Joint advice please.

[User07]

Hello,

I have a 10 year old shih tzu who I have noticed has really started to slow down recently.
She seems happy in herself but sometimes after a longish walk she becomes really slow, she seems stiff when getting up from a sleep and just not as quick as she once was. she is still walking but just slowly, we dont particularly walk fast as we have 3 children too.

It may be a case we wont be able to take her on our longer walks now.

I know I can get joint supplements easily but she has a lot of allergies and a very sensitive tummy.

Im waiting for a telephone appointment with the vet but Im wondering if anyone has any advice or suggestions please.

Thanks in advance.

[Floralnomad]

My dog has a sensitive stomach and I give him a supplement called Canine Joint Right , it’s a powder that sprinkles on his food , he’s been having it for years with no problems . My sisters elderly dog that doesn’t eat reliably and you can’t get pills down has gummy yumove and she’s been fine on them and lots of things upset her .

[User07]

Thank you. I will look in to both of them.

[ShaniaPayne]

We started noticing our 10 yr old terrier slowing down a couple of years ago. It turned out he had early arthritis which has got steadily worse as he's got older, but we're managing it with a combination of:

• Yumove joint supplements & joint specific food (you could probably just do one of the two but we stockpiled Yumove)
  
• keeping his weight at the lower end of the range to avoid too much pressure on his weak elbow
  
• daily pain management
  
• shorter walks, twice a day
  
• no stairs or jumping
  
• and, his favourite, weekly hydrotherapy sessions, which have had a huge impact - his 'bad side' was very weak but the swimming has really helped to build his core strength and shoulder muscles which takes the strain off his elbow.
  

It's a bit more time-consuming, and I have to be really strict with myself about not giving him titbits, but he manages really well now and sometimes forgets himself that he's got a bad leg.

[User07]

Brilliant thanks.
I think we will start with joint supplements and shorter walks. Today's walk was probs an 1hr 20 mins but we were slowly walking around a park and sitting while the kids had snacks for a good amount of this. I don't want her to miss out on these walks but it is about what's best for her.

[Louise24902]

Another one here recommending YuMove supplements - I work with dogs and recommend them to all my customers who mention their dogs starting to get stiff/arthritis having seen myself first hand how much of a difference they make and they've always come back and told me they've helped them too!

Also are sensitive on the stomach so shouldn't upset your dog😁

[Mollymalone123]

My older girl has joint problems- we started her in Yumove tablets and after a while it made a huge difference for her- before we had to give her loxicom almost daily for arthritis and she couldn’t manage steps at all.Now she definitely has more movement and will do a couple of steps -rarely needs pain relief anymore

[somm]

Are Yumove tablets generally available? Over the last few weeks our Greyhound has started to limp. He's an ex-racer, who we adopted at the age of eight. We have problems with him because he's scared of so many things, but on top of that I don't like to think he's in pain. We've now been in touch with our vet, who've said to take some photos of his leg/paw and we will be getting a phone consultation.

[Louise24902]

@somm you can get them in Pets at Home or can get easily online too!
Hope you dog starts to feel better soon!
If it is joint/arthritis related, definitely try YuMove, makes a big difference!

[User07]

Ive ordered some yumove tablets from their website. They actually had a trial offer on for £5 for 60 tablets with free delivery. I just had to fill in a form on their website then they sent me a code. A friend told me about it and I just googled yumove £5 trial. Hope that helps.

[Moondust001]

With my last dog someone recommended Synflex. from being a 13 years old using metacam every day for pain, my boy came off his tablets for the rest of his life (died at 16) and was noticeable faster and less stiff, and painfree. I suggested it to someone else whose young dog had developed joint problems to the extent it could barely walk and the vet had eventually recommended putting it to sleep - that dog has improved, and whilst it won't ever walk well, it now enjoys walks and it's four years later. I'll be honest and say that I was gobsmacked that it was so effective - I tend to be cynical about most things!

[somm]

Thanks Louise24902, that's good to know. Also Moondust001, will look into Synflex. Our boy was raced and then bred from for eight years, and made somebody a lot of money. He deserves to live his old age in peace and without pain.