More bad news.

[Gabrielle_AnimalLuver]

Can't catch a break. And just when I thought I was almost out of debt. This is about the worst though. Had xrays done today to see why this elbow injury was taking so long to heal.

Somehow Cowboy has a moderate (as in we're already passed mild) arthritis in BOTH elbows. What this means for us, I'm still not too sure. The vet said, she can't tell me NOT to play frisbee, to give up what both I AND my dog love doing. Or to ask my 6.5yr old dog not to run or play anymore. That would be unrealistic. But, obviously, impact is bad, and frisbee and agility=impact.

I have to make an appointment for a return visit, so we can discuss some options. He started a very expensive medication today, not an anti inflammatory but "Adequan". It is supposedly a natural drug that lubricates the joints. We're going to start some new exercises to build up muscles to support the elbows. He's a pretty good weight, though he could be a tad thinner. And she wanted me to start j/d. Well, you know I'm not a huge Hills fan, so I explained that my current food is FREE but I am going to be getting him his own bottle of salmon oil. The weather is getting cold quickly, but I'm taking him swimming as often as possible now, and when it's too cold, we'll probably do the water treadmill. I'm getting one at work soon supposedly, so when I'm no longer in training I might be able to take him to the clinic I'm working at to exercise at like 75% off.

It looks like we can kiss our frisbee ambitions goodbye though. No more vaulting, no flips etc. I just thought he'd have a few more years before this happened. He's still young. I'm not really sure what to do with myself if I can't train with my dog.  

[Vegeta_Lover239]

~~

Awwh, I'm sorry Gab. D;
I'm afraid I don't have much advice for what to do, so I guess all I can do is give sympathy. *hug*
Hope that you and Cowboy find some solutions to your problems. Sounds like you're both having rough times...He's a very, very handsome dog, by the way. I love seeing him. <3

(I'm not much of a regular in the guild. I spend most of my time in the Pets! forum, though I do check around here every now and then.)

~~

 

[DeeSpark]

Oh that's no good I am so sorry!You both love agility and frisbee so much too. Is there any kind of fun thing you guys could get more into though that interests you like rally-o or something?

And well.... You could still play the occassional light game of frisbee right? Or is that still to much? Anyway hope everything works out well in the end for both of you.  

[Gabrielle_AnimalLuver]

DeeSpark

Oh that's no good I am so sorry!You both love agility and frisbee so much too. Is there any kind of fun thing you guys could get more into though that interests you like rally-o or something?

And well.... You could still play the occassional light game of frisbee right? Or is that still to much? Anyway hope everything works out well in the end for both of you.

We're definitely going to try everything we can to not completely give up frisbee. I'm really happy we bought the Adequan, despite the cost, from what I read few vets even know about it. It's semi-synthetic, so, it's a natural product but does contain a preservative. It works to prevent inflammation and more importantly, it can help slow the degeneration of his joints. It's an extremely safe drug, ,they said we can combine it with anti inflammatories but I'd like to use those as a last resort because long term use can cause dammage to his stomach as well as his kidneys and liver.

The only thing I was a bit wary about was my vet trying to push J/D. She said it has a much higher amount of omega 3's than I could find anywhere. But, I'm not too fond of hills. I'd rather try adding my own fresh salmon oil to my dog's diet. Especially as he's on restricted exercise still for another 2 weeks to allow the new meds to take effect and it's hard to keep him a healthy weight. Plus I'm so in love with Acana and then there's the whole, it's FREE for me now that I work at the store.

We're going to get new exercises to build muscle around that joint. Not sure if we're going to continue with laser but probably, depending on cost, when the weather no longer permits us to swim in the lake, we'll be going for the underwater treadmill, to help tire him out and keep him in shape without any strain on his elbows. At LEAST, very soon, I will be able to get most or all of this at staff price. In two months I can bring him to exercise at the clinic I work it, in several more months, I will be staging at the clinic where he does his physio and gets his meds so in the long run it won't cost me a fortune. Just...for now it will. I had nearly paid off my debt, On my next pay cheque I was going to be debt free. But yesterday's xrays and drugs cost me 500 dollars. That's about a month's worth of pay for me. My dad will pay me back for the xrays because he was the one who wanted to know but really, now I feel silly for not asking for xrays. And he even said he'd pay the drug, but I'm not sure I wana let him. It's a pride thing. I'm not a charity case, I know he's the family dog but it was MY choice to get the really expensive drugs because IM the one who's life revolves around this dog and the sports we do together.

