Hill's perscription diets

Here is a great link for you to check out.  Very informative regarding diet, supplements for dogs with arthritis.
[linkhttp://www.dogaware.com/arthritis.html]http://www.dogaware.com/arthritis.html[/link]
 
For my Rottie with HD I have been successfully managing it with proper diet and supplements...I have never used metacam or rimadyl  which IMO only mask the problem.
 
What I did for Athena & Dilon was to put them on the following
*grain free food like Nature's Variety "Instinct" or EVO by Natura.  Plus always feed canned foods when feeding kibble.
*Feed as many raw meals as well as RMB's with cartlidge on them.  A good book to pick up is Dr Pitcairns book.
*regular consistant exercise, no weekend warrier
*low impact exercise for cardiovascular health like swimming, hydrotherapy.
*Massage
*A good supplement containing glucosamine and chondroitin, MSM, Vitamin C-I give Nutri Aid GCM as a glucosamine supplement which has all I want in it .  I give Athena DGP which is wonderful for her as it contains anti-inflammatory herbs.  Dilon I give Rhus Tox a homeopathic remedy for stiff joints.    
*For anti-inflammatories instead of using rimadyl I use dried giner root and turmeric. I also rotate with Yucca root for a few months as well.
*Give a fish body oil supplement with Vitamin E.
 
For treats I give ZiwiPeak venison and green lipped mussel which is a natural source of chondroitin and other glycosaminoglycans.
 
Keep the weight off your dogs, with a boxer that shouldn't be hard.[]  Good luck and look over the site it's very informative.  My Rottie is going on 8, diagnosed with severe Hip Dysplasia at 1 year.  She is doing wonderful and the new Vets don't believe she has HD[]   One Vet thought they had the wrong file for Athena as this could not be a dog with HD!! especially the severity of her hips.
 
Good luck       
 

KB-
Cally has given you some great suggestions and I second them… and have used many of them on my arthritis boy.  
When we first got him he was yelping in pain due to arthritis and bone spurs.   I put him on a high quality liquid glucosamine  (I use liquid health brand) and my understanding is the liquid is more efficient at getting to the joints.  That said…it may take up to a month or more to see results from most glucosamine blends so maybe give the stuff a little more time.
I have also heard that less grains can help with arthritis as will keeping the weight down and moderate daily exercise.   He wasn#%92t getting regular exercise for the 7 months at at the kennel and now he gets 30 minutes in the am and 45 at night and does great with it.
 
We put JJ on VERY low doses of rimadyl for about 2 weeks or so and then just stuck with the glucosamine.  More than 5 months later we are still rimadyl free and no yelping or limping!!    
 
I feel ya on the hills diet and maybe the vet has seen fantastic results, but long term there might be a better food.  I feed Timberwolf organics and am VERY pleased with it.  They offer several grain free formulas (wild and natural and ocean blue).  The wild and natural has a higher protein level than the ocean blue.   Both have good levels of omega 3 and 6 and they also carry a liquid salmon oil as well if you want to add more.  Something like this or another company that carries grain free or a lower grain food with higher omega#%92s from fish oil might be a really good idea for you.  JJ still gets the liquid health glucosamine twice a day.
 
In the meantime…don#%92t stress…it may just take a little more time to see results!    
 
 

Thank you jjsmom06, I keep forgetting there are other grain free foods out there.  I think Solid gold has one as well. 

Hi
I have an 11 yr old Mini Schnauzer with horrific arthritis from lymes disease.  I, too , am a victim of Lymes Disease, undiagnosed for years by my doctor.  Both my dog and I are on glucosomine/chondroitin.  I can walk again and my knees and hands/fingers are practically pain free.  My dog is running and playing almost like a young dog after three months on the glucosomine/chondroiten capsules plus 1/2 a rimadyl.   I weighed the down side of Rimadyl but Heidi was to the point of being carried out to go potty and now she is a different dog.  Quality of life has to come into the equation.
As far as the vets selling dog food... they make a good deal of profit.  Many vets sell these foods to people for dogs with allergies.  If they said stop feeding foods high in wheat, corn, and carbs, the dogs would be better off and the vets would not make as much $$.
Carol

I agree angelwynd7...if the dog is in intense pain and suffering then yes I too would give metacam or Rimadyl.  But, for a dog with slight arthritis or HD/ED I would go the natural route.[] 

Thank you all so much for your responses.  I know I need to stop stressing but he is my baby and I hate to see him hurt like this and I know the j/d would be bad for his health long term. 
 
