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My beagle is 11 years old now. Always been in top shape. She has developed a bad limp and went to the vet yesterday. 500$ later and no real answer. They say it's just age .
Pain meds a few x-rays and a wait and see .
Right front shoulder and it seems to get worse after she gets up from a rest.
Hope for the best.
Sucks man. I'd try some CBD oil pills for pets.
My old lab had bad joints and hips and I bought him some. Expensive but I think it helped, He didn't limp as bad and he could atleast rest peacefully
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Sounds just like me. Mine is getting up there in age as well. Still take her out and feel it's better than just sitting in the kennel. If she starts to show her age I'll try and convert her to a house dog. She's been an easy keep all these years and will miss her enthusiasm when and if I have to do that....
Hope things work out for your dog...
I have a low level light therapy pad I use on my back. It really helps anyways I’ll put it in my oldest dogs hip he improves also
My pad is for horses
my old boy would come and go on having issues moving. But he always wanted to go, so I brought him with me to the blind. I figured if he was to soar to retrieve he'd not go after the bird and I'd be ok with that. He always went though. Cancer got him in the end, so I'm glad I took him as I still have those memories. I often wonder about vets, when it comes to different ailments. Seem to me give me $500 or 6 have a look and say when can't see anything, maybe we should spend another 1k to do more tests.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dutchhunter
Very common in dogs and people with joint pain.
It's sad when they get old. The first thing to go is muscles and joints just like us. Your old friend has paid her dues and deserves a gentle retirement. Keep her in the house and keep her comfortable with good food and moderate exercise. Our vet prescribed Glucosimine/Condroitin supplements for our old girl (Husky/Shepherd) that acted like an anti-inflamatory without wrecking her digestive system. It worked quite well,at least,keeping her comfortable until she passed a couple of years later.Quote:
Originally Posted by dutchhunter
I have never understood why people have such a hard time making the decision that's it time to have their best friend euthanized. I've had dogs my whole life and I've learned to recognize when it's time to do the right thing and let them go quietly in your arms long before they have suffered too greatly.
Their lives are short for a reason, they give you their all while they can. In trying to prolong their lives becasue of our unwillingness to suffer their loss, we tend to keep them around long after what should have been their expiry date. It's always a tough decision, but I have always felt it's what I owe them for what they have given me.
Dutchhunter I have been trying to contact you. Simba passed away from old age in June. Sadest day of my life as we were sole mates. I am looking for another beagle. Simba was from same litter anyone wondering.
Our older girl started to limp and favor a front leg. According to vet, arthritis in front leg.
We been using this which seems to have helped.
https://extendpets.ca/dog_joint_care
My 9 year old Lab has bad arthritis in his right elbow. $600 in xrays to determine what was causing his bad limp. Had two opinions from surgeons and surgery is not an option. We've done some adjustments:
- smaller walks, more frequent
- I lift him in and out of the truck
- 1500mg Omega 3 oil capsules per day
- Tri-Acta H.A. powder high strength for large dogs (contains glucosamine sulphate and glucosamine hydrochloride), msm, chondroitin sulphate, and hyaluronic acid.
- dog nsaid (meloxocam) and tramadol if he has a bad day from being too active
We had accupuncture done as well and this definately helped
Dutch,
There’s a lot of old fat beagles around that never got to hunt and enjoy their best life. If yours could talk it would say “thank you and don’t worry about it”.
Be careful with that meloxocam. It's very hard on the kidneys. (I'm not a vet but have dealt with that drug on my dog lately. I was told not to use it for more than 14 days. ) Better to use gabapentin for pain.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fenelon
I use tramadol too - it is a sedation/ anti anxiety drug. Using it now to keep my dog quiet as he had major surgery 2 weeks ago.
As I said, I am not a vet, but you may want to check out some of my comments with your vet.
Re: meloxicam . Yes you're right Sharon about the potential for kidney damage. Our vet monitors kidney function by bloodwork every year. I guess it's a trade-off for giving a nine year old dog some quality of life and pain management. We tried gabapentin and it did absolutely nothing for managing his pain. We were told that gabapentin works well for neurological pain. Didnt' do anything for his arthritic joint pain.
We use a U.S. vet and after our second TPLO surgery on our Burness, they recommended a new drug called Galliprant® to prevent anticipated Kidney issues. So far after about 3 yrs, blood work shows no damage. With the pandemic, we had to get our Canadian vet to order it in, as it's not in common use here but can be had.
https://www.galliprantvet.com/us/enQuote:
Sadly, 1 in 4 dogs suffer in silence from canine osteoarthritis (OA)1 – a chronic, progressive disease. Early diagnosis and intervention can help reduce discomfort and disrupt the progressive cycle of multidimensional deterioration.2
As a veterinarian, when you see a dog in pain, you want to relieve them of its suffering right away. You want to provide the best care but often worry about the long-term effects of medication. However, waiting to treat OA until later in a dog’s life may be less effective.
Dogs can develop sensitization of the central nervous system after OA develops, causing maladaptive pain.3
Galliprant is an effective non-COX inhibiting NSAID that treats canine OA pain and inflammation early on, and can be used as long as needed.**†