Has anyone ever heard of Prednisone being used short term (5 days) on a dog to alleviate problems caused by arthritis and hip dysplasia (pain management)? Has it worked? I always thought Prednisone, if at all, needs to be given longer than just a few days.

It would be great to hear from people who’ve actually gone through this. Thank you

Also: My 15 year old lab mix is running out of options for his arthritis. I’m just trying to gather info on how to help him. He’s got a great spirit still, but his legs have become wobbly and he stumbles a bit. I know what this means, I’m just trying to keep him comfy for as long as possible. Right now he’s on Adequan and Previcox … I’m not sure there’s anything left but Prednisone (which personally, I’d rather not give). Thanks.
Grinninh: Actually he is on NSAIDs. He is on Previcox. He used to be on Deramaxx but had complications after a year and we switched him to Previcox. He’s also on Adequan, which I understand to be even better than glucosamine. I inject him once every 3 weeks, but now I shortened it to once every 10 days to see if it makes a difference.

I’m curious about all those supplements you are listing. I’m currently looking at them and will address them with the Vet to see what the best course of treatment is. Thank you so much for your input

The best answer is by :
walking lady RIP Tom :
I can’t comment on the short-term use of prednisone for arthritis. I had a dog with arthritis and he was on Rimadyl for it, but he was on prednisone (for many months) after he got autoimmune disease.

If this were my dog, I’d find a vet who does acupuncture to see if that will help keep him pain free. It’s done amazing things for all my greyhounds. And it’s better than drugs if it works.

hello!
i am well rounded with the use of adequan and legend and of course the ever popular oral joint supplements. my 3 show horses get adequan every month, legend ever 3 months and are on platinum performance complete joint daily. they show and do well with that regimen. my "retired" QH who i still ride rather heavily 6 days a week (we jump on occasion and still do level 2 dressage) and still show but less competitively. he is on platinum performance complete joint and adequan every month as well. he gets legend every 6 months or so to give him a "boost". he is sound and happy but i feel as though he does not need so much joint support. he gets about the same joint care as my competitive AA level 7 jumper does! (he used to do the level 7′s as well

anyway, my question is should i continue the oral supplement or give just the adequan? should i try a less expensive and less comprehensive joint support supplement vs. the $135/month platinum?
i guess this is kind of an obvious question to some but its like….if he is sound and doing well…why change anything?
any help/experience with using just adequan etc. would be greatly appreciated.

This is was answered by :
M&M :
Really you should talk to you vet about that. I think that if your horse is doing great I wouldn’t change anything.

I’m particularly interested in what people experienced with the following:

1. Hill’s Prescription J/D
2. Deramaxx
3. Metacam
4. Adequan Canine

Any other things you’ve tried?

Thank you!

The answer is provided by :
Dale A :
My own dog started showing arthritic signs quite young, and so we threw everything at him we could.

The number one thing you can do to help your dog, is to keep him on the thin side of normal.

I believe I’ve seen some improvements with the supplements I’ve given (glucosamine, chondroiten, MSM), but I know there isn’t any hard/peer reviewed research that backs them up.

As far as NSAIDs go, both Deramaxx and Metacam (or its human counterpart Meloxicam if you can get the dose right), are good choices, and can do a lot of good.

We also gave a series of Cartrophen shots (similar to Adequan), but I’m not sure I can sort of the effects they had from the effects of everything else we were doing.

If the NSAIDs stop doing the trick, be aware that there may be other drugs (more expensive, but also potentially more effective) that may help.

My own dog is on a combination of prednisone, tramadol, and various supplements for his arthritis.

Edit: Feel free to e-mail through my profile if you have any questions I can answer

My mare has been on ReitSport HA-100 http://www.smartpakequine.com/productclass.aspx?productclassid=2486 as her all-around plus joint supplement. She has recently decided that it is poison and she cannot possibly eat it (She has a tendency to do this, nothing new). So I'm back to shopping again. I'm comparing only supplements that come in PELLET form, since she obviously is good at avoiding the powders. I'm doing the joint comparison thing through SmartPak and I've narrowed it down to these 2:
Matrix http://www.smartpakequine.com/productclass.aspx?productClassid=6933
4 in 1 http://www.smartpakequine.com/productClass.aspx?productClassId=5649
The Matrix has much higher concentrations of all the same joint ingredients as the 4 in 1, but the 4 in 1 also has omegas, biotin, and all the good "all-arounds". So I'm not sure if I should go for the all-around with less joint stuff or the one that is strictly joint stuff. I don't want to do more than one supplement since I already have a hard enough time getting her to eat it.