What is it about the grain free diets that help?  I was thinking of switching him to the Timberwolf's Ocean Blue anyways but even better if that could help.  I also thought about giving him their wild salmon oil. Can they get too much fish oil?
 If you don't mind me asking jjsmom, where can I get the liquid glucosamine? 
 I agree this supplement could still help and I will use it a while longer but I wasn't sure about the extra ingredients in synovi g3 besides the active ingredients(Glucosamine,msm,creatine monohydrate,perna canaliculus, omega 3 fatty acids), so I thought there may be something better.
 
The extra ingredients are:    Whey,Sucrose,Hydrolyzed Vegetable protein, natural liver flavor, marine lipid concentrates,citrus bioflavonoids, lecithin,manganese sulfate, zinc sulfate, magnesium stearate, silicon dioxide, alpha lipoic acid, grape seed extract, selenium.
 
What do you all think?  Would you be comfortable giving your dogs this supplement?
 
  I usually walk him for an hour in the evenings, is this too much at one time?  The doctor had me only walk him 10 minutes a day for the first week he was on rimadyl but then he said whatever Kahlua is comfortable with.  Right now he doesn't really play at all with our other boxer, he only cares to go on his walk and thats it.
 
Sorry for so many questions, I just feel like my vet doesn't understand my concern for ingredients, he just expects that his suggestion is what I will accept and do it, so it is hard to talk with him about alternatives, he is a great vet otherwise.  He was actually trying to convince me of buying j/d by saying the price isn't that bad considering it contained his medicine,[sm=happy.gif] he didn't understand that I don't care about the price, I care about its contents.
 
Thank you all so much for listening to me ramble and thank you for your suggestions, its very much appreciated.

I usually walk him for an hour in the evenings, is this too much at one time? The doctor had me only walk him 10 minutes a day for the first week he was on rimadyl but then he said whatever Kahlua is comfortable with. Right now he doesn't really play at all with our other boxer, he only cares to go on his walk and thats it.

this may be a little too long at one time for right now so maybe do 30 minutes in the a.m. and 30 at night.

Here is the link to liquid health:
http://www.liquidhealthinc.com/

They have a store locator, but none of the places I get it from are actually on the locator.   Usually holistic pet food stores or dog washes..etc. are where I find it.   I started with the equine 5000 series because it has the highest amounts, and now we are on the Glucosamine with HA.   The human products are actually found in nutrition stores around town and I have heard good things about those too.  
 The ingredients you listed aren't bad at all ...but it depends on the amounts (that is why I went with the 5000 equine series because the levels were so much higher.)

interestingly enough the hills j/d was the stuff that JJ's previous owner used for him and she said it worked fine...but I would guess that was only after his injections for pain and inflamation and after being treated for a infection in the joint. Being back in a crate for 7 months after she had to surrender him really made it worse. [&o]

I think the ocean blue might be a good choice to try.  I am just now transitioning them off the timberwolf bison and on to the ocean blue formula.  If you had thought of feeding this food anyway and don't mind the price []...then give it a shot!   If not then the ones cally mentioned are also great options.   Not sure what it is about the grains that causes more inflamation.  I have heard to also avoid tomatoes and spinach because of inflamation.

hope this helps!!

angelwynd7    I absolutely agree with you about the rymadil.  I am not unwilling to give it to him if thats what it takes but if there are other options right now I would prefer those. The vet said he shouldn't need it a lot right now since the xrays only showed mild problems but to me his pain sometimes seems to be a lot, but that could just be a worried momma.  His quality of life is the most important thing to me and that's why I want to try and find the best thing for him. 

Thank you jjsmom,  it does help.  I appreciate your input.  My other boxer is on the TWO wilderness elk because she didn't do so well on canidae, so I don't mind the price.
 
