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Skyla's got arthritis


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On 1/22/2020 at 8:54 AM, BingBlaze n Skyla said:

Yeah,  the vets have now moved her off tramadol to tralieve which is still basically tramadol but its pet medication and more effective apparently so hopefully that helps too once it arrives 

BB&S   -  how is Skyla doing?    Thought of her when I read this article today  .........................   https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/carprofen-for-dogs-5-natural-alternatives/?utm_campaign=Content%3A Carprofen Pain Medication - 5 Natural Alternatives - [Non Buyers] Feb 6 (L2BnLf)&utm_medium=email&variation=A&utm_source=klaviyo&_ke=eyJrbF9lbWFpbCI6ICJjaHJpc3NpZTEyM0BidGludGVybmV0LmNvbSIsICJrbF9jb21wYW55X2lkIjogIkM0WXlWOSJ9

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On 2/7/2020 at 1:32 PM, wolfpup said:

She seems to be doing well , not happy about the pills tho , I guess they dont taste very nice so we have to keep trying new things to hide them in lol 

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15 hours ago, BingBlaze n Skyla said:

She seems to be doing well , not happy about the pills tho , I guess they dont taste very nice so we have to keep trying new things to hide them in lol 

We found cheddar cheese works well,   -  with a little dollop of seriously strong on to top to ensure the tablet stays inside the cheddar.     With another dog Louie, a borsoi, I had to resort to half a cadbury's caramel  -  stuck the tablet inside the caramel - it was the only way he could not extract the tablet and spit it out   -   it was a toss up which was worse, him not taking the tablet  or him having the very small amount of chocolate.    He thrived on it, finally going over the bridge at 12.5 years old  - a really good age for such a large dog.

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She'll take it in something for a couple of days before she gets wise to it and refuses 🙄 I totally understand what you mean about the choice , I wonder if cadbury caramel would work with skyla , she really hates the taste tho so not sure if it'll hide it enough 

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Louie would walk through fire to get the smallest amount of human chocolate,  I would tempt him first with some doggie choc, letting hm first smell the caramel, ensuring the whole tablet was covered in the caramel  (i.e. nothing sticking out  - messy, but worth it)  - then after teasing him enough with the caramel I would give it to him  ............  it was swallowed without even touching the sides.     To him it became his highest level treat.

Got to be worth a try.

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  • 8 months later...

An update - we went back yesterday for blood tests to check her levels, sadly her kidney and liver levels are elevated she is now on medication to help try and bring that down however we do need to keep her on her pain meds , she actually now needs a slightly reduced metacam dose but we need to increase her tralieve dosage , she is back again in 2 months for more bloods to check where we're at 

20201014_164059.jpg

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  • 1 month later...
  • 1 month later...

Poor girl! Hope she keeps feeling well, it sounds like her vet is on top of it.

Dealing with joint issues over here in the US, too...our life involves:

- carprofen, which is an NSAID ( half-dose broken into his kibble once per day. I experimented to find lowest dose to keep him comfortable)

- dasuquin supplement (recommended by vet)

- XL memory foam orthopedic dog bed ... he loves his bed

- a thick cushion (8” high) that he uses to climb in/ jump out of car (we first tried a ramp but it was so heavy and hard to use! cushion, I pick up with one hand and throw it in the back)

we are watching his weight too...extra weight is hard on the joints. That means, no more eating human snacks together 😞

 

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On 1/6/2021 at 4:29 AM, Shepsky5 said:

Poor girl! Hope she keeps feeling well, it sounds like her vet is on top of it.

Dealing with joint issues over here in the US, too...our life involves:

- carprofen, which is an NSAID ( half-dose broken into his kibble once per day. I experimented to find lowest dose to keep him comfortable)

- dasuquin supplement (recommended by vet)

- XL memory foam orthopedic dog bed ... he loves his bed

- a thick cushion (8” high) that he uses to climb in/ jump out of car (we first tried a ramp but it was so heavy and hard to use! cushion, I pick up with one hand and throw it in the back)

we are watching his weight too...extra weight is hard on the joints. That means, no more eating human snacks together 😞

 

Its awful isn't it , took look at her and how she acts you wouldn't even  know she had any issues which makes it even worse really , at least if she was showing her age it would be easier to get my head around it all , she has a memory foam bed too which she loves and I recently got a new car which is 5 doors which I think will be easier for her to get into as she's back to the vets in Feb for more blood tests 

Hope your boy is doing OK 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Wow, you got her a new car!

