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The Senior Dogs Project "Blessed is the person who has earned the love of an old dog." |
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The Senior Dogs Project "Blessed is the person who has earned the love of an old dog." |
Reports on Alternatives to Rimadyl
Following are reports about dogs who have benefited from alternatives to Rimadyl. There is additional information on arthritis therapies linked from the navigation bar under the heading Glucosamine and Other Therapies for Pain and Arthritis.
Glucosamine/Chondroitin in Commercial Dog Food
Some brands of commercial dog food havebegun including glucosamine and chondroitin in the formula. We received the following report from a website visitor:
"I have an eight-year-old Corgi-mix named Princess. Last year, she started having stiffness at the end of our long walks and had an exaggerated hind leg gait. We started her on Eukanuba Bone and Joint Maintenence for Seniors, which contains glucosamine and chondroitin. Within two weeks, she was acting like a puppy again. Now we walk two miles every day, and there seem to be no residual effects. I could have put her on Rimadyl, as the vet offered to do, but I wanted to take a nutritional approach first."
BVDPTATC@aol.com
Homeopathic Remedies
"Our vet recently diagnosed our senior German Shepherd with arthritis and insisted we take a free sample (week's supply) of Rimadyl. No mention of negative side effects. My husband is a homeopathic physician (for people) and refused to give our dog Rimadyl. Instead, he treated her homeopathically (homeopathic preparations have no side effects or drug interactions). Now, our senior dog is springing around like a pup again. Plus, I am giving her extra nutritional support as outlined in the wonderful book 'Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats.' I urge your readers to seek healthy alternatives like homeopathy, acupunture, etc., for their pets. Dr. Pitcairn's book has also been a tremendous help to me and to my pets over the years."
mindwks@shadow.net
Adequan, Cosequin, Synovicre
"Over the past five years, we tried everything for Alex's arthritis, bad knees and other assorted orthopedic problems At the end, he was on Adequan, Rimadyl, Cosequin and Synovicre. We initially had great results with the Adequan. It helped keep his joints 'lubricated.' I'm grateful we had Rimadyl to use; without it we would have lost Alex a year or two ago. Frequent blood tests showed his liver levels normal. My horse is on Syno-Flex Plus, the equine version of GlycoFlex; he's 29 and doing well. I tried the GlycoFlex on Alex and another dog, with no results. I think is all boils down to this: whether your dog is just starting to have problems or they're long-term, where the problems are, and what works for your dog. It worries me to see people just dismiss using Rimadyl when it's adding quality time to so many Senior Dogs. Keep trying different things until you find what works the best for you."
dobe4u@JUNO.COM
Adequan
December 1997: "I have a 9 1/2-year-old Irish Setter that has hip displaysia. He has been on Adequan shots for about 4-5 years. They are the best thing to keep the dog going. I really thought he'd have to be put down when he was about 4, but these shots are a Godsend. My vet started out with a series of a shot a week for six weeks; now I only have to take him in for a shot when I notice him getting lame. Usually, he gets one or two shots a year. I also have him on 1000 mg of Ester C a day, half a.m., half p.m. I find that really helps."
"lclark@PRIMENET.COM
Glucosamine/Chondroitin
"We live with two White German Shepherds -- Lilah (12) and Annah (10), her daughter. They are the BEST! However, several years back, Lilah started limping after exercise and when the weather turned cold. Her vet diagnosed arthritis, and she took Rimadyl for about two weeks. After that, we put her on a maintenance of glucosamine and chondroitin. We now give both of them 750mg/day and haven't had any problems since. I get mine at Wal-mart. It works for us!
leji2687@vvm.com
Osteo Bi-Flex
Breed: Shepherd/Rottie Mix (male, "Max")
Age: 7 years
Reason for Rimadyl rx: hip dysplasia
Length of time on Rimadyl: 3 months
Alternative used/description: "We first started Max on Rimadyl for three months. During the last month we suplemented Rimadyl with a product called 'Osteo Bi-Flex.' It has Glucosamine and Chondroitin in it. This product is for humans with joint problems. It helps to promote cartilage regeneration. We tried Max on just the Osteo Bi-Flex and never went back to Rimadyl. We give Max 4 tablets once per day when we feed him. Each tablet contains: Glucosamine....250 mg and Chondroitin....200 mg.This is the fourth month that Max has been on it. He seems to be doing just as well as, if not better than, when he was taking Rimadyl. The product is available at WalMart."
wcpettus@WCTEL.NET