darlene hinton

Hi All!
My 10 yr. old Boxer/Shep. has pretty severe arthritis in her
knees. It's too late for an operation to help (says vet) I've tried
several "Cartophen"? shots; saw a slight improvement but not much to
speak of. Has anyone had any success with serious Arthritis meds. on an
active dog?
Also, I'm really worried about the expense. My husband just lost his
job. Regardless, I will be doing something about it.
Thanks in advance for your input!


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supergoof

Sorry to hear about your dog.

Murphy has arthritis in one hip. The shot didn't do a darned thing for her,
and she can't take rimadyl as the meaty flavouring upsets her inflammatory
bowel disease.

We have had reasonable success with a rimadyl-equivalent, called Norocarp in
this part of the world, which we just give to her every morning in a couple
of pieces of cheese. It's cheaper than rimadyl, but still costs us about
$50/month to have her on 2 a day.

She didn't lose her limp completely, but she moves *much* better and has
definitely got her 'bounce' back. If she goes crazy with her sister playing
she'll still be very sore the following day or two. She recently had some
sort of anti-inflammatory injection for itchy paws after stomping around in
some blackberry, and that seems to have gotten rid of the last of her limp
for about 4 weeks and counting. Not sure what the shot was though, I'm going
to ask my vet next time we see her (it might be something to keep in mind in
case there comes a day when the norocarp no longer do a good job of
controlling her pain and stiffness).

The vet did say that the shots (assuming cartophen is what Murphy had) are
still helpful at slowing the progression of arthritis, so we're keeping
Murphy on them - she only needs one every 6 months.

We also give her a glucosamine supplement every day.

Good luck funding a good solution for your dog - it's often a matter of
trial and error, but hopefully you can find the right combination.


Rachel
(New Zealand)