# My goldens recent symptoms?



## BayBeams (Jan 3, 2010)

It sounds like his muscles and joints may tighten up when he is resting after romping around during the day. His tolerance to "play" just might not be what it used to be.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

You might try something like this, joint supplements to help him move a little easier:

Amazon.com: Nutramax Cosequin DS Double-Strength Chewable Tablets, 250 Tablets: Kitchen & Dining

Amazon.com: Nutramax Dasuquin with MSM for Large Dogs, 150 Tablets: Home & Garden

Amazon.com: Vetri-Science Glyco-Flex III for Dogs (120-count bottle): Home & Garden


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Nicpaige*

Nic

How old is your dog. Could be arthritis, etc.
Glad you are taking him to the vet tomorrow.


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## nicpaige (Dec 26, 2010)

Sonny is 9.5 years old, once again this morning he seems just fine running around playing in the yard and snow.


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## BayBeams (Jan 3, 2010)

Just like us human oldsters they play hard, they feel it the next day...that would be my guess.


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

That would be my guess, too. I expect your vet will talk to you about the different things you can do to ease joint pain and stiffness. There are many alternatives - from natural supplements to drugs. Your vet's recommendations will be based on your dog's health and history. But there are definitely ways to make your guy more comfortable. Hope this is what it is... let us know!


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## nicpaige (Dec 26, 2010)

Just returned from vets office. The consensus is that he has some arthritis in his hips. His rear back and hip muscles were all tightened up. He was given an injection for the pain and Rimadyl for daily use. They did a cell slide for his cyst by his ear and luckily no cancer evidence. He also got a chiropractic treatment. All vitals checked out good. He has another appointment in a week for a follow up. Im very much relieved at this point. Thanks for the well wishes and advice everyone.


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## boomers_dawn (Sep 20, 2009)

I'm glad you got to the vet so fast and got some treatment, hopefully that'll help.

I just wanted to add my bit of advice from my dog, who's symptoms sound familiar to yours:

You may have to limit Sonny's activity. Like he doesn't know he's old and not to overdo it until it's too late. Like I have to get mine to not run around in the snow like he's 2 years old or he'll barely be able to stand up later. It'll take some trial and error, but if needed you'll learn how much to let Sonny play vs. when to tell him to settle down. It's hard to get a balance. I learned to take Boomer for a leash walk for no more than 10 minutes. I hope things'll get better in the spring.

Also is it cold where you are? If it is, cold can aggravate arthritis, just something to consider in terms of where he sleeps and spends his time. I was turning my thermostat down to 60 when I went to work but I stopped doing that, just have to suck it up and pay.

Good luck with all your new treatments, hope Sonny's back to himself soon.


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## Claire's Friend (Feb 26, 2007)

I can not say enough good things about Glycoflex III, it has added years to my girl's well being !!! I would try it on him, give it at least 3 months. It is usually much cheaper on line or through mail order, I use KV Vet Supply. Hope he's feeling better soon.


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

nicpaige said:


> Just returned from vets office. The consensus is that he has some arthritis in his hips. His rear back and hip muscles were all tightened up. He was given an injection for the pain and Rimadyl for daily use. They did a cell slide for his cyst by his ear and luckily no cancer evidence. He also got a chiropractic treatment. All vitals checked out good. He has another appointment in a week for a follow up. Im very much relieved at this point. Thanks for the well wishes and advice everyone.


I'll be interested to hear how he does. I'm expecting to hear my girl has some arthritis developing next week when I take her in. Or maybe a bone spur. Either way - am relieved your diagnosis was something treatable. Hope he feels better soon!


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## nicpaige (Dec 26, 2010)

Well, I assumed he would have some very noticeable relief from the Rymadil 75mg (2x/day)but that hasn't been the case. He seems unchanged. I understand the glucosimine will take awhile but I thought the pain meds would help right away. Should I take him back to the vet before his appointment in 10 days to get some x-rays? He just seems like he is in so much pain, not yelping but not himself at all. I took him for a very short walk today, he usually jumps when I get his leash but he took some coaxing. We got one house away and he seemed to loosen up and walked pretty much at his usual pace. Got home and he laid down and he seems as if he has no strength in his back legs to get up from the floor. Then he will walk a little ways and seems much better. Im really stumped.