So what ingredients are important to you? Do you recommend one of these products over the other, or is there another product you like better? It's maintenance for a 15 yr old jumper, not any major issues or anything. And she also gets Adequan monthly.
Oh, and here's the joint comparison chart http://www.smartpakequine.com/charts/JointCompare.html

This is was answered by :
gallop :
Your horse's diet probably provides the ingredients in the second supplement. There is no documented deficiency of biotin in equines, so it is a choice to feed it based on the belief that it may help something like the hooves. But nobody feeds it because a deficiency has been identified through testing, since horses are just not measurably deficient in biotin. If your horse is being reasonably well fed, then the fatty acids she needs are probably already in her diet.
I wouldn't spend one dime on anything other than what you are looking for in a joint supplement. I'd choose the Matrix. But, I will just mention that some of what is in it should not be fed to your horse if there is any question that she is insulin resistant, since glucosamine should not be fed if that is the case. If your girl is for certain not insulin resistant, the Matrix sounds like what I would choose. But my vet would be determining this with me.

My mare has been on ReitSport HA-100 http://www.smartpakequine.com/productclass.aspx?productclassid=2486 as her all-around plus joint supplement. She has recently decided that it is poison and she cannot possibly eat it (She has a tendency to do this, nothing new). So I’m back to shopping again. I’m comparing only supplements that come in PELLET form, since she obviously is good at avoiding the powders. I’m doing the joint comparison thing through SmartPak and I’ve narrowed it down to these 2:
Matrix http://www.smartpakequine.com/productclass.aspx?productClassid=6933
4 in 1 http://www.smartpakequine.com/productClass.aspx?productClassId=5649
The Matrix has much higher concentrations of all the same joint ingredients as the 4 in 1, but the 4 in 1 also has omegas, biotin, and all the good "all-arounds". So I’m not sure if I should go for the all-around with less joint stuff or the one that is strictly joint stuff. I don’t want to do more than one supplement since I already have a hard enough time getting her to eat it.

So what ingredients are important to you? Do you recommend one of these products over the other, or is there another product you like better? It’s maintenance for a 15 yr old jumper, not any major issues or anything. And she also gets Adequan monthly.
Oh, and here’s the joint comparison chart http://www.smartpakequine.com/charts/JointCompare.html

The following reply is by : gallop :
Your horse’s diet probably provides the ingredients in the second supplement. There is no documented deficiency of biotin in equines, so it is a choice to feed it based on the belief that it may help something like the hooves. But nobody feeds it because a deficiency has been identified through testing, since horses are just not measurably deficient in biotin. If your horse is being reasonably well fed, then the fatty acids she needs are probably already in her diet.
I wouldn’t spend one dime on anything other than what you are looking for in a joint supplement. I’d choose the Matrix. But, I will just mention that some of what is in it should not be fed to your horse if there is any question that she is insulin resistant, since glucosamine should not be fed if that is the case. If your girl is for certain not insulin resistant, the Matrix sounds like what I would choose. But my vet would be determining this with me.

Hypothetically speaking, say some had an unused prescription for Adequan for a horse they no longer have, and got a new performance horse that they would otherwise be putting on in-feed joint supplements, would it be a bad idea to just use the Adequan on the new horse without having the vet come to the farm to examine him? From what I hear there are very few (or no) negative side affects of intramuscular Adequan, and no contraindications that I know of, has anyone heard otherwise?

The question was answered by :
Fun To Ride :
Keep in mind that Adequan is a short term solution. I have and do use it for my horses. However I use it as a boost before a show or if the horse needs a bit extra. I normally use Injectable Glucosamine and find that works the bests long term.

Would I use it if it was a left over and on a horse that I would normally use it on? Yes if it was not out dated. Would I use it on a horse that was doing fine on the Injectable Glucosamien? No probably not.

