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Post by maryland on May 7, 2021 17:55:16 GMT
My German Shepherd is 8 yrs. old and healthy, but we recently noticed her toenails were bleeding. She was also dragging her back leg occasionally. Took her to the vet and he said many German Shepherds get arthritis in their spine eas they get older, and they start dragging their leg. They put her on glycoflex, vitamin E oil and brewer's yeast tablets for dogs. The medications don't seem to help much but she has only been on it for a month.
We took her back in today for a recheck and he gave us some pain medication to try. He said there isn't much that can be done as her breed gets bad hips and spinal arthritis. Another German Shepherd in the neighborhood is 12 yrs. oldand she started getting the same problem when she was 9 yrs. old.
Does anyone else have this issue with their dog and any suggestions? She doesn't seem to be in pain and loves to go for walks (which we have to limit due to her toenails getting scraped up). We may try getting a "dog shoe" but she probably won't like that. She is quite happy and eating well, so otherwise she is good.
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Post by magellen on May 7, 2021 18:02:52 GMT
Did the vet talk hip replacement?
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Post by peasapie on May 7, 2021 18:05:46 GMT
Did they do an X-ray to confirm the arthritis?
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Post by momof4grandmaof2 on May 7, 2021 18:10:42 GMT
After my vet confirmed arthritis thru xray he was on rimadyl for at least 3 years before sadly we had to put him down this past Tuesday because of a mass growing in his throat that was blocking his breathing and his ability to eat. He was also on Hydrocodone for at least 5 years due to a different issue but am sure that also helped pain. Also know of dogs on long term gabapentin for arthritis. The rimadyl truly gave my dog many extra years. He would have been 16 this July.
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wintersong
New Member
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Post by wintersong on May 7, 2021 18:12:47 GMT
Momof4 I'm so sorry you had to do that. Losing a fur baby is so hard. Hugs to you.
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wintersong
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Post by wintersong on May 7, 2021 18:15:34 GMT
Maryland I hope the shoe works. My GSD's probably wouldn't be too thrilled with one either.  Mine are younger than yours so we haven't encountered any issues yet. Let us know how things go, I am interested in hearing. |
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Post by Lexica on May 7, 2021 18:25:20 GMT
I had a friend when I was in high school who had a German Shepard that used this wheeled setup to support his back legs so that he could still get around and go for walks with her father as he had done since he was a pup. It was a sling-type device and he looked perfectly happy in it when I saw him.
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Post by maryland on May 7, 2021 18:33:17 GMT
Did the vet talk hip replacement? Not, he didn't mention that. |
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Post by maryland on May 7, 2021 18:33:38 GMT
Did they do an X-ray to confirm the arthritis? That is the next step. |
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Post by maryland on May 7, 2021 18:38:33 GMT
After my vet confirmed arthritis thru xray he was on rimadyl for at least 3 years before sadly we had to put him down this past Tuesday because of a mass growing in his throat that was blocking his breathing and his ability to eat. He was also on Hydrocodone for at least 5 years due to a different issue but am sure that also helped pain. Also know of dogs on long term gabapentin for arthritis. The rimadyl truly gave my dog many extra years. He would have been 16 this July. I am so sorry to hear about your dog. That is heartbreaking and I want you to know that my thoughts are with you. Please feel free to share happy memories/pictures of your dog here if/when you feel up to it.
I will ask the vet about the medication next time we are in. I'm glad the two issues helped your dog and gave him many extra years. I'm glad you had almost 16 yrs. with your dog.
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Deleted
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May 4, 2024 18:59:50 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2021 18:38:47 GMT
Our lab has this. He’s 13. We have to watch him on stairs as the weak leg can trip him up. Otherwise, he has no problem galloping to the the house for his after-walk treats. 😊 He does well on Galliprant for pain and a Joint Health Soft Chew.
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Post by maryland on May 7, 2021 18:41:47 GMT
Maryland I hope the shoe works. My GSD's probably wouldn't be too thrilled with one either. Mine are younger than yours so we haven't encountered any issues yet. Let us know how things go, I am interested in hearing. I will, thank you. We are going to Petco to check shoes today. Our dog shockingly weighed 97pd. today. We want to recheck her weight because we thought she was in the upper 80s. Maybe that part of the issue? Our vet is not having clients in the building, they come out and get the dog. It's harder to communicate this way, but I think this way is great for keeping everyone safe. The vet took blood and will call tomorrow. With the pain medicine, they like to check her blood for some reason. |
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Post by maryland on May 7, 2021 18:42:41 GMT
I had a friend when I was in high school who had a German Shepard that used this wheeled setup to support his back legs so that he could still get around and go for walks with her father as he had done since he was a pup. It was a sling-type device and he looked perfectly happy in it when I saw him. That's what my daughter and i were thinking we may have to resort too as she gets older. |
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Post by maryland on May 7, 2021 18:43:57 GMT
Our lab has this. He’s 13. We have to watch him on stairs as the weak leg can trip him up. Otherwise, he has no problem galloping to the the house for his after-walk treats. 😊 He does well on Galliprant for pain and a Joint Health Soft Chew. We are watching her on the steps now too. We don't want her in the basement (which is fine, she doesn't go there much) because the stairs have no carpet. But we have carpet on the stairs going to the bedrooms. |
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kelly8875
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Post by kelly8875 on May 7, 2021 18:49:23 GMT
Our GS is only 4, but it's definitely something we know is likely to come with age. It's pretty typical in the breed.
