The Problem:
After Canine Executive Officer-Dublin’s cancer scare, (discussed in another Dog Tail,) we realized that we needed to treat his bone and joint degeneration. We wanted to do it naturally, with holistic remedies, rather than prescription pain-killers or anti-inflammatories.
Here's What We Did:
We did 3 things for Dublin:
1) Reduced his weight: We did this by cutting back on his food. Making sure he gets plenty of low-impact exercise. We take him out twice a day for walks. Snacks consist of green beans or carrots, which is hard, because he is an accomplished beggar. He has gone from 95 lbs to 84 lbs.
2) Supplements: We put him on a new all natural diet that is rich in Glucosiamine and Chondroitin, which are supposed to have positive impact on joint and cartilage health. As we read, this takes several months before the joint pain and swelling is reduced. It took Dublin about 3-4 months to experience the benefits of the Glucosiamine and Chondroitin.
Dublin is an 85 lb golden retriever. He gets 800mg of Glucosamine and 700mg of Chondroitin twice per day.
3) Lowered the impact of his exercise: We also realized that we needed to manage any abrupt movements that may aggravate his condition. Unfortunately, this meant we had to stop playing fetch with him as well, since he stopped abruptly when he caught a ball or stick. Over time, he got used to walking on the leash instead of playing fetch and on days when his leg would have normally been hurting from too much from running the day before, he now enjoyed going out for his morning walks.
We take him to a dog park and allow him to roam off of the leash most afternoons. We try to limit the number of times he chases squirrels, which ends in an abrupt stop for him as the squirrel escapes up a tree.
Here's The Results:
The end result is that Dublin has been limp-free for 6 months. He has maintained his lower weight, and most of all, he has all four legs and is still with us.