I am searching for any homemade recipes (items) that I can give my 2 horses for stiff joint problems. I currently give one horse adequan injections every 6-8 weeks. I am a big fan of homemade rather then conventional medicine. I have Siberian Huskies which I make homemade dog food for them..much better then store bought food. I know the time and effert that it can take…but it is worth it. So if anyone knows of anything that I can make that can help with my horses stiffness please let me know…I would love to try it. I know that I most likely would have to continue the adequan shots…but maybe I can prolong the injections past every 6-8 weeks.

The best answer is by :
Angie :
I go to walmart and get the cheap brand of tea bags and I cut one open and dump it in his feed each feeding. That helps a lot with joints. I am currently doing this for my horse because of his stifles. Good luck!

I have a 15 year old tb who is ouchy in his hocks, bucks, rears, doesn't want to go forward. Just recently found out he was on hock injections before I bought him. I am pretty sure he needs them.. what really are hock injections???? Like what is it that they inject into the hocks? At this point i don't think legend or adequan will help that much.

The answer is provided by :
hwillm1977 :
Legend injections helped my old TB gelding a lot.

Legend was injected directly into his stifle joint, the owners before me had injected Cortisone repeatedly into his leg and caused some major issues by continuing to jump him at 4'9" even when he came up lame. They used the cortisone to hide his lameness.

BUT, he required a Legend injection every 30 days to stay able to walk. (he still wasn't rideable, and at that point was retired at 16 years old, we put him to sleep at 17 because he could no longer walk from the pasture to the barn). The injections cost about $189 each and once they stopped helping is when we let him go.

We also had an equine chiropractor work on my guy every two months, which helped a lot.

You should have x-rays done to determine exactly what is hurting him, some injections may help him be pain free but wouldn't actually be helping, they would just be masking the lameness which can make problems worse.

Right now I am using Cosequin Equine which works great and have used Recovery Eq in the past which worked well but for me Cosequin Equine works better. I am trying to find the best of the best for my horse. He has arthritis, no synovial fluid in his knees, bone spurs, bone chips, side bone, etc. He is on Adequan injections right now every four days and will be on a Legend regiment every other month.

The answer is provided by :
Kelsey :
We use Majesty's Flex Wafers on my dad's horse. He has a paddle foot and often has sore shoulders or knees. These cookies are awesome. We have seen a total turnaround in him. He goes out and plays with our colt-jumping and trotting and turning sharp corners. I really believe these cookies make a difference.

Hey, I would like to ask this community of dog lovers a question that's very anxiety-provoking for me, but I would like to be prepared and just get a general idea from those here who've been involved with dogs and have experience.

My dog, who's 15 and otherwise very happy and easy-going, is slowly going blind and deaf. At what point do you draw the line?

I love him so much, and he's clearly enjoying himself still, but his eyesight is only 50 % and I would say the same with his hearing … I'm not sure if it's gonna stop at 50% but probably not, right?

He also got hip problems but those are completely managed by medicine, Previcox and Adequan. The vet said he may have an uncomfortable feeling like an old person would, but is not in pain …

I really don't want to get one-liners from people that say "Put him down"! Right now I don't see any reason. Besides, he's like my 'child'. I rescued him from a horrible person 8 years ago and I know I would never let him suffer. It's just gonna be so tough when the time comes …

I just would like to know how much quality of life is there for a dog who's blind and deaf (if he gets to that point) but otherwise seems to be having a great time. Right now he's still chasing stuff, he's alert, he's eating, drinking … etc. He's a real goofball

The question was answered by :
ms manners :
My feeling is that as long as a dog can still eat, drink, move around, and is not in constant pain, his quality of life is good enough to keep him around.
I dont think blindness and deafness are as great a handicap to a dog as they might be to a person. I had a sheltie who was born deaf, and who was developing cataracts, and he still functioned just fine. A dog still has his sense of smell, and can use it to compensate for a lot, plus he can feel vibrations (my sheltie would feel the floor vibrating when people walked, and could tell when someone was moving around).

I have a 14 yr old lab mix that I will have to make that decision for, soon, myself. Right now she is incontinent, and has arthritis that the glucosamine and choindroitin in her food seems to keep in check. She has some trouble getting up and down, and she tends to tip over when I brush her )
But she still eats, drinks, and even occasionally runs, so she is still here.