That's quite nice of you! 😀

My guy has his "stiff" days and good days.
On good days, he will even play Chase and run Zoomies in the yard.
On bad days, he gets up slowly and hobbles around for the first few minutes...and we noticed that sometimes an extra long walk, or too much trotting/running, will make him extra-stiff the next day.

The medications have side-effects like upset stomach, drowsiness...
so, I'm trying to keep the dose to the minimum and see how he can do with a low-impact, healthy lifestyle.

The way we give carprofen...I break the pill in half, mix it in his dog kibble, and mix in something like ground beef or boiled chicken.....he gobbles it all down without even noticing! (My theory is that the "fresh meat" smell drowns out the smell of everything else?)

Hope Skyla is doing well, and will have good blood test results!


 

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1 hour ago, Shepsky5 said:

Wow, you got her a new car!

That's quite nice of you! 😀

My guy has his "stiff" days and good days.
On good days, he will even play Chase and run Zoomies in the yard.
On bad days, he gets up slowly and hobbles around for the first few minutes...and we noticed that sometimes an extra long walk, or too much trotting/running, will make him extra-stiff the next day.

The medications have side-effects like upset stomach, drowsiness...
so, I'm trying to keep the dose to the minimum and see how he can do with a low-impact, healthy lifestyle.

The way we give carprofen...I break the pill in half, mix it in his dog kibble, and mix in something like ground beef or boiled chicken.....he gobbles it all down without even noticing! (My theory is that the "fresh meat" smell drowns out the smell of everything else?)

Hope Skyla is doing well, and will have good blood test results!


 

I know ! She's a spoilt dog , getting a car just for her lol 

Shes doing well she's had a few bad/stiff days and I've noticed occasionally her right back knee will kind of roll in when she's walking so ill be mentioning that as it doesn't happen all the time 

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I have been reading a lot of good things about the Adequan injections...
Vets really like them...very few/no side effects, and can actually repair and improve the joints. 

It's expensive, but you can save a lot of money if you learn to do the shots yourself. (They say it's not too hard, ha)
I am trying to work up the courage to do that someday...
I don't think he needs them yet, but I think it may be in our future!

Yea, my friend's dog (much older than mine) had arthritis and both of his hind legs did that rolling-in thing when he walked...I think he was 14 or 15 years old.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks wolfpup, really interesting article! 

He already loves beef trachea chews, and is taking Dasuquin (has glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM, green-lipped mussel)
I'm going to try making Bone Broth!

I do agree with you vs "natural"...
hoping to use minimal meds for as long as possible.

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Update!  Skyla went for another blood test yesterday,  she also had a bile acid test , vets rang today with the results and shes fine ! Bile acid results are absolutely fine which means no liver failure,  her liver level is still increased but not to the point where we need to stress about it,  she doesn't have to go back now until June , so rather than every 2 months we're back to 4 months between tests , I am so happy 

They shaved her neck more than i expected them to 😱 luckily she is fluffy enough that you cant really tell lol

 

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  • 1 year later...

So another update , Wednesday last week skyla slipped/collapsed and couldnt get back up again , I rushed to her and managed to get her up using a towel like a sling under her belly , rushed her to the vets who checked her over (by then she's walking but very stiff) was told to rest her for a few days and also get some blood work done to be safe , well by the next day she was acting like a puppy like nothing was wrong at all , then Monday came and the vets finally rang me back after promising they'd call me Friday when I chased it up and it's not the best news we could have got , despite her being absolutely fine after her fall on Wednesday her blood results have shown up with some abnormalities that without a ton of tests (more blood works , ultrasounds under sedation etc, etc) they can't narrow it down and honestly given her age and existing health issues we don't feel it's fair to put her through all of that , so we've decided to just enjoy however long left with her we have.  I just hope she continues to be the fighter she always has been and gives us a good while longer yet 💜

Screenshot_20220518-174711_Instagram.jpg

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Sorry to hear the news about beautiful Skyla, and I believe you have made the right decision - she has had the best life with you guys, just love her a bit more every day.

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