Any ideas to help my 10 year old lab

[nellyitsme]

My lab is 10 and a half and hes struggling with his back legs. He has neuropathy in one leg and got arthritis in both back legs
He's on joint meds and painkillers too.
His leg with neuropathy in can give way easily and he can't always get up without a struggle or us helping him. We try to keep the walks short 15 -30 mins and keep him off pavements as far we can as his paw knuckles and it can rub on the hard surface.

He's a happy boy who everyone loves, and he has quite a character.
He seems happier in his comfort zone - on his bed with us nearby. We are trying to do what we can to help him live out his days happy and comfortable.
Has anyone any idea how we can help him?

Here he is

Bless him what a beautiful boy - I have a 14 year old Lab with similar issues.

He tends to go out for a sniff rather than a walk

We do a lot of enrichment with him so lots of scatter feeding, hiding treats, scentwork all in short bursts.

He also loves to sleep and chill near us so loves a pub visit, of a cafe visit.

We do take him swimming but due to his back issues he has a special life jacket so that holding his head up does not hurt his back.

I also have collies so Labdog has a buggy to go out on longs walks in - he is pushed in his buggy then gets out to walk sniff at interesting points.

He does see a physio and we have some exercises that he does to help his muscles but he only goes as the other dogs go for a sports session so not really sure how helpful it is tbh.

He wears a harness all day so it is easier to get him up if he does fall over or if he needs help to get up a slope. We try to keep him on flat ground and like you walk on soft ground.

We realise that everyday is a bonus but take his lead that life is till worth living even at a slower pace.

Maybe have a look at the "Canine Arthritis Management" Website:

caninearthritis.co.uk/

Lots of ideas about how to adapt things in the home for dogs with chronic pain/arthritis

Lovely boy

Have you got raised bowls so he doesn't have to bend his neck?

This group is fab for ideas for mental exercise; if you search for terms like "crate rest" you'll find ideas for those with low mobility www.facebook.com/groups/canineenrichment/

We had Rimadyl from vet, also used to put cod liver oil in his meal. Keep his weight down, not easy with a lab I know, they do love their tummies. Swimming is good, the life jacket a brill idea. A vet near us has a hydrotherapy pool.

. Thanks everyone there's some really good advice here that I'll look into. He's such a lovely boy and he's even got a smile. We know it's a smile as he grins like mad when he sees someone he likes. He loves going to the pub - he's got more friends than we have there! and he gets fed doggy treats.

We might try him in a trolley/ pushchair Where do you get them from. We didn't have much success when we tried one of those buggy's on wheels that you attach to a bike - he howled and tried to climb out - I'm sure people thought we were dognappers. He's older now and perhaps he might see the benefit of having a ride

He loves to swim - we're in the landlocked Midlands but we're surrounded by rivers and canals - we just have make sure he can get out easily. I'm going to see if there's Hydrotherapy pool near us
Has anyone tried a boot or some sort of support and protection that could help with the knuckling and the grazing to his toes?

Do you have insurance that covers ‘alternative’ therapies? My Labradors have benefitted immensely in the past from both hydrotherapy and acupuncture. Hydrotherapy I understood as it’s basically a physio thing but I was very sceptical about the acupuncture. I shouldn’t have been, it helped our arthritic old girl to live pain free til nearly 14. I’d definitely not hesitate to do it again in future (in fact our old boy is probably at the stage where it should be helpful now tbh) and so always make sure I’ve got the relevant policy to cover this.

Golden paste?
Yumove?
Acupuncture?
Support sling for walking? (Like on supervet after surgery)
Toe slings can help with the knuckling over.
Hydrotherapy?
Whelping pad for warmth?
Dog and I have Bowen therapy. Worth a try?

There might be an animal hydrotherapy pool near you. We have one in South Oxfordshire and it is a doggy favourite and really helps friends dogs who have arthritis.