My dog's hind legs are killing him... what's that medicine called?

are you sure it’s not a much bigger problem that the dog is suffering through?

Glucosamine Chondroitin is what they recommend for people and animals that are having join pain. Glucosamine and chondroitin are manufactured by the body for joint repair/comfort/etc, but there isn’t yet strong medical research available that suggests ingesting these supplements works the same way. (If your body makes it, that’s one thing, but if it ingests it in a pill or other form, we’re not so sure). That’s my sister’s spiel (she’s a doctor), but my mom believes in the stuff and thinks it makes a difference for our 11 year old rottweiler.

Don’t use something you found “on TV”. Take him to your veterinarian and talk about dietary supplements and long term pain control. Several of the high quality brand of dog foods have “joint health” additives that seem to help. There are also anti-inflammatories like carprofen (rimadyl) that are safe to use with proper medical monitoring (baseline liver function bloodwork). Don’t use over the counter human drugs (aspirin, ibuprofen, etc) without medical supervision – many are toxic to dogs and almost all are toxic for cats.

It’s not a “bigger problem” I’m sure… it’s evolved over the years from not having a 5 foot standing vertical leap to not being able to “back up” anymore.

Also, about the dog food, I was actually unaware that my dog was considered “senior” after 7 years old. We’ve switched him out from the Kibbles and Bits he’s used to to a Purina senior mix that’s got stuff in it for bones and digestive stuff (one of his problems was also being able to tell/control when he had to go… luckily, it appears this food has helped him regain a bit of that control).

Please follow syz’s as usual spot on advice here. Your dog can have an improved quality of life.

Please take him to a vet. It really could be something more serious. Especially since he is an older fellow. If they say that it is somthing as simple as arthritis and the recommend a product called Cosequin then I would say that you can just get some Glucosamine Chondroitin at your local pharmacy. He may require sme medicartion though. Consult your veterinarian. If cost is a concern discuss that with your vet there may be other options available to provide your pet with the best quality of living possible. :-)

for god,s sake get him to a vet

Take him to a vet immediately.

Syz is our experienced expert. Listen to her only, asap.

@gail: ...and don’t listen to everyone else who said to take the dog to the vet? ;)

@Poof: Syz said it first. That would be all I’d need if I had a dog in distress. Syz saved my hide on every occasion that I had a medical question about Milo. Others have been very helpful on socialization, behavior modification (or not) and screen replacement. No insult meant to dog lovers, however.

Gail, I think in your case with Milo, the only behavior modification happening has been your own and not his :)

Anyway… seriously, I know you may think you know what’s wrong, and maybe you’ll turn out to be right. But it seems like you care a lot about your dog, so it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Poof; You think so? I tend to agree. I now leave a nightlight in room with litter box, among other things that my daughter thinks is the behavior of an idiot.

Last night I thought an elephant was walking up and down the stairs. It was M, chasing a fake mouse (that jingled) on a string. He eventually ended up in basement.. Now he is inside a vertical case where I keep old vynyls. I see a tail and rump.

Poor little thing, I hope once you get him on medicine, he will feel better and walk around again to where there is no pain for him.

I am a veterinarian and I would never advise giving medication to a pet I have never seen, except for Glucosamine Chondroitin. Glucosamine Chondroitin is a nutraceutical that has no side effects ever recognized and will help keep your dog’s joints cushioned. If your dog is overweight you can also put him on a diet, taking pounds off will decrease the pressure on the joints and will also make it easier for him to move around.

Some “senior” canine diets will specify that they have special ingredients for “bone and joint health” which usually includes Glucosamine Chondroitin.

Definitely tell your vet at your next regular visit. There are several diseases that can cause arthritis and arthritis-like symptoms which can be alleviated with antibiotics and you should rule those causes out first before just assuming that he’s old and has arthritis.

Hopefully your vets are more competent than the ones in my area. I’ve taken my 17.5 year old to several and not one of them could spot congestive heart failure or other problems she was having. All they could tell me is “she’s getting old”.

She’s outlived three vets. She’s had cancer since she was about a year old. All they vets can tell us is she’s going to die. (Duh!) But we’ve been keeping her alive, happy and active despite their prognosis.

We tried Cosequin for pain in her hind legs. It seemed to work at first but then it came to a point where we were getting her shots every week and finally had to go back to holistic solution. She’s done very well on Hyaluronic Acid. She’s up and walking around even with hip displasia, arthritis and DM, pain free. We also give her Yucca for pain inflammation along with a holistic cocktail which helps her quite a bit.

She also uses pure assayed Glucosamine and MSM. None of the health food store stuff was very helpful and the vet stuff was a waste of money.

I personally wouldn’t recommend ANY nutritional supplement unless I knew for sure it didn’t come from China. They’re placing all kinds of weird things in supplements. You can find some reports of what they’re doing to supplements online. I buy fresh products or assayed products whenever possible.

We also took her off dog food a few years ago when I discovered all the other crap (such as soy) and preservatives they were using as fillers. Now, I feed her pureed meats such as hamburger, liver and other organ meats as well as Quinoa. Cost about the same and she eats less. Much of her energy has returned. She’s bright eyed and alert.

I’ve had quite a few dogs in my lifetime. Usually around eight or ten they start to slow down and become more inactive. My Lab went strong for 15 years before things started catching up with her. Once we knew what the problems were we started taking care of her using holistic remedies. She’s still a very active dog.

I believe if you take care of your dog and give them what they need that they’ll stay as active and happy as they’ve always been.

P.S. We’ve also had some good vets. Don’t want to leave the impression they were all bad. Just the incompetent ones outnumbered the competent ones.

I truly appreciate your answer regarding holistic treatment for your dog. I have a Rottweiler-German Shepherd who is about 16 years old. She is now experiencing problems with getting up and walking around. She no longer wants to go out for walks and is sometimes unable to tell or control when she had to go. I am giong to try using holistic remedies. She had even refused to eat the regular dog food for days but would enjoy a piece of chicken I occasionally give to her. I just made her meal with oats, flax seed, chicken and sweet potato and she ate it up readily. I will go out and get her some glucosamine and see how that will help. Thank you so much for your sharing.