Samson's vet visit

2447 Views 18 Replies 12 Participants Last post by samsonsmom, Jan 9, 2008

samsonsmom

Discussion Starter · Jan 7, 2008

Took the old man in to new vet today that was recomended to me and I really like this guy

Our neighbor has been taking his dogs(weimeriners) in to him for awhile and always has been happy...Anyways, besides getting his rabies & parvo shots, had him look at Samson's back leg that he has been dragging...It's not an old injury, (which I kinda thought), but just arthritis that has settled in his stifle(?)...For his age, he's in great health, heart & lungs are good, so he says keep doing what I'm doing..If it starts to stiffen more, he can give him an injection, but doesn't like to do those on a continous basis, which was good to hear....He did recomend that I put him on a senior food rather than the Chicken Soup, even tho I am giving him the Glyco Flex..Says a senior food would be better balanced for him??? Thoughts anyone?

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tootsie

· #2 · Jan 7, 2008

Sounds like Samson had a great vet visit.

Also happy to hear you like the new vet. I know how hard that can be to find a vet that you like. I'm still on my search. Thank goodnes Maddie has been healthy!
Buster had a bad stifle also. He had little if any cartiledge left...I believe that would be what we call the knee in the back leg? Anyway, when he had really bad days of not wanting to put any pressure on it, the vet would give him a shot, I think it was Adequan??? Not sure on that now, but I know it helped him tremendously, as well as the GlycoFlex and Synovi supplements. I think the adequan was a liquid form of glucosamine, maybe Sharon will chime in on this. That may be what your vet was talking about. If Samson does need it, I can vouch that it really was a miracle help for Buster, and it worked almost immediately.
Anyway, give my favorite senior a big hug from me and a big sloppy slurp from Miss Maddie!

G

· #3 · Jan 7, 2008

YAY Samson, you go man...tell mommy you are gonna be around for a good 5 more years to teach that new pup that's acoming some manners!

Skylar

· #4 · Jan 7, 2008

Way to go Samson! I know Skylar really benefited from the Glucosamine we gave her in the last few years of her life.

mylittledeers

· #5 · Jan 7, 2008

Alright Samson you handsome senior :lol: So glad to hear major systems are doing well! We all get "a little hitch in our get-a-long" as we age, hope Samsons arthritis can be managed with meds. Have you tried a heated rice bag on it when he lays down at night?? Don't know if he'd tolerate it but my human patients with arthritis swear by them.
So glad to hear the vet was someone you liked :lol:

samsonsmom

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jan 7, 2008

Yea Lisa, it was Adequan he was talking about..Just not something we can use all the time apparently..Oh yea and I was very surprised at his weight as well....66 lbs!!! I thought he weighed much more, just looks chunky I guess

Yea, this vet is awesome, besides having had Boxers all his life, he's really specialized in the larger breed dogs, plus he has a good rapport with the animals to from what I saw

tootsie

· #7 · Jan 7, 2008

66 lbs!!!! WOW!!! That is awesome Willow! I knew you had him on a diet....I'd say it worked very well! I think the last weight I had heard on him was 80. Is that right? I guess Angel helped a bit too by keeping him on his toes!

sumyasmom

· #8 · Jan 7, 2008

glad to hear that samson is doing well and that you found a vet that you like. that is almost always easier said than done. :roll:

samsonsmom

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jan 7, 2008

Lol, well I was actually kinda guessing on the weight, he has lost some, but I still would like to see him lose a few more pounds, better on those joints....Angel has helped tho, he's chasing her around the house some and of course the walks have been resumed, slow walks, but every bit helps...

Funny thing tho, Buck weighed 69 lbs and was borderline too thin, goes to show you how gentics and body structure really do effect the way our babies look

boxerlove

· #10 · Jan 8, 2008

Sound like you found a great vet! Yea for Samson, sounds like he is really doing great. Our Calli was like that and we thought every year might be our last but she was healthy and we were so lucky to have her for almost 15 years.

Our Berkeley also had problems with her legs, we gave her and Calli both the Glucosamine. Our vet also recommended for the really bad days when her leg was hurting more a coated regular asprin low dose. They really seemed to help. We gave one in the morning and one in the evening if she was really hurting. After a couple of days she was usually doing better and didn't need them. We now do the same with Ziggi, sometimes he gets crazy with his running and will come in limping. It takes him a day or two to get back to normal but the asprin helps alot.

The last year of her life we also gave Calli an oil capsule (from the health food store) to help her liver function. Can't remember the name of it now but it was for human liver function.

sharonL

· #11 · Jan 8, 2008

Glad to hear that the old man got a good visit today and of course on your finding a vet you like

On the Adequan injections. I will say that I agree they work wonders....BUT they are some of the use only as needed med's....It will beging to work within a few hours and stay in the system about 3 days. The problem with prolong use is that they make them feel better then they are and in return you can end up with damage or an injury.....I have a Dane that takes a show every other month and he does great with it.....but there is no other Gyco added....Adequan is a high power Gyco injection....

On the senior food.....here is my though.....he is an old guy and he is by all accounts doing well, he is on his suppliments and if he likes his food and is eating it well I would not change.....I dont know what he eats but in general there is not alot of difference in senior and adult foods.....let me see

I just checked out the Chicken Soup Adult and Senior and the main difference is that senior food has Gluco and Chondro with L-Carn and he is getting what he needs with his Gyco Flex already......

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southerngirls

· #12 · Jan 8, 2008

I am glad Samsons vet visit went well!! Chicken soup does have a senior line, so you could still do chicken soup senior for the old man. i dunno if it is needed though!! go mister samson man

samsonsmom

Discussion Starter · #13 · Jan 8, 2008

Thanks you guys, Sharon, my thought is that he is doing quite well on the Chicken Soup, plus I feed Angel that as well....The Glyco Flex 3 takes care of the Glucosamine, so I also can't see switching..He did explain to me that the Adequan is only as needed, he didn't like to give a lot of meds especially at this stage as a lot of them can damage the liver, so he said if he starts having bad days, bring him in and we would do an injection as needed.

Boxerlove, I also started givng Samson one baby aspirin a day as well, but I would like to know about that oil capsule for liver function as that was one of the reasons he suggested switching to a senior food....

Barbs2Ks

· #14 · Jan 8, 2008

So happy to hear that Samson is doing so well, Kiah and I send kisses.

HannaBanana

· #15 · Jan 8, 2008

Glad he is doing well - We like the Thriving Seniors!!!

JeepKuntry

· #16 · Jan 8, 2008

Sounds like Samson had a good vet visit! I think Chicken Soup has a formula for seniors.

Alicia

· #17 · Jan 8, 2008

Glad Samson is doing so well! Keep up the good work mom!!

sharonL

· #18 · Jan 9, 2008

Here is a liver med we use at work with good results and it was a human suppli to start with....

S-Adenosyl

http://www.petrx.com/index.asp?PageActi ... ProdID=826

samsonsmom

Discussion Starter · #19 · Jan 9, 2008

Thanks for the link Sharon

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