Now, our small Cavalier Spaniel has some pretty bad arthritis in her hind section as well (she's 13), we give her Cosequin daily, and it makes a huge difference in her. Have you tried that with your GS?
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Post by birukitty on May 7, 2021 18:53:07 GMT
Maryland, I admit when I had Holly (my GSD) it was several years ago. We got her shortly after moving into this house so that was 25 years ago. I have never heard of this type of affliction in GSD's. I have heard of course of the breed's tendency towards hip displaysia. (spelling?) While it might make sense that some elderly dogs might get arthritis in different parts of their bodies there must be ways making this diagnosis-like the X-ray mentioned by Peasapie. And is an 8 year old GSD really considered elderly? Holly lived to be 14 years old-8 doesn't seem to be elderly to me. But you did mention it happening to another GSD in your neighborhood at 9 years of age.
I don't know-if it were me I'd consider seriously going to another vet for a second opinion. Just to be sure.
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Post by Patter on May 7, 2021 19:06:24 GMT
We have a Papillon with very bad arthritis in his back. He is on gabapentin, carprofen, and cosiquen. He is 14 1/2 years old.
I have been giving my large breed boys cosiquen for several years to help as one does have arthristis in his knees already. They are 6.
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Post by Lexica on May 7, 2021 19:28:04 GMT
I had a friend when I was in high school who had a German Shepard that used this wheeled setup to support his back legs so that he could still get around and go for walks with her father as he had done since he was a pup. It was a sling-type device and he looked perfectly happy in it when I saw him. That's what my daughter and i were thinking we may have to resort too as she gets older. My friend said that they always made sure someone was home with the dog so that he didn’t overturn the setup and end up trapped. She said they also got rid of their carpeting and put in tile floors. She said she thinks it did help the dog, but her dad said the mom just wanted tile flooring instead of carpeting and she knew that appealing to him about his dog was the guaranteed way to get it. |
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Post by pepperwood on May 7, 2021 21:02:43 GMT
Our GS is only 4, but it's definitely something we know is likely to come with age. It's pretty typical in the breed. Now, our small Cavalier Spaniel has some pretty bad arthritis in her hind section as well (she's 13), we give her Cosequin daily, and it makes a huge difference in her. Have you tried that with your GS? I have a rescue Cavalier that was 14 in November. She started having weakness in her hind legs couple of years ago that has gotten progressively worse. She has trouble especially on hardwood and going up stairs. I did an Embark DNA test since Cavaliers have a number of hereditary diseases and learned she had the marker for degenerative myelopathy, a progressive "disease affecting the spinal cord, resulting in slowly progressive hind limb weakness and paralysis. The symptoms result from degeneration of the white matter of the spinal cord." Blessedly it is not painful but it sad to see my once active dog that loved long walks and agility having trouble getting around. Hopefully whatever your GSD dog has is treatable. |
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Post by gillyp on May 7, 2021 21:57:14 GMT
Until you know exactly what the problem is, may I gently say to keep walks to no longer than 20 minutes, on a leash, no running and no jumping. If you take her anywhere in a car use a ramp for her to climb in and out, don’t have her jump in and out of the car. Our GSD started dragging his back feet aged about 7.
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Post by maryland on May 7, 2021 22:19:14 GMT
Our GS is only 4, but it's definitely something we know is likely to come with age. It's pretty typical in the breed. Now, our small Cavalier Spaniel has some pretty bad arthritis in her hind section as well (she's 13), we give her Cosequin daily, and it makes a huge difference in her. Have you tried that with your GS? No, the vet didn't mention that. I will give what we are using a try for another month, then maybe ask him about this. Our neighbors dogs take this. Thanks! |
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Post by maryland on May 7, 2021 22:25:41 GMT
Until you know exactly what the problem is, may I gently say to keep walks to no longer than 20 minutes, on a leash, no running and no jumping. If you take her anywhere in a car use a ramp for her to climb in and out, don’t have her jump in and out of the car. Our GSD started dragging his back feet aged about 7. The ramp is a good idea. She loves to go in the van and goes with me most everyday on local errands (unless hot/freezing temperature). She has to jump in. A ramp would be great.
We did decided to take short walks instead of the 3/4 mile lap around the neighborhood. They built a new bridge connecting the two streets a week ago, so that would cut the walk in half and really help.
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Post by rahnee on May 7, 2021 22:30:00 GMT
Our 12 year old dog is on Cartrophen injections. He had one a week for 4 weeks and has a monthly booster. He also takes Metacam, which is an antiinflammatory. He is like a new dog. He was in obvious pain before, but you couldn't tell now.
Edit to add that is not him in my avatar. That one has just torn her cruciate ligament and needs surgery.
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Post by peano on May 7, 2021 23:45:14 GMT
Posie is 12, and while she doesn't drag her hind leg, the removal of a cancerous tumor in her hind leg has caused even more of an impediment to her mobility than just her arthritis. She takes Galliprant, Gabapentin, Dasuquin, and fish oil. She now uses a ramp to get up into the car. I've cut back her exercise by half. We installed those adhesive carpet treads on the stairs and I've got a sling to help her upstairs when she can no longer do it herself.
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Mine are younger than yours so we haven't encountered any issues yet. Let us know how things go, I am interested in hearing. 