Also, he will probably be able to continue doing skijoring/skootherjoring. Since it's not an impact sport and it should help with keeping a good muscle mass on him. We can also probably continue with dock diving, though we'll have to see how he reacts to it, since the dogs run quite fast usually. For now the plan is to hopefully keep doing those, and hopefully keep doing freestyle frisbee but maybe not compete in distance anymore. Which sucks because he JUST graduated to advanced and my brother and father really loved to do distance work with him. That's not to say I won't throw frisbee's for him, but, in terms of competing, I think that doing the distance AND the freestyle might be too much for one day.  

[SmoothSavage]

You have got to be kidding me.

I didn't feel like posting about it, since I'm really upset about it, but Riddle's elbow has permanent arthritis as well. sad We're not sure what's causing it. She's actually going to have an arthroscopy (no idea how to spell it) done sometime soon to diagnose exactly what's causing it. It could be two separate jump-down injuries, in which case we may be able to alleviate it a bit through surgery, but it could also be elbow dysplasia, and if its that there's not much we can do. I'm not sure when the procedure is happening, Riddle's orthopedic specialist is bringing in another specialist from Portland to do it, so we're waiting to hear back on when he can come. Depending on how expensive it is, I might have to wait and save up for it too. We're pretty broke after eight weeks of laser therapy and Adequan.

Gaby, the Adequan really is wonderful stuff. We've used it for Riddle's elbow and after her knee surgery. What exercises are you doing with Cowboy? The PT had Riddle doing doggy pushups, range of motion, and we massaged around the area twice a day. Are you going to be starting him on glucosamine too?  

[Gabrielle_AnimalLuver]

Savage Destiny

You have got to be kidding me.

I didn't feel like posting about it, since I'm really upset about it, but Riddle's elbow has permanent arthritis as well. sad We're not sure what's causing it. She's actually going to have an arthroscopy (no idea how to spell it) done sometime soon to diagnose exactly what's causing it. It could be two separate jump-down injuries, in which case we may be able to alleviate it a bit through surgery, but it could also be elbow dysplasia, and if its that there's not much we can do. I'm not sure when the procedure is happening, Riddle's orthopedic specialist is bringing in another specialist from Portland to do it, so we're waiting to hear back on when he can come. Depending on how expensive it is, I might have to wait and save up for it too. We're pretty broke after eight weeks of laser therapy and Adequan.

Gaby, the Adequan really is wonderful stuff. We've used it for Riddle's elbow and after her knee surgery. What exercises are you doing with Cowboy? The PT had Riddle doing doggy pushups, range of motion, and we massaged around the area twice a day. Are you going to be starting him on glucosamine too?

For s**t's sake, this is just getting retarded. If our dogs were the same breed I'd swear they were related. And ya, I was in tears when they told me. The worst part was, I got home and my mom was like, "oh well, he'll just live with it like me and your father do" and I was really pissed at her for not grasping that even in DOG YEARS Cowboy is younger than her. AND her life/career/hobbies don't involve impact sports, she's always been lazy and it really didn't change much for her.

We don't have any specific exercises YET. Because, I had actually gone in for just a laser and the xrays I got done after my appointment, by the time they were done, and we discussed options, the PT was done for the day. So I need to call to make a return visit. How many treatments until you saw a difference with the adequan? I probably will be putting him on glucosamine, but, I'm gona wait to discuss that with his vet. She did mention that, if we start everything right away, we might not know what specifically is working and what isn't. I'm going to buy a big bottle of salmon oil at work tomorrow and write down prices and concentrations of the glucosamines we carry to compare with what the vet has. I'm gona go take him for a swim right now. I'm trying even harder to get him out every single day.  

[pompoennetje]

Ohman, that's bad. I'm sorry to hear that. :c
I hope there are some more possibilities.  

[Vanilla eXee]

I'm sorry to hear about both Cowboy AND Riddle. I wish I had some suggestions or something, but sadly there's nothing I can think of. Hopefully some rest and supplements fr both of the guild's dog stars will help them maintain something of a normal life for what they're used to.  

[SmoothSavage]

We noticed a pretty fast improvement in the major limping with the Adequan/Laser, but she still has minor limping. sad We were already doing megadoses of fish oil thanks to her mast cell tumor, so we just continued with that. Do some research before you buy fish oil, they're not all made equal. You want a fish oil that's produced using molecular distillation- any other process uses unnecessary amounts of heat on the oil and will ruin the freshness and effectiveness. Also avoid plastic bottles, as plastic will leach chemicals into the oil. You want glass or brushed aluminum/steel bottles. Nordic Naturals and Iceland Pure are good companies. I actually only found this info out about six months ago- we sold horribly processed oils for years without knowing.

