Help for arthritic Barney

[leli]

Hi, I am asking for help here about my labrador Barney who is 10 and a half.

He has had arthritis since he was a puppy. At 18 months he had arthroscopy and bone fragments removed from his elbow and we were told then he would develop more pain and joint problems as he ages. He has. He limps and often just lies down rather than walks, presumably because of pain. He also licks his legs and feet a lot which we believe is to soothe pain. For a few years he has been prescribed both Metacam and Tramadol to help manage his pain. The vet said that another drug, Amandine, would add to the pain neutralising effect but unfortunately when we tried it Barney began falling over and just felt as if he was on another planet so on vet’s advice we discontinued it.

In our main life we live in a London flat with stairs up to the front door and stairs down to back garden.

During lockdown we went to live with my MIL in the countryside with a garden and a ground floor. MIL had cancer and sadly died last autumn. We work from home at the moment and have for the last year and a bit.

In the country Barney can go outside to the garden to toilet without a step and he sleeps in the kitchen and most of the day. It’s clear that he’s gone down in the last year, his head fur is now white and he gives the air of being an old fella. But he is still alert, loves his treats, eats his dinner with gusto and the vet tells us that his heart, lungs and other organs are good. He does seem to be getting a bit blind though, his eyes are milky and we have to put his food bowl right in front of his face. Every now and again we come down to poop on the living room carpet and we just clear it up.

I’d say that Barney could go on for another year or more and just get a bit frailer.

BUT…..we reluctantly have to leave the countryside and resume our work in London in September.

I am in despair. I know Barney cannot manage the stairs any more because he no longer comes upstairs here.

I just do not know what to do. We plan to return to London in September.

Should we have him put to sleep at the end of the summer? Try to board him out with someone who lives on the ground floor? Or what? As our return gets closer I can’t sleep for worrying about Barney.

Any thoughts/ideas/solutions will be very gratefully received.

Please go back to the vet. There are other medications that can be tried. Also ask about Librela injections which are new but for some dogs has had fantastic results.

Is he on any supplements Riaflex and green lipped mussel is really worth adding to his diet.

Do make sure his weight is good - it makes a huge difference to his pain and his mobility if he is the correct weight.

Re the stairs can you just put a ramp so Barney can get outside easier. Another thing to consider is a lift you up harness. You can help by taking some of the weight as he walks.

CAM is a great place with resources, ideas and ways to make dogs lives with osteoarthritis better. Some great videos to wade through on their facebook page.

I would be looking at life style changes for a while yet unless the vet says the pain is unmanageable for him.

www.camonlineshop.com/helpemup-harness-orthopets/ this is the harness Polly mentioned. I used a double ended lead to make long handle rather than buy the proper attachment but was a great help to do stairs and support dog if they're unsteady squatting to toilet .
On CAM's Holly's Army Facebook group lots have come up with solutions to access so can perhaps help with ideas for things like ramps.

Possibly amantadine is like gabapentin that's better started at a lower dose than desired then gradually increased to avoid any initial wobbly side effects, though not all vets are aware to try it that way & I only know from the CAM talks with specialists who said as human drugs they don't have the reps giving info to vets like normal.

You could also consider a referral to an orthopedic practice or pain specialist if feel own vet isn't sure about treatment plan or available options.

2nd the librela injections. They have to be done monthly but we're seeing really good results too. Not cheap mind!

Thank you so much for your helpful messages and sorry to post and run. Barney has been to a specialist vet hospital for assessment. They recommended a course of treatment, stem cell injections into the joint, which they said has a 50% chance of success and costs £14,000 pa (for the injections and scans on a quarterly basis) plus extra costs for physio and other costs. We just cannot afford this and TBH I thought it sounded very experimental. It also would have meant me greatly reducing my working hours and loading poor Barney into the car and back frequently. I didn't appreciate them being patronising about our local very local veterinary practice.

I didn't know about Libera or CAM so I am reading avidly. I'm going to call the vet about Libera.

My main issue is bringing him back to London and him having to manage the stairs - which he now just cannot do.

We had a vet visit today and our vet has suggested that a lovely local lady who fosters dogs might love to board friendly beautiful Barney during the week while we work. We could then have him for weekends. I am going to investigate this. Will keep you posted.