Help, Watson's legs are really bad now...

[dhollister]

So my German Shepherd Watson is almost 13 and his legs/hips have been giving him trouble for some time, which was expected. This time, though, he seems to now be limping on them and not getting any better.

Here's the other big issue -- we live in a 3-level house (8 stairs up, 7 stairs down) and he ABSOLUTELY INSISTS on climbing them to be near me (I sleep upstairs) even though it clearly is beyond difficult for him to do. I've tried to put up something to block him, and he will claw at it for half an hour until he manages to scrape by.

What should I do? I was thinking of just getting a real fence to put on both the staircases and a ramp so he can go up/down the 2 stairs leading to the grass, but I know he will put up a fight.

It is very hard to see him like this... and I'm not sure what to do.

 

[Storee's Mom]

Not sure if he's on joint or pain meds, but I'd start with making sure he's got something like that.

My old dog was the same way, wanted to follow me everywhere. But the one flight of stairs was very steep and he'd always fall. So, the gate went up. I did a routine where he was locked in the bedroom for part of the day, with me on the main level otherwise, and in the bedroom for the night. While he didn't 'like' it, he adapted and it made his life easier not having to follow me around all of the time.

Try giving him a kong with cheese, or a bone to keep him busy when he has to stay away from you, make it short times to start then work up to some sort of routine.

The other thing you can try is swimming, it might help. There are indoor places in most areas, and then it'll be summer soon too.

Lana

 

[dhollister]

That's a good idea, I'll try to figure out ways to keep him busy and happy when I'm wandering around the house. I'll also look into getting a real gate to put up on the stairs for when needed, and a ramp for him to go to the grass, if I can.

As far as pain/joint meds go, are those prescription things I should go see the vet about?

 

[nuvetmarie]

You can do an baby asprin each day

Many vets will start a dog off on 1 baby asprin ( 81 mg) 1 per 8 hours ..
You could give him 1 per day and make sure he has some cheese or a little treat with the asprin. See if this helps a bit.

Otherwise, you can visit the VET and he/she will offer you Remadyl for pain and inflammation. ( this is a anti-inflammatory drug by RX only from the VET)
The cost is about .75 cents to 1.00 per pill.

I would try the baby asprin first. ( you know, the old Bayer Brand)

I get many Senior Citizen canines here at my Doggie Hotel..

Let me know if you try the baby asprin. Give it at least 4-5 days before your rule it out as a failure. Ok.??

 

[bubbatd]

At his age and for quality of life .... I'd be tempted to let him do whatever he feels he can do . Us oldsters can put up with pain when the results make us happy . When my old Golden wanted to go in the car with us .... I helped him in .

 

[Jynx]

I feel your pain. I have an almost 13 yr old GSD, Sami, who had a couple of knee surgeries about 6 years ago, arthritis has set in, and I'm sure she has some spinal issues going on (as in DM),,she is one tough dog tho, and insists on coming upstairs to sleep every nite. If blocked off, she has an absolute hissy fit and no one will get any sleep )

Anyhow, I'm lucky in that its upstairs only at nite,,but I also have a huge deck that we designed "just" for the dawgs ) it has one step down out the door, another step down to a lower level, and 3 very very WIDE steps to the grass..

She takes it slow and we monitor the stairs for her and she seems to be doing fine with this. When my other two gsd's had issues with stairs outside, the husband built a ramp out of plywood and lined it with that indoor/outdoor grass stuff, this worked great for them.

My dogs have always been on supplements which I think help immensely. Right now I have Sami on meloxicalm which is the human form of metacam for dogs. Ask your vet about it, I get it at walmart pharmacy very very cheaply. You can only get 7.5 mg pills which I cut in half and she get's one a day she weighs around 73lbs..But again, ask your vet and you have to get a prescription as well..

There are many other supplements for joint pain over the counter as well.

Good luck, it certainly heartbreaking our dogs don't live as long as we'd like them to.
Diane

 

[Dana1384]

You could always try a Glucosamine, Chondroitin supplement. My almost 9 year old golden is on it. She has been taking it for about a month, and she is a lot more active and playful then she was. the brand I use is Flexicose and you can find it on ebay for about 20 bucks for about a month supply, or you can talk to your vet about treatment.