandoned in the first place.

The Glucosamine supplements generally take a couple of weeks. I always start my dogs on a higher dose and then taper it off after a couple of weeks. Good nutrition and love might just help a lot too. He probably has hardly slept while he was at large and in the pound too. I brought Brodie hoome last Monday and he has now just started sleeping comfortably.

Even if he is not going to do well, as least he can spend his last days getting fed and loved like all dogs want. Brodie is beside himself with all the attention he is getting. He gets home made meals twice a day with snacks, and gets brushed every day. He is starting to look like the handsome Rottie boy I knew he was.

Good luck with your boy. Lots of love might help a huge amount. Keep me posted on how he is doing.

[seldown]

I use glucosamine for my twelve year old lab/shep mix. He benefits greatly from it...along with two or three gentle walks a day. When he doesn't walk his arthritis gets worse. He has bad hips and the vet thinks he has arthritis in his back. I use Glyco-Flex from KVVET.

[mandy_moo_64]

Thanks for replying,can I just ask you, when you say you started yours on a higher dose, then reduced it after a week or so, how much more do you give them? I'm giving Lennox 1 tablespoon of the Glucosamine a day, and 6 Alfalfa tablets as well.Do you think he needs more than that?
He's certainly getting lots of kisses and cuddles....I can't understand how someone could've gotten rid of him, when he's so loving and affectionate towards us...they obviously didn't want to know him once he started to get bigger. I don't know how some people sleep at night, the way they treat animals.

Good luck with Brodie! :)

[flyballmom]

Bless you for rescuing this poor boy. He is very lucky indeed. If I had a large dog with symptomatic arthritis, I'd probably probably give 1500-2000mg of Glucosamine twice a day for the 1st 2 weeks, then cut back to 750-1000mg twice a day, depending on the size of the dog. Not sure about the Alfalfa-I'd stick with the adult dosing instructions on the bottle. You might want to also add Ester-c (500mg per day) and Fish Oil/EFA's. If things didn't seem to improve after a few weeks, and/or the dog really seemed uncomfortable, I'd get the dog on an anti-inflammatory. You could check with your vet aobut good ol' buffered aspirin, or ask for Rimadyl, Etogesic, Deramaxx...there are lots of them out there. Good luck with your guy, and thanks again for taking him in.

[Judi W]

Well, in such an extreme state and with the age of the dog, I'd suggest that you step in with Adequan injections. The nutritional supplements do better when they are started at a younger age and the dog has more time for them to become effective. Continue to use them, but do consider the Adequan which is the most effective.

[seldown]

I give my 60lb mix breed 1000mg daily, I started him on 1500mg after 3 weeks down to 1000mg. The product I use is called Glycoflex III for extreme pain. He is also on Rimadyl, I believe
100mg daily.
For some reason I am having a hard time locating Ester-C or vitamin C in a powdered locally for my 6 mos. old rottie. Anyone out there know where to locate it? I have tried PetCo (no luck but I wasn't surprised) Anyone order it online?

[poohbearsmom]

GNC and stores like it have Ester C... also found some in the supplement section of my grocery store across the street, but in that setting, you have to watch the expiration dates VERY carefully.

[chillam]

Hi mandy_moo

Just thought you might like to know that petplan have got a special insurance scheme for rescue dogs in the UK which your dog might still be eligible for if you took this out. As normally they dont insure rotties over 5 years old, this could well save you quite some money if he isnt insured yet !

arjo

[Anne]

I don't think pet insurance will cover pre existing illnesses though.

I also have a rescue dog (10yo) who has inoperable HD plus inoperable ACL damage. They are on opposite sides of the body and neither leg is strong enough to support the body in the recuperation period.

I have gone the way of Cortaflex. I also add Missing Link Plus and shark cartilage to her diet. I did initially use Gluc/Chon in both pill and powder form but find that the liquid Cortaflex is much better for her and she has showed a huge improvement.

If she has a bad day then I will give her 50mg of Rimadyl but I very rarely need to do that since she has been on Cortaflex.

Incidentally on her first vet visit after I got her, the vet suggested that I give her 100mg Rimadyl to keep her pain free for whatever little time she had left. This was nearly a year ago and she is very agile for her age now and rarely has pain even without the Rimadyl.

[LavenderRott]

My mom adopted an older poodle from animal control earlier this year. He was grossly overweight and had luxating patellas. He couldn't take more then two steps before falling over. A few months of careful diet and chondroiten and glucosomine and he was trying to keep up with her standard poodle and greyhound. They went for daily walks and mom walked him around her rather large yard twice a day.

The lady at animal control said that the dog was old and crippled and should have been put down when he was brought in. How sad.

Bless you for rescuing this older gentleman and giving him a shot at love and happiness.

[moondog]

Congratulations on your new friend! :) I'll strongly second Judi's recommendation to go straight for the Adequan injections, followed by maintenance with oral Glucosamine/Chondroitin. Adequan works extremely well and very quickly. It's worth every penny and then some...:)