Bad Hips

[amalie79]

I know you're proud of her. I know I'm always so thrilled when Robin and Simon are accepting of strangers and their handling. It's such a weight off my shoulders.

I've heard of cartrophen and have heard good results for some people-- hopefully she'll have fabulous results!

We've upped Simon's adequan shots to every 2 weeks because it's that effective. As you know he's old, and his arthritis is becoming fairly debilitating; from what I understand, it's common to need it more frequently when dogs are in Simon's situation. But we start to really, really notice when it's running out. He has trouble even standing in one place without sliding down unless he's up on his shots. And then once he's had it, he wants to run around and follow the others (Have you seen the brochure for Rimadyl with the golden retriever running jauntily on the cover? I think of that every time!! ). When we first started it, he only needed the shot every 6 weeks or so. We were giving it to him every month, and so we didn't see the decline that happens when it runs out and didn't realize just how effective it had been. Now it's a night and day difference. Worth every penny. Our vet charges $30 a shot (it was $25 until recently), but I know of some people who give the shots themselves and have the vet order it for them.

Keep us posted!

[plebayo]

Thanks for your input Amalie

I've given LiLo adequan intermittently since the beginning of January. I didn't exactly stick to the 1 injection 2x a week for 4 weeks... I think she got an injection Dec. 28th, January 7th, January 15th, January 26th, and Feb 1st. She's been to my parents several times and hasn't been sore. The true test will be after tonight, I took her riding with me today and last time she went she was really sore after. She's had 3 of her injections go IM and the last 2 I did Subq... I hope it continues to work for her - she seems virtually pain free.

[Malli]

Goooo Lilo!

We got a piece of firm/dense foam to use for Oscar's bed - he has been readjusting a lot and having difficulty getting comfortable at night, it took him a bit to get used to it but it seems to be much more comfortable for him.
We have a new exercise plan as I was re-reading on arthritis and reminded of the benefits of moderate exercise, and its not a lot, but I think its helping
Aaaaand, this morning my Man busted him climbing up on the bed! Its naughty, but clearly his hips were feeling good enough to do it, which is great!

Suzanne, have you started supplementing with the Sasha's? How is that going?

[amalie79]

That's great news, Suzanne!! How is she this morning?

We've bought a twin size foam mattress topper, folded it in half, topped it with an old (very flattened) comforter as a bed...I just keep an old sheet on it so it's easy to wash.

And I am interested to hear about the Sasha's Blend, too; we've never tried it, but I've definitely thought about it...

[Malli]

We're on it I'm surprised you didn't read!

[amalie79]

We're on it I'm surprised you didn't read!

I did-- I just meant I'm interested in hearing yet another take on it! I think Simon's past being helped by nutraceuticals, but for future reference, especially for River. Gathering perspectives!!

[Malli]

gotcha

[plebayo]

So LiLo hasn't been sore at all! She's been to my parents to run around as well the last few days and she hasn't squeaked even once. I did notice last night she may have looked a little stiff standing up but she never cried.

I ended up not ordering the Sasha's since we were seeing the specialist - I didn't want her on any medication until he saw LiLo.

Once LiLo is getting the adequan once a month [hopefully once a month!] it's not going to cost me as much as I expected to keep her on it. I'm going to see how it goes with the adequan, if she starts having issues I will probably add the Sasha's because I'm sure it can only help things but for now I think we're sticking to the adequan.

We have a new exercise plan as I was re-reading on arthritis and reminded of the benefits of moderate exercise, and its not a lot, but I think its helping
Aaaaand, this morning my Man busted him climbing up on the bed! Its naughty, but clearly his hips were feeling good enough to do it, which is great!

The vet said it's really important for dogs with icky hips to stay fit. That's good that he could jump on the bed!!

I've been thinking about making them a couple of dog beds, or potentially just purchasing some over stuffed ones. This is kind of a dumb question - where can you find mattress/foam toppers?

[Malli]

if you buy new I think you're looking at a fair price - the foam I got was a used piece from someone's ottoman (spelling?), and the man said a new piece of foam that size would go for $140

apparently foam ain't cheap!

[amalie79]

Wal-Mart has twin sized ones for $10-$15. It's thin and it's regular foam-- not memory foam-- which is why we fold it in half and add the old flattened comforter. It's like the old "egg crate" toppers, but it's a "wave" pattern instead of the egg crate pattern. We also add a water proof pad between the top sheet and the comforter, since my cats occasionally decide dog beds are a great place to pee, and because Simon is leaky and they alternate sleeping on each other's beds. We got that Target for about $10. I've gotta run to the store right now, but I'll try to remember to snap a quick picture of it later.

So glad to hear the adequan's working for her!! It's just awesome stuff.

[airwalk]

I found a memory foam topper that we cut up and used for the boys beds at BiMart....you might also try Amazon or Overstock.com

[Malli]

these are good resources!