I can't believe the difference in Xena. She has chronic arthritis in her whole rear end which has been giving her a lot of grief. It has been 2 weeks since her first of 4 shots and the change is remarkable. Before, she rarely ventured outside, slept most of the time and was aggressive when Lockie harrassed her. Now she is joining in the chases and just wondering around, tolerating Lockies antics more, and is just being a happy dog. It is just so heart warning to see her "happy".
Now I just have to psyc myself up to give her, her next shot tomorrow. I really don't like doing it but Terry distracts her with lots of cheese during the process
I just wanted to share my happiness in her happiness.

Great news. What is it you are giving her. She must feel so much better.

Sounds excellent = can I have some too, please? I did my back in a week past Wednesday lifting a sack of cat food and it's still pretty damned painful. It's just taken me twenty minutes and a whole lot of lateral thinking in the matter of socks, to get dressed. And today is a relatively good day.

Sniff...

She is on Pentosan. It is very good and no side effects and it should last for around 6 months once she has had the final shot.
Sid I can empathise with you. I have 5 bulging discs and a stenosing nerve bundle track, and the pain can be REALLY bad. I remember one day at work when my back flared up. I couldn't leave as it was Cliinic day and I am the only one who can do Pacemakers at work so I ploughed on. By the end of the clinic, my knuckles were nearly dragging on the ground and the pain was horrendous.
I hope your back feels better soon, nothing worse than a crook back.

Glad to hear the treatment is working for her, and she is enjoying herself again. I must admit I could do with some for my stiff old bones.

Gosh, what a bunch of old crocks we all are and so many bad backs.

I have spondylolosthesis which has been really bad for the last 12 months. I use
Co-Dydramol. I always make sure I am dosed up before a show because if I don't I can't
run the dogs.

Me too, I have a bad back, work related, carrying heavy IT quipment around all day on my travels...thats another story. I take Diclofenic and my wonder drug is Diazepam, it not only gives me a great nights sleep, but also relaxes all the muscles. Oops, just realised, not talking about us, we're meant to be talking about Deerhounds!
Murphy had a stiff nck onc, they gave him Rymadil?? He was bombing round the garden 20 minutes after he took it! Before he screamed when he moved.

Arthritis can be so painful - poor Xena but am pleased to hear that the pain relief is working

Rimadyl is an anti inflamatory drug, made by Pfizers Animal Health. It works well but of course it does not suit all.Glad it worked for Murphy.

Daisy May has had problems with her back, due to old injury when she was beaten as a pup She had treatment and then 3 months of weekly Hydrotherapy...it cost a packet....but was worth every penny and worked wonders

She has just finished 10 days on rimadyl for a very painfull shoulder and back, seems better now.... but still a bit grumpy So will take her back to vets later in week for xrays etc.... could be arthritis, or another old injury playing up.... bless her

It is surprising how many of us get bad backs as well...... does not help when I am lifting Elsie Grey's rear end into the car....as it is just too exhausting for her to manage all by herself Lazy lump!

Pic of Daisy May being very brave having her Hydrotherapy

Bless her..I remember that treatment from houndtalk. Maybe that was what happened to Xena, being beaten that is, as she came from a not very desirable home.

One of my girls once had an extremely sore back , all seized up and very painful ( I can relate , had backtrouble for a long time ) - with her it was a hunting accident , she did something like a sommersault on a steep rockslide , while she was chasing a mountainsheep....She did get an antiinflammatory/painkiller for 3 days and also some acupuncture treatments - it never cam back ( 3 years now ) and I am very happy about this - always worry a bit , naturally ) . She also has one of those more extreme toplines , that might look good in a showring , but which I really came to dislike , as those dhs ( and Borzois ! ) tend to have a rather stiff/unflexible back and also not the amount of musculature to " padd " it all aoround - having and having seen dhs from " show as well as workinglines " the differences are astonishing !

DaisyMay looks adorable , what a very sweet face !!!!!

Oh Sam I do hope that darling Xena was not beaten before you had her it is just so sad how some poor dogs are treated and it can have long term effects!


Verenav, I am glad to hear that your girl is ok now. That must have been very scary when she did the sommersault

It is an awful thought but wouldn't surprise me and it might explain some of her "issues" that she has.

All those bad backs out there, I'm not saying anything...

One of my girls was kicked by a horse when she was a young pup. She recovered after being kept off the leg as much as possible. However, since she's matured from time to time lays wrong on it and then limps around. Massage and stretching help some but there are times she needs an anti-inflamatory. The Vet gave her rimadyl but we don't use it for long periods, just when her leg seems really bad. On extended use of rimadyl it's wise to have some liver and kidney function tests done as there have been instances it has caused some serious liver problems. You might ask your Vet for an alternative NASID.

As for myself, I've found a wee bit of Laphroaig works wonders!