Hi!  I know some of you RT folks have spoken on here before about things you do for your older dogs with arthritis......I am feeding our dogs Nutro food that has the glucosimine in it......but some days my older dog who is 10 still suffers.....rear left leg.....am wondering if there is something else I can give her to help her out.....she is my dog who is not a RT but is a Llaso/Poodle mix so she is about the size of a smaller RT......  Any tips, info or suggestions would be super.....  What about aspririn or motrin....???

Thanks so much!

Lynn

Our Dexter husky mix had arthritis in the rear legs. He was 70 pounds. Our vet told us to grind up 325 mg buffered aspirin with his food and it made a marked difference. If it gets really advanced then there are meds the vet can give you. Maybe just call your vet and ask before giving him the buffered aspirin, just to be safe.

I wouldn't feed Nutro.  No dog food that claims to include glucosamine/chondroitin has enough in it to do any good.  Grains can increase inflammation so I would feed a grain free food and supplement glucosamine/chondroitin separately.  You can use human supplements or a good one like Glyco-Flex II or III.  Omega 3 fish oil also is an anti-inflammatory, with a lot of other benefits.  I would hesitate to use Motrin without consulting a vet first  as I've heard that it's easy to give too much, making it toxic.

I believe Adequan is the injectable form of Cosequin. Dixie yelped today when I was toweling her off - her right hip -- I'm out of Adequan, so a definite trip to the vet to pick up a vial tomorrow.

Just some FYI, Lynn, about Adequan

Adequan® Canine (polysulfated glycosaminoglycan) is administered two times a week for four weeks. The drug is injected intramuscularly to ensure it reaches the critical parts of the joint. It goes to work in the joint in about two hours and stays in the joint for about three days.  With Adequan® Canine you should see signs of improvement within four weeks. Your dog may begin to act like the playful, active dog you remember

Note from Jan:  After a month of the twice per week injections, you back off to about one per month maintenance.

Orijen, Taste of the Wild,  Wellness Core,  EVO,  Nature's Variety Instinct,  Solid Gold Barking at the Moon, Timberwolf Wild & Natural, Timberwolf Ocean Blue, Natural Balance Potato & Duck,  NB Sweet Potato & Fish are some that come to mind right now.  They generally cost more, but are more calorie dense so you shouldn't feed as much.  Check the kcals per cup on the bag and compare it to the Nutro to prevent overfeeding.