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## GoldensGirl (Aug 2, 2010)

Yes, definitely let your vet know what you're seeing. In my experience, Rimadyl works pretty quickly, like other NSAIDs. If it doesn't seem to help, you may need to try something else.

Sending healing thoughts and prayers for your boy.


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## nicpaige (Dec 26, 2010)

We spent two hours at our vets office. Sonny had full blood work up, x-rays of hips and spine. All blood work was very good, his x-rays showed fairly advanced arthritis in his hips.Switched meds to Metacam and Tramadol with an Adequin injection. He seems o be a little more peppy this morning. Crossing our fingers.


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## nicpaige (Dec 26, 2010)

Sonny has improved quite a bit since my last post. To be frank I thought the Chiropractic procedure was kind of hoaky. I have had quite a few chiropractic procedures and those little tools didnt look like they could be very effective, took all of 3 minutes and cost 70 dollars. They also recommended a cold laser treatment so I wondered if anyone had some input as to its effectiveness? It was such a good feeling to be greeted at the door by my best bud when I got home from work....doing his happy spin!


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

I havent had any pups do chiropractic treatment so I dont now how long it lasts. I will send a post to coppers-mom as her dog had several chiropractor treatments done for her dogs.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

nicpaige said:


> Sonny has improved quite a bit since my last post. To be frank I thought the Chiropractic procedure was kind of hoaky. I have had quite a few chiropractic procedures and those little tools didnt look like they could be very effective, took all of 3 minutes and cost 70 dollars. They also recommended a cold laser treatment so I wondered if anyone had some input as to its effectiveness? It was such a good feeling to be greeted at the door by my best bud when I got home from work....doing his happy spin!


Our Barkley did acupuncture and chiropractic treatments, along with cold laser at times for his severe hip dysplasia, spondylitis and general arthritic issues and did very well on them, to my surprise! This vet also gave him B-12 injections during these treatments in several spots on his body and that helped him as well. I was highly skeptical of all of this at first, be we saw such great results we kept it up until his cancer diagnosis. At that point his oncology veterinarian recommended we stop because these treatments were not consistent with chemotherapy. 

Did your vet recommend anti-inflammatory levels of Omega 3 fatty acids? Count the DHA and EPA numbers on the label only and dose up to 300 mg per 10 pounds of weight. Try to make sure the formulation you use is certified as pure and does not contain added Vitamin A, which can be toxic in high levels. If your dog is allergic to fish, this isn't a good idea of course. Check with your vet about this first and add it slowly to prevent gastric upset or soft stools.


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Nicpaige*

Nicpaige

Glad to read that Sonny is doing better!
How old is Sonny?


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## coppers-mom (Jan 9, 2009)

I'm sorry I've missed your post. Beaushel clued me in to Sonny's problems.

Copper had arthtritis in his his and shoulders, something causing a disconnect along his spine so his front and back legs didn't move in sync and just general old dog stiffness.

As as supplements, we used glycoflex III, fish oil and Sam-E (SAM-e?) which is for inflammation. He also took rimadyl and one thing I noticed is that Sonny's dose is quite a bit higher. Copper only weighed 65 lbs so that may account for some of the difference. If he took more than 75mgs per day it caused GI tract bleeding. Please keep a close eye on Sonny in case any issues come up.

They didn't want to try chiropractic therapy with him since we weren't sure what was going on with his spine. I chose not to pay for an MRI(too expensive and suergery not an option at his age and health) and X-rays didn't show anything. However, he did have acupuncture and cold laser therapy. I too thought it was voodoo, but it had an immediate good effect. He would walk better coming out of the office. On bad weeks or if he had done something to aggravate his condition, he would have up to 3 laser therapy sessions. I really think you should try it. It was $25 - $40 per session depending on how long they did it and it really worked. Even his ortho vet was impressed.
I also used an electric or microwavable moist heating pad most days on his hips and shoulders. It helped and he loved it.

I hope Sonny continues to improve. PM if you have any more questions.


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