blindness

[pattymcnamara]

I have an 8 year old rotty/lab cross. She has been very healthy up until about 6 months ago. She suddenly developed joint pain (mostly in the rear end but sometimes she limps on the front legs too). The pain does not seem specific to any one place but rather "general" with difficulty getting up and down from lying or sitting. She also has a terrible time getting up and down stairs. Now in the last couple of days we notice that her eyes seem "buggy" and milky looking when the light hits them at the right angle. She has slowed right down and has bumped in to things today. We had her to the vet a few weeks ago and she told us that she has arthritis and gave us a 3 weeks of medication for her which did NOTHING for her. We have since put her on a much touted joint medication (Renewal) which also does nothing for her. The prescribed medication was VERY expensive and was going to cause kidney problems which would require regualr monitoring so was not an option for us as we can't afford HUGE vet bills. I guess this is irrelevent anyway as neither medication has done anything for her. As I said, she has always been healthy and active and we have always fed her good quality food and no scraps of any kind. Does anyone have any ideas? Does these symptons sound familiar to anyone? I can't afford a whole lot of tests and second guessing at my vet's office. Thanks so much.

Patty

[mona_b]

Arthritis is common in older dogs.My one GSD has a touch of it.I had him on Glucosamine and shark cartlidge.But I now have him on K9-MX...It's more or less the same as Lakota for humans.It's all natural and doesn't cause any harmful side effects.And I have them both on Eagle Pack holistic dry.

As for the cloudy eyes.Sounds like cateracts to me.

Also,you can't expect the medication to take effect right away.

I suggest you give her the Glucosimine and shark cartlidge.

[Lucky Rescue]

I would say most big dogs have some degree of arthritis by 8 or 9. I gave my dog glucosamine with Chondroitin and it did help for awhile. As the arthritis worsens, you will have to try other remedies, like Metacam or Rimadyl. Yes, these drugs can be damaging, but depending on how severe the arthritis is, it's sometimes a choice of the lesser of two evils.

By the time my dog was 13, none of the drugs helped anymore, so I just gave him plain aspirin for his pain.

[suzyljank]

I just read your post. Sorry about your dog. I started out in a similar situation. My silky terrier was getting real slow when it was time to go outside or climb the stairs. We thought it would pass but as time went by it seemed to get worse. Needless to say we took her to the vet who at first thought it might be arthritis. I observed my dog a lot more and that's when I discovered that she wasn't seeing very much. We took her back to the vet and he said she was going blind. I desperately wanted to help her so we made an appointment with an eye specialist and his conclusion was the same......."visually impaired" is what he said. Moving slowly is sometimes more than arthritis. I know you can't afford to keep taking your dog to the vet but write down everything you observe about your pet (be thorough) and see a vet one more time. It might help. At least it will give you peace of mind to know that you are doing what you can to help her. Good luck with your dog, Suzy