Exercise is tough for Riddle right now. Its too cold to swim, and she's still on restriction for running or jumping. Leash walks are all she gets, and its just not enough.

Have you considered things like rally for Cowboy? I'm looking into taking nose work classes with Riddle when we have some more money.  

[Skeksis]

Goddamn. Wtf Cowboy and Riddle, this just isn't even a joke anymore. eek

I'm sorry. I don't even know what else to say. sad  

[Gabrielle_AnimalLuver]

@ Skeksis, my thoughts exactly.

@Savage. Right now I'm using Grizzly Salmon oil, it's the better of the two kinds we sell at my store, but both are plastic bottles I'm pretty sure. I tried to find out the process they use but all it says on their website is "Grizzly Salmon Oil is gently extracted in a state-of-the-art production plant that handles nothing but high quality, salmon-based products. A totally enclosed and continuous in-line extraction process ensures the oil is kept away from air until it is pumped into your pet's food bowl!"

I can look into other brands, my old bosses were really good about ordering anything that people ask for, but someone just bought the store, so, hopefully she'll be able to special order it for me.

As for Rally-O, Cowboy flunked his second obedience class because he would always play dead during down stays. As far as I could tell, he found the whole thing incredibly boring, he was the class clown and he thrives on attention. Most dogs get nervous in front of crowds and performing gets harder for them. Not my dog, his best performance was in front of hundreds of people.

His limping is actually very faint, it only becomes obvious after he gets free and runs or if he goes for a really long walk. So my hope is that the adequan might make it that he can do those things without getting sore.

And the temperature is quite cold here as well. But only recently did it drop drastically, untill yesterday it had been quite warm, I thought fall wasn't going to happen this year. So I think the water hasn't gotten cold yet. At least Cowboy didn't seem to mind it at all yesterday.

Does your vet have an underwater treadmill? I know it's a lot more expensive than taking your dog for a swim, but I know if all Cowboy gets is walks, he gets really zoomy and he starts to run around the house which defeats the purpose.

Riddle has an Aikiou right? I use the tricky treat ball with Cowboy, it takes him a good while to get all the food out. And then I have the rats thankfully, they are very entertaining for him.

Edit: I had a quick look at both companies you mentioned. The Iceland one seems like they don't like Canada. The Nordic one, well I found a store near me that sell the human product, but I'd be willing to bet they are pill form and not oil.  

[SmoothSavage]

Nordic Naturals does make liquid fish oil for humans, actually. Who in their right mind uses the stuff, I don't know! Blech!

The fact that the Grizzly oil uses an oxygen proof process is hopeful. I'd shoot them an e-mail and see what they say.

Eek, I'll write more after work too. I got distracted by the new fish and ran out of time. xD  

[Gabrielle_AnimalLuver]

Savage Destiny

Nordic Naturals does make liquid fish oil for humans, actually. Who in their right mind uses the stuff, I don't know! Blech!

The fact that the Grizzly oil uses an oxygen proof process is hopeful. I'd shoot them an e-mail and see what they say.

Eek, I'll write more after work too. I got distracted by the new fish and ran out of time. xD

I left a note for my boss asking if we could order the nordic naturals. So now we wait and see. I can't order it on their site, but they do list two stores in my city that carry it. But, it's a human health store so I'm PRETTY sure that it would be the pills they carry, cause ya, like you said, non one wants to use pure oil. I accidentaly tasted it once LOL. I was preparing Rascal's night snack, I usually do yogurt and it was after I just started putting in fish oil I want to lick my fingers...eeeewwwww!

Pics of the new fish please.  

[Gabrielle_AnimalLuver]

Looked at my options at the store today. MY store anyways where I get 20% off. We carry the biologic vet JOINT, the Holistic Blend Glucosamine HCL liquid supplement, Jamieson Glucosamine cookies or Pet Kelp with glucosamine. Now I had written down which one had how much of what, and I left that paper at work. So here's what I remember. The Holistic Blend liquid has 800mg glucosamine, no chondroiton or MSM but a bit of yucca. The Jamieson cookies had the most I think, at 500mg per cookie and the directions said 2 cookies for a 40lb dog. It also has Chondroitin and I think about 100mg MSM. The Pet Kelp had a lil under 500mg Glucosamine with chondroitin (sorry I can't spell today) and MSM. There was also Joint Oats for dogs. The prices were around 23-28 for holistic blend bio vet and jamieson. 8-12 for pet kelp and joint oats. Not sure how much glucosamine the vet will recommend. Or how much that will cost.  

[Kipluck]

Wow, you guys, just... wow. I am so sorry. cry