Arthritis in spine

I'm hoping someone may have some insight about this. Buddy was diagnosed with "bone spurs" along his entire spine in January. This diagnosis came after he suddenly woke up one morning with intense pain. An x-ray confirmed. He was given steriods and all seemed to be better. This Tuesday the pain returned. He's on another round of steriods and I purchased Dasuquin as a supplement to hopefully help with the arthritis. I'm also switching foods to Taste Of The Wild Pacific, I read online that grains may cause inflammation. Any thoughts on my food choice? It's on the way in the mail, I hope they will tolerate it.

I'm wondering if anyone has a Pug that has had this diagnosis, what you did or are doing to help and if there is anything else I can do? He's only 7 years old, so it seems we're in for a long road of managing this. Thanks for any advise.

My Ichiro is 7 too, and he is suffering from arthritis in his back as well.

We supplement with glucosamine / chondroiten (sp?). He takes rimadyl daily to help with pain. I keep him slender.

I have heard that foods like bell peppers can increase inflammation, so I avoid those.

I just found out yesterday that there is a certified massage therapist that works on dogs. I'm thinking I'll be giving her a call.

So, I guess I don't have much advice, but I'll watch this thread to see what others have to say.

My senior pug, Rhoda, who died last year, had pretty bad arthritis. I gave her a glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM supplement daily, and the pain med that seemed to work best for her was Deramaxx. One of those a day and she seemed to be almost pain-free.

It's so sad to see them suffer with something like that! I know the two times Buddy has suddenly come down with severe pain it was just horrible. His tail down, no interest in food, shaking, panting and wandering around like he's lost. This time my vet consulted over the phone at night and told me to give him a half of Rimadyl, it didn't even touch the pain. He spent all that night and the next morning in his crate, the only place he seemed comfortable.

Steriods are the only thing that help so far. That's why we are looking into trying to prevent pain than just wait to treat it. It sounds like we're on the right track. The Dasuquin is quite pricey! 150 tablets for $67.99 at my vet, online they are almost $100 for the same amount. But they have 600 mg Glucosamine and 250 mg of Chondrotin, they were very highly recommended by my vet. The dosage is 1 pill a day for 4-6 weeks then 1/2 a day as mantainance, does that sound about right for those that use supplements?

The kibble change is just because of what I read online. I would love to go raw but home cooking is not for me and the prepared raw is too much for us to spend.

Unfortunately we live in a very rural area and have no available chiropractors or massage therapists anywhere near us.

Thanks for letting me know we're not alone.

Buddy's Mom wrote:It's so sad to see them suffer with something like that! I know the two times Buddy has suddenly come down with severe pain it was just horrible. His tail down, no interest in food, shaking, panting and wandering around like he's lost. This time my vet consulted over the phone at night and told me to give him a half of Rimadyl, it didn't even touch the pain. He spent all that night and the next morning in his crate, the only place he seemed comfortable.

Steriods are the only thing that help so far. That's why we are looking into trying to prevent pain than just wait to treat it. It sounds like we're on the right track. The Dasuquin is quite pricey! 150 tablets for $67.99 at my vet, online they are almost $100 for the same amount. But they have 600 mg Glucosamine and 250 mg of Chondrotin, they were very highly recommended by my vet. The dosage is 1 pill a day for 4-6 weeks then 1/2 a day as mantainance, does that sound about right for those that use supplements?

The kibble change is just because of what I read online. I would love to go raw but home cooking is not for me and the prepared raw is too much for us to spend.

Unfortunately we live in a very rural area and have no available chiropractors or massage therapists anywhere near us.

Thanks for letting me know we're not alone.

Have you looked into Honest Kitchen? It's dehydrated (they have grain free option), so you just add water. I'm too nervous to do raw myself too so I've compromised and done that. They ship, kind of pricy but so far mine have done great on it.

Hooli has arthritis so we give glucosamine too.

Those tablets are very expensive!

I get the supplements from Costco, 150 tablets for $30. They are the exact same thing. He gets one pill a day, every day. I don't cut it back or anything. You may look into these as a way to save money. Some of those supplements that are marketed for dogs are just marketing. They contain the exact same ingredients as those for humans. You just have to check.

I would recommend, if you stick with kibble, to at least flood the food with water, that way he can stay hydrated.

I will have to check out the supplements somewhere else. Your price is much better than mine! I have been flooding Buddy's food for about 6 years. He has always eaten so fast he would choke so we give him equal parts water to kibble. It also helped when he had a bladder infection and crystals when he was younger. I do that with Oscar as well. It's messy but no choking.

Jennifer, I've been feeding Taste of the Wild, both dry and canned, for a while now and really like it. Although Marlee doesn't seem to have grain allergies, I still avoid grains when I can. It's also affordable (comparable in price to Canidae and Innova). Honest Kitchen is a little out of my reach right now price-wise.

Thanks for letting me know about the food. I want to make sure Buddy will be healthy as he ages. Want him around for as many years as possible! Anyway, I looked up glucosamine and chondriotin supplements online to see if I could find something comparable. I'm a bit confused, what I see the most of is glucosamine (750 mg) and chondriotin (600 mg). Is that the strength that you give to your girl? If it's okay for her, it's okay for Buddy. What brand do you buy?

I buy human glucosamine/chondroitin that has 500mg glucosamine and 400mg chondroitin. I give 1/2 tablet in am and 1/2 tablet in pm. I just put it right in with their food and they never know the difference. I'm out right now, and need to get some more.

Sammy has arthritis in his spine as well as hip dysplasia. He's never had the acute pain that you see, though-- he does get very stiff in general and has weak hips and shoulders in general.

Okay, well. I am really giving a lot to Ichiro.

He gets one pill a day, and its 1500 mg glucosamine and 1200 chondroitin. But, it has helped tremendously for him.

So it sounds like giving the 750/600 wouldn't be harmful. I think that's what I'm going to try out when we finish up this very expensive bottle made for dogs!

Angus also has calcification and bone spurs from a previous back injury. It is getting really hard for him and he is having nerve issues. I just want to add my good wishes and ask for a few in return...