Oliver's first vet appointment

[StephandMichelle]

Hi everyone.
Well Oliver had his first vet exam with Dr. Ian Cameron here in Ottawa. (I chose him since some people on here recommended him) Very nice and very prossional. He really takes the time to explain to you everything that is going on. Got right down on the floor and played with Oliver.
We found out that Oliver has some arthritis in his right back leg. We knew something was up as he was limping here and there. The doc spotted it right away and was feeling around there. He doesn't have it bad but it's still causing him some pain. He put Oliver in a high fish protein diet. I had never heard of this brand of food but it's called Purina (I thought they made crappy food) Vetenary Diets Joint Mobility formula. Anyone ever hear of this? Also bought some Osteocare Cartillage Biscuits. All this stuff was pretty expensive but we don't mind. If it'll help him then we'll buy it.
We also started him on a series of Cartrophen Vet shots. Has anybody had success with this? He will be getting one shot every 2 weeks and then they will decrease as time goes by.
He was given 4 shots yesterday to bring him up to date on everything as he was found as a stray.
Besides that, the vet said he was in perfect shape and has an excellent temperament.
He's 90 lbs at 18 months. Will he put more weight on? Maybe fill out a bit as he is a little on the lean side.
Thanks everyone!

[hokisteph5]

Maybe it's Monday, but I'm seeing a couple of red flags in your post. For starters, how does the vet know it's just arthritis and not HD? Were x-rays taken? He's only 18 months old so at this age, especially since he's been diagnosed with arthritis, you want to keep him on the lean side when it comes to his weight.

Another red flag is that it seems strange to me that the vet pushed Purina food. When my brother and SIL's boxer was diagnosed at 7-8 months with hip/leg issues, the vet put him on supplements, but didn't seem to change his food. If you do a search of the forums on "gycoflex" or "cosequin" or even "hip displasia" you'll find out more. At Samson's vet appt in September I asked the vet about supplements.

Also, I would do a search about the biscuits. I remember another member started a thread a few weeks/months ago about biscuits and the general consensus seemed to be that there wasn't enough of the "good" stuff in them to warrant the high price tag.

Sorry to be such a debbie downer and if I'm wrong about anything, I'm sure the other members will correct my misinformation.

[StephandMichelle]

Thanks for the post.
I'm not sure how he knows this. He said it was just by looking at his leg. He doesn't limp badly and it's not all the time. As far as the food goes, I'm kind of thinking along those lines that it might be something that he does to maybe make a little money? Not sure, but there are other foods out there with high fish protein in them that are much cheaper. I'll be having a look around. The biscuits, well I don't think they can hurt, but yes, the price was very high. 30 some dollars for a container of them.
You're not being a downer at all. I wanted some input and have now received it!

Thanks again!

[hokisteph5]

I don't think the biscuits can hurt either, but think you'll get more therapeutic uses for Oliver (not to mention more for your money) if you use supplements. I went to the Nutrition forum and found the thread I was thinking of about the biscuits. Good for you to research the foods more.

[StephandMichelle]

Thank you very much!! I will definately look that up! Can't wait to be able to post his pics! What a sweetheart he is!

[brunie's mom]

Originally Posted by StephandMichelle

Thanks for the post.
I'm not sure how he knows this. He said it was just by looking at his leg. He doesn't limp badly and it's not all the time. As far as the food goes, I'm kind of thinking along those lines that it might be something that he does to maybe make a little money? Not sure, but there are other foods out there with high fish protein in them that are much cheaper. I'll be having a look around. The biscuits, well I don't think they can hurt, but yes, the price was very high. 30 some dollars for a container of them.
You're not being a downer at all. I wanted some input and have now received it!

Thanks again!

In all honestly I think that this food is a waste of money.
It's overpriced food with poor ingredients...and you could be doing so much better buying a good quality food and adding your own supplements.

This Purina Veterinary Diet Joint Mobility food is nothing special. It has poor ingredients....the first 5 ingredients are : Brewer's Rice, Trout, Salmon Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Poultry By-Product Meal,etc.
It only has 351 calories per cup...so you will have to feed alot of this food. It contains Vit.E, Vit. C and Glucosamine.
These are all the things I add to my dog's diet as supplements for her arthritis along with wild salmon oil.

Both of these foods contain fish and are made in Canada, contain good ingredients...and you can just add supplements for your boy.

Go Natural Petcurean Pet Nutrition
It has a Salmon & Oatmeal forumula that both of my dogs did well on.

Also Orijen is the food I am feeding now. Orijen
It contains no grains and is high protein.

I agree...at the age of 18 months, I would be asking to have hip x-rays done. The vet does not know if it is arthritis or dysplasia without doing x-rays.

If Oliver is not neutered yet...have him x-rayed at the same time as his neuter.

Gina

[StephandMichelle]

Hi Gina,

Thanks for the reply. I looked at the Orijen and it looks to have all natural ingredients. I'm not sure where to find it in Ottawa though. I've looked at a few stores and they didn't carry it. I'll look at that web site again. Also, where would you buy these suppliments? Are they for canines only or can you jsut get them at a health food store?

Thanks!

[brunie's mom]

The Orijen food is relatively new in Ontario..it's from Alberta...and I know that it took awhile to get to Ontario.
Do you have a Global Petfood store near you? That's where I get all of the healthy, holistic type of foods. You could also e-mail the company and ask where you could find it in Ottawa. Sometimes the store locators are really far behind in putting in their information.

I know that many of our forum members use Gycoflex or Cosequin....but those are made in the States and we cannot get it here without it costing an arm and a leg and paying duties on it also.

I've always just used human supplements that I buy at the healthfood store for my dogs. China is 75 lbs and she get's 1 pill (500mgs) of Ester-C daily, as well as 2 capsules that are 1000mgs each of wild Salmon Oil, and 1 pill of gluc/chond/MSM that is 1,300mgs twice a day, and Vitamin E (400 IU) three times per week. The E, helps the Salmon Oil be utilized better by the body.

The Cartophen injections do help, but you may notice it very gradually. My Bruno had HD and he started the injections, and it helped him for about 9 months. We did them again when the pain was starting to get too much and he was having difficulty walking...and the second series did not help.

With arthritis or hip dysplasia...from all of the research I have done...the best thing to do is to keep the dog lean and even underweight a little, feed a good diet with meat/fish protein, add supplements and do regular exercise (swimming is great).

Gina

[StephandMichelle]

Thanks again Gina. I found a few stores in Ottawa that sell it and they are right beside our vet!
I'll get him suppliments also! Well he is a little on the lean side now so that shouldn't be a problem.
I have finally graduated to Junior Member, so if you wanna have a look at him, I posted pics!
Thanks again!

[happyjappy]

my lad has elbow dysplasia and is 17 months old. he was diagnosed with x-rays at 41/2 months old, we started the Catrophen then and he still has then once a month untill the cold weather finished here in the UK..he is doing really well, has full elbow extension and no pain or discomfort.....he also gets glycoflex and is kept a little on the lean side...

Lynne

[StephandMichelle]

Well it's still a little cold and damp here in Canada. won't be warm here for another month or so. Vet told us that we wouldn't really see any improvement with his rear leg until he gets the 2nd shot. We'll be able to see then if the shots are doing any good. We have our fingers crossed.

[observer]

I would agree with getting X-rays done when he is neutered. You need to know exactly what is going on, and you won't have to put him under a second time.

To the extent that this drug is similar to Adequan, it may take more than those first two shots to see a difference. That's why you have them more often initially, to get a loading period in.