I\’ve seen a few of my older, more rickety patients this last week or two. Grey faces, stiff in the joints, but waggy old tails and happy to see me. Two of the three had cartrophen injections to help with arthritis pain. It\’s often necessary with our older pets to have them on an ongoing treatment plan to keep them as happy and as comfortable as possible. Most older dogs suffer pain from arthritis, and many of their owners (maybe even you?) don\’t understand how uncomfortable they really are. There are two main reasons we don\’t notice how much pain our old friends are in. Number one is that they don\’t make any noise about it – dogs simply don\’t vocalise their discomfort like we do. And number two is that with our older pets, the changes are so slow (they get a bit stiffer, slower to get up, not so keen to jump in the car etc) that we don\’t see them.
Cartrophen is one medicine that can help older pets with arthritis have a whole new lease on life. Green Mussell Extract is also fantastic. And at some point as they get older and their arthritis worsens, most of them will need to have some sort of pharmaceutical pain relief. The Whole Energy Body Balance work I do with pets really helps ease the aches and pains of old age, too.
It was lovely to see these old stagers that I know so well still looking happier, moving better, and living life more fully than they would have without treatment. It\’s one of the most rewarding things I can do as a vet, to help these wise, grey, heart strong old dogs have a happy and comfortable time as they live out the end of their lives.
The third old dog, grey as a badger, isn\’t on cartrophen – she has CBD oil every day to help her with her arthritis. CBD oil is a cannabis extract – but there\’s no THC in it, so there\’s not the \’high\’ that recreational users enjoy. Instead this extract is very high in cannabinoids (CBD). Once it\’s processