Massage for an arthritic old man?

[otterly evil]

Our old guy, is a 14 year old boxer-pitbull mix. He's pretty stiff and sore lately, his hips are the worst. I was wondering if there is anything beyond a nice good general rub down and gentle stretching that could help him?

We'd really like to avoid medicating him at this point so any helpful tips or advice would be great!

 

[Isis]

Massage for an arthritic old man?

14 years old! He's a treasure, so sweet of you to be such a good caretaker.

I had a crippled dog I rescued and kept until her death 14 years later. A good general rub down and a little stretching is wonderful for your dog at this point.

I also used CST unwinding techniques and a little acupuncture, the CST really seemed to help and it was fun to do after giving my pup a massage.

Hope it makes him happy, good luck!

 

[MsJamers RN]

Massage for an arthritic old man?

How about a heating pad?

 

[Pompal 09.]

Massage for an arthritic old man?

Besides all that there are dog food formulas (Innova to name one) that contain ingredients for hip & other joint related problems, as well as supplements for animals containing the glucosamine & chondriton. For some dogs avoiding foods with wheat & corn may help - though these are often more of a concern with digestion - then the issues your "old man" seems to be having.

Keep us updated as to how he's doing! And let us know if he gets up & running again too.

:dogrun: :dogrun: :dogrun:

 

[Tom N]

Massage for an arthritic old man?

Over the years we've had 3 older dogs who responded way positive to a tablespoon of fruit pectin mixed with their food. I mean, going from an obviously painful gait to running around like a puppy. If you try this (and really, what could it hurt?) we get the unsweetened powder as we mix a little water with our dog's dinner, and a couple of the dogs didn't really care for the "no sugar needed" version. If the dog doesn't mind the sweetness you might try Certa, a liquid version possibly more convenient (same dosage). You'll find fruit pectin in the food canning section of most grocery stores. we've seen results in 6 to 7 days. I don't think it's a "cure" so we keep 'em on it 'till they pass on. Missing a few days here and there doesn't seem to matter (like if you and the store run out at the same time). We saw this idea in Dr. Gott's column in the newspaper. It was for humans and it was mixed with grape juice, which I think is supposed to be somewhat synergistic. I've never seen a dog that liked grape juice so we modified that and gave it a try with pectin alone and it worked for us. (Besides that grapes and raisins are toxic to a dog, not sure about the juice). If it amazes you like it has us I know you'll pass it along. Hate to see a critter in pain. I'll be watching for your results. Good luck.

 

[Mister Hat]

Massage for an arthritic old man?

Jonathan - you got me curious regarding pectin - so I went on line to search. This is what was on Wikipedia, though I'm sure there's got to be more information elsewhere:

In human digestion, pectin goes through the small intestine more or less intact. Pectin is thus a soluble dietary fiber.

Consumption of pectin has been shown to reduce blood cholesterol levels. The mechanism appears to be an increase of viscosity in the intestinal tract, leading to a reduced absorption of cholesterol from bile or food.[3] In the large intestine and colon, microorganisms degrade pectin and liberate short-chain fatty acids that have positive influence on health (prebiotic effect).[citation needed]

In medicine, pectin increases viscosity and volume of stool so that it is used against constipation and diarrhea. Until 2002, it was one of the main ingredients used in Kaopectate, along with kaolinite. Pectin is also used in throat lozenges as a demulcent. In cosmetic products, pectin acts as stabilizer. Pectin is also used in wound healing preparations and specialty medical adhesives, such as colostomy devices.

In ruminant nutrition, depending on the extent of lignification of the cell wall, pectin is up to 90% digestible by bacterial enzymes. Ruminant nutritionists recommend that the digestibility and energy concentration in forages can be improved by increasing pectin concentration in the forage.

So perhaps digestive enzymes would be another possiblity - depending on the cost of course?