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Joint Stiffness

MomtoStella

New Member
Our 4 1/2 year old English Mastiff, Stella, has been having some joint stiffness in her back right leg. She has a limp but does not appear to be in pain. So, my question is: Any recommendations on a good, reputable joint supplement?
Thanks.
MomtoStella
 

marke

Well-Known Member
clear up the limp with rimadyl , if she's limping it hurts , otherwise she wouldn't limp ……… after it's cleared up from the rimadyl i'd start walking her up and down moderate hills , they can shift the weight to the front on flat surfaces and not really exercise their rears , they'll continue to atrophy …... i'd try to get her off the rimadyl , only give it to her if she gets sore , to get her back to un-sore , try to find the amount of exercise she can handle without getting sore …….. as for a supplement I think phycox helps , at least it appeared to , to me …....the idea is to get rid of the inflammation and exercise the joint as much as possible without getting it inflamed again , build strength , the sore leg will become weaker and weaker left to it's own ……. you should be able to gradually increase the amount of exercise without aggravating the joint ……. if you can't get rid of the limp without the rimadyl , I personally have used long term phycox along with intermittent as needed rimadyl for long periods of time , many years ……..
 

DennasMom

Well-Known Member
Green Lipped Mussel is a great joint supplement with trace minerals. Super Snouts makes one that's a good quality.

My female had a small limp after a hike... which didn't go away after 2 months of reduced activity... it was a tendon tear (CCL, aka ACL in humans). If this is your issue, adding pain killers and resuming activity could very well make a small tear into a complete tear. So you might want to get a confirmed diagnosis before working on increasing activity, especially if she's on pain meds and willing to do more than she should.

We never put Denna through surgery for her CCL injury. 3 years later, she's doing fine. The tear never advanced too far, and she's now built up scar tissue and muscle around the joint to keep it stable. So, I agree with Marke's idea of building muscle... but, I'd be careful about how you go about it.