Bingo’s agility – Page 2 – Second Chance AIHA Dogs

Keymaster

Hi Linda, I’m sorry Sadie is creaking. Yes I noticed that as the pred went down, Bingo did show different arthritic symptoms.

I think with my persistence and his long suffering, his legs seem to be a bit better with all the 3 legged stands and ramp work. He hates the 3 legged stands and he is made to do them a whole 2 times a day to his utter annoyance. The physio corrected the way I was doing them before in that I’m now holding his back knee joint in place while I lift up one of his other legs. The physio showed me that the way I was doing them before (not holding the knee in place), the knee simply popped out each time I lifted a leg. So I’ve noticed, whilst his knee still often does pop out, it does seem to be doing it less than before.

Now the ramp work, he LOVES because every single time he walks up he gets a treat. I can sometimes fool him into thinking I’ve tossed one down the ramp and he goes down to find it, but he turns straight around and comes up the ramp again to get his treat. I realised how many times I say “look” in that video. How embarrassing. But “look” is one of his favourite words. He knows that there’s a treat somewhere when I say it.

Yes, I like his new local vet. She’d be in her 50s (I think), originally studied and practiced in Germany and has been in practice here for 20 years. It’s a 2 vet practice and that’s very important for me. I was so very very tired of dealing with new vets (often young vets) every time we went in for something locally. We spent a good 40 minutes going over his history and character and I feel better knowing she’s getting to know Bingo. She suggested weekly Vitamin B injections for 4 weeks, to hopefully help with his energy and staggers , which were still happening almost daily, although very mildly – always at night again. They did go away after his first Complex Vitamin B shot for a week, but last week, after his second shot (which was only a B12), I saw a stagger and he seemed quieter again, so this last Tuesday he got the Complex B injection again. He was full of beans tonight, playing with his blanket until he’s so hot and panting, he has me freaking and confiscating them so he’ll settle down – I cannot be pleased :)

She went through all his supplements and said they’re all good and to leave them. She believes in pulse dosing with vitamin supplements, so he now doesn’t get any over the weekend. She also said we may change a few around in the future but to leave everything for now.

She also does homeopathy – studied this in Germany, so she’s one of very few certified homeopathic vets in Australia. So Bingo is also taking drops at the moment to see if we can make him less stressed, insecure and I think also to help with the staggers.

With the green lipped mussels, yes they are very available here, but I did find them on Amazon at

http://www.amazon.com/Zealand-Green-Lipped-Mussel-Caps/dp/B008DS2BL2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412843907&sr=8-1&keywords=green+lipped+mussel+capsules

The ingredients as far as I can see, seem to be 500mg of New Zealand GLM only, nothing else. That may be an option . Bingo still takes 2 x 500mg a day which is a lot for a dog his size, but only side effect is likely to be sloppy poos. Now I know that could be an issue for Sadie, you don’t want to upset her tummy. I’d probably try 1/2 capsule a day to start with to make sure it doesn’t upset her tummy. My other favourites would be gelatin (thank you Lynn) and turmeric. Turmeric is supposed to be good for stomach ailments, but some dogs are sensitive to it, so again, try teensy bits of anything before really adding in full strength.

Love Vally & Ramp Champ

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