Dog dragging nails on pavement/arthritis advice

[SandraBrid]

My 12 year old Basset X has recently been diagnosed with arthritis. The problem is that she's dragging her back legs and wearing down her nails. They're so short now that I worry she'll soon start making her paw pads bleed. Has anyone found a solution to this problem? She still enjoys walks and I've seen dog boots on Amazon but they don't look very strong and I don't know if they'd stay on.

Also she's just on Rheumocam for pain at the moment but the vet mentioned Librela. My daughter's dog is on it and she's doing really well but I've read some real horror stories online. Anyone got any experience ?

So I would be adjusting her walks. No pavement walking and driving to the park so that she can walk on grass. X

Is she on any joint supplements?

We noticed a bug improvement in feet dragging when ours started a decent one

Firstly, I have no veterinary qualifications and have never owned a Bassett 🙂

However, if my dog was struggling with her back legs I'd be straight back to the vet 🙁. In the meantime, I'd only walk her on grass.
I'm sorry you are going through such a worrying time with your beautiful girl, she's lucky to have you in her corner 😊

We live at the seaside so most of her walk is on sand. Buf we have a 10 minute walk each way to the beach. I don't drive so might have to consider getting a pram for her. But think it might be a nightmare crossing roads with her in a pram and my two other dogs too 😱

She's been on YuMove for a year or so but never noticed any improvement. But she's got much worse past couple of weeks.

Sand is also very abrasive so you might find that is also filing them down if she's dragging on that. But probably worth trying the pram option and practising without her first (this is what I did with my two dogs and my baby's pram before he was born).

After trying several makes, I used Pawz boots which stayed on well. I used to put a child’s sock underneath as extra padding.
Try Golden Paste as a help for arthritis pain and inflammation. Exercise is very good for arthritis btw.
i wouldn’t use Librella…check out on Facebook maybe.

Our dog did the same thing when she had hip dysplasia. We got her these boots, and they were the best ones we could afford at the time. If her nails are wearing down and you have no choice but to walk her on a pavement some of the time, then I’d waste no time in getting a couple of pairs.
They do wear down, but we used some duct tape round them to help them last a bit longer.
Doggy pushchairs were not a thing back then but I’d absolutely have a look at getting one if possible. By the time you’ve finished paying out for boots you could have bought a pushchair that will last much longer.

SlowTon Dog Boots for Injured Paws Waterproof, Breathable Paw Protectors with Reflective Strip Dual Adjustable Washable Non-Slip Shoes Comfortable Snow Boot Small Medium Large Dogs, Green (Pack of 2) https://amzn.eu/d/0GpWak1

I'm a veterinary nurse as we use librela alot- so far no horrendous side effects like those on the Internet, its largely just scaremongering! You would notice a change usually within the first, maybe 2nd dose , if you didn't notice a great change then you can always stop it. When starting it, she would need to carry on with the rheumacam but may get to a point she can wean off that and stick to just librela. Has she had xrays to diagnose? Did they do spinal ones? Bassets can be prone to spinal problems so could be disc related or spondylosis that is affected the us of her back legs. It might be worth looking into hydrotherapy too. I hope you find a solution that works for your pup 🐶 .

If you don’t want to do Librela, ask your vet about trying subcutaneous ketamine. My dog has been having it for 9 months now and it works really well for him, with the bonus being it is way cheaper too.
Mine wears boots quite happily- his are greyhound specific, but Zoomadog have a great range and are super helpful if you ring them. He might need something with help to pull his foot up.
Ddog also has acupuncture at the vets which really helps with his pain management

Our last pup (a golden retriever) began dragging one of his back paws when he was about 13 yrs old. Vet said it was probably neurological and because, of his age, advised against operations etc. So we bought a set of ‘boots’. He just wore one on his bad foot. They did wear out quite quickly but as they came in pks of 4, just exchanged it. We found more hard wearing ones but he wore them until he died at grand old age of 14 + a half. Vet also prescribed Tramadol for any pain.

