Author Topic: my golden oldie- need advice  (Read 15623 times)

Offline gaagaa4goldens

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my golden oldie- need advice
« on: August 07, 2009, 01:57:20 am »
Hi everyone,
I haven't posted in ages. I joined the group a while back. We've been busy. I
just moved my crew to Utah and am in the process of looking for a home for us.
Right now we are (all 4 of us) staying with my parents. They are saints.
Anyway, with the move I had to change vets. Fortunately my mom also had a
golden (she just passed a couple of months ago). Mom's vet seems to be pretty
good, although they are a LOT more expensive here. So my other two goldens are
young and healthy, and I wasn't worried about moving them. Chase is a very old
guy. He is going to be 13 in December. About 5 months ago Chase developed
lameness in his two back legs. He would be walking and then suddenly his legs
would just freeze up on him. It was obviously very distressing to him. So we
went to our vet. Chase also has irritable bowel syndrome so the vet has to be
careful of what she prescribed. She concluded that Chase just had normal
arthritis. (although I don't know how it could be "normal" since it came on
soooo suddenly.) She put Chase on more prednisone. He was on pred 1x a day and
she upped his dose to 2x a day. He also takes metrinidozale.
When we moved here I immediately got an appointment for Chase at MOm's vet. I
aksed the vet about the sudden lameness. He said that is was most likely
arthritis and prescribed Cosequin and Rimadyl. This meant that he had to be
taken off of pred and he is now on metronidizale 2x a day for his IBD. I was
okay with Chase being taken off of pred, but I am not a fan of Rimadyl. Chase
has been on this new combination since the end of June and seems to be doing
okay. I don't know if the Cosequin is doing much. I know that there is liquid
glucosamin. I wonder if that would be better. I can really tell a difference if
I forget to give Chase his Rimadyl, but I still don't like the drug. ARe there
any alternatives? He still struggles to get up, and going down these stairs is
really hard for him. Sometimes I think that his feet will go right out from
under him. Unfortunately, my parents house has stairs to get down to the back
yard. I know this was a long email, but I just need to be certain that I am
doing everything I can for Chase. He really is my best friend. I know the
poeple of this group understand this. It is so hard to see your baby get old and
hurt. I just want to make him as comfortable as I can. To those of you who take
the time to read this monster email I ask you this question. If Chase were your
dog would you do anything differently? Any advice is greatly appreciated.


Offline patrick

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Re: my golden oldie- need advice
« Reply #1 on: August 07, 2009, 06:21:19 am »
Long term prednisone  Rimadyl - both drugs have negative effects  Prednisone is NOT a benign drug by any means If the rimadyl is helping then keep using it.  It is distressing to watch our 'children' get old  The best you can do is keep him comfortable at this point and enjoy what time you have left together

Offline sc.trojans

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Re: my golden oldie- need advice
« Reply #2 on: August 07, 2009, 06:14:31 pm »

All depends on your budget really.....

If you need to stick with an NSAID, then the orthopedic specialists around me all advocate Previcox as the safer one - you can request this from your vet in place of Rimadyl.

You can try homeopathic remedies such as Zeel and Traumeel - they alone may not be enough for your guy given how far along.

I am a big believer in giving a joint lubricant in addition to glucosamine.  So hyaluronic acid or Celadrin (Natural Factors is a good brand) are great choices.  For glucosamine, the best liquid one is Synflex in my view.

If these are tolerated with the IBD, then they could be worth it.

If budget allows, stem cell surgery is a great option. Is your guy dysplastic? or just arthritic?  Usually with such severe arthritis, dysplasia is involved. Makes a difference.... in treatments.

SC Trojans
with Gracie and Skylar