By the way your babies are beautiful.
 
Cali your dogs are beautiful as well, I bet they are all lots of fun.  I am thinking of rescuing a third when my husband gets home from Iraq but we will see.

My oldest golden retriever turned 11 back on Feb. 8 and he has some arthritis in his lower spine and hips.    I had started with two Glucosamine/MSM caps a day about 2 years ago I guess it was, when he first showed signs of being slower getting up and down.  Once up he is just great, trots instead of walking, etc.  Then after about a year I increased it to two in the morning, 1 at night.  A couple of months ago my vet said it would be okay to give him two morning and night.  What i do now is give him two of the plain Blucosamine/MSM in the morning and then two Osteo Bi Flex at night.  His other sups include a fish oil monring and night, an Ester C, a Vitamin E and a doggie all purpose vitamin.  I also started giving him a cranberry cap each day after he developed his first kidney infection back the first of June.  My vet and I did talk NSAIDs and knows who scared I am of them.  He suggested trying White Willow Bark before we do any NSAIDs when Buck starts to have pain.  I have not had to do that yet, but  plan to soon.  As Barney Fife use to say to Andy Tayler "Nip it in the bud", so i am trying to keep ahead of the game with him.
 
Also, my golden that turned 7 in Aug. had sugery on one knee for luxating patella at age 16 months and I started her on the Glucosamine( 2 a day) right away.  Then about 14 months later her other knee really went and it was only the patella, but also the ACL and she had another surgery.  I then added the SynoviG3 , so she has been getting them for a while and has yet to show any sign of arthritis, which is almost a forgone thing after knee injury.  She also gets two fish oil, an EsterC,  Vitramin E and a multi vitamin each day.

I weighed the down side of Rimadyl but Heidi was to the point of being carried out to go potty and now she is a different dog. Quality of life has to come into the equation.

Totally true...there comes a time to make that decision and then the meds are just what you have to do! 

 Sorry Heidi is having so many problems.[&o]  Poor baby

I would not feed any Hills perscription diets. Especially not that one. The protien level is only 17%, how is that supposed to support your dogs joints if he can't gain muscle mass due to low protien.

The above mentioned about grain free diets often produces great results.

I have another recommendation that isn't grain free, but is a great joint food: Breeder's Choice Active Care.

Brown Rice, Lamb Meal, Chicken Cartilage (Source of Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulfate), Canola Oil, Flax Seed, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Salt, Grapeseed Oil, Brewers Dried Yeast, Choline Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Zinc Proteinate, Monosodium Phosphate, DL-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate (Source of Vitamin E), Sodium Selenite, Riboflavin Supplement (Vitamin B2), Copper Sulfate, Amino Acid Chelates of Zinc, Iron, Manganese, Copper and Cobalt, Niacin, Ascorbic Acid (Source of Vitamin C), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, D-Biotin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Calcium Iodate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement.

Crude Protein not less than 22.00%
Crude Fat not less than 12.00%
Crude Fiber not more than 3.00%
Moisture not more than 10.00%
Chondroitin Sulfate not less than 4,000 mg/kg
Chondroitin Sulfate not less than 400 mg/cup
Glucosamine not less than 2,000 mg/kg
Glucosamine not less than 200 mg/cup

Yes, this food is a little grain heavy, but it does contain the same if not more glucosamine and chondroitin than the Hills prescription diet and has way, way better ingredients.

KB--I sent you a private message. 

I kinda hate to see Science Diet prescription put down.  It was the only thing that worked to get the weight of KayCee (the r/d) and she has kept it off for over 2 years.  It (k/d) also worked on Buck when he was diagnosed with the kidney infection and "trash" in his urine back in June.  Three months on it and he was back to normal.  Maybe other foods would have worked, i don't know.  But I do know without a doubt both of these worked for my dogs when needed and both are on regular food now.  KayCee was not crazy about the r/d, but she did always eat it.  Buck didn't like the k/d at all and lost 3 pounds in the 3 months he was on it--but he also "lost" the trash in his urine and his kidney infection.