We used liberella, for a year on our golden retriever, he went and stayed with my parents for a few weeks and missed a jab and he was like a new dog.. we hadn’t noticed a decline in him and just out his slowing down to old age, but when he missed a jab he was back to being our bouncy old boy. So we binned it off for the next 18 months until he passed away, so on those ground's I wouldn't recommend.

i hope you can find a solution? Maybe shorter walkies now?

My patterdale/jack russel (and possibly something else) is 36 LBS, he's not overweight but is nearly 14 and has had joint problems since a puppy. Now he has arthritis, so thats making things worse. However, he's on Librela and has been for over a year and is doing well. He still takes Youmove but we've added mobility max and he's much improved taking all three. Walking him on grass helps and I have pit him in an old pushchair to get him to the park before he started having treatment, although I only have the one dog so easier for me.

There is a stronger Move

My 14 year old patterdale terrier has arthritis in his hips which causes his right leg to drag.

He has Metacam once a day and gabapentin twice a day. We were also told to give him a quarter of paracetamol twice a day. Then we got him some yumove for his joints.

It does seem to have improved slightly but we have had to shorten his walks to just 10 minutes. I only have a yard. If I had a bigger garden I wouldn’t even take him for a walk as it’s too much for him.

I will be totally honest, I do not have a dog. We had two cats on Solensia which is a drug for arthritis in cats. They both coped really well on it and it made a massive difference to their lives. I was very hesitant to use it as I had also seen some horrible experiences reported from some people. Unfortunately we lost the older of the two cats in April, she was nearly 15. Rosie the cat we still have on it is soon to be 13.

My vet said this stuff helps some dogs, some of the time. It might not be what your dog needs. Would canine boots be feasible, do you think?

We gave our elderly arthritic dog CBD oil. It was nothing short of miraculous, within less than a week she was running around like a puppy and even playing with other dogs which she never had interest in before. It definitely added years to her life

Muttluks are great boots. I also know people who have used “toe up” boots with hounds. Stops the toes dragging I think. I would only consider Librella as a last resort. I would definitely want to know what was causing the issue. Hydrotherapy worth a try?

I'm a veterinary nurse too and i came on her to say the same about Librela ,our practice has been using it for years and we have seen no reactions ,we have many dogs on it.
There may be the odd dog for whom it has little effect but that is rare ,for the majority it is life changing ,i would not hesitate to use it on my dog.
And for those worried about side effects of any drug in an elderly dog whatever the drug is ,when the animal is old and possibly on borrowed time if that drug improves quality of life however long that may be then surely that out ways everything else .

Thanks everyone for all the advice. We've ordered a dog stroller for her which arrives today. Thanks to the two vet nurses who commented too. I think we'll try Librela. Fingers crossed 🤞

I am sorry to hear about your doggy. My lab has advanced osteoarthritis. She is on gabopenten and previcox. Please do not use librella. This drug was initially intended for human use. But there were side effects so it was used on dogs. Majority of the time it will work but long term issues will arise. Re: it will affect the good joints whilst it’s treating the bad ones. The studies were too small when the tests were done and the liscense issued but I understand it is under review. Try zoomdog for a harness and a boot.

When our older dog started doing this we were referred to a specialist vet who fave him an MRI scan and diagnosed intervertebral disc disease. On her advice, we put him through an opera followed by months of crate rest, 3 x daily home physio, weekly aquatherapy and it did very little good. If we had our time again, we'd have asked them to pump him full of steroids and had a less miserable final year of life.

But you asked about boots. We got some of these and they work but the dog hated them and they kept coming loose. When we knew the surgery hadn't worked we bought him a doggy stroller and he'd walk a bit and then ask to go in his stroller, which he liked.

My nearly 15 year old spaniel is on librela for a few years now. Is has made such a difference to her. She has an injection once a month and I don't need to check the calendar for which week we are on as I can see a noticeable deterioration in week 4. Week one she is like a puppy again wanting to play with toys.

I have a 10 year old greyhound who has rheumocam ‘as and when’ he needs it but I recognise now the dragging you mention in your post and I am going to give it daily. My question is shouldnt the vets provide a repeat prescription rather than take him in every time for a consult every time I run out which would work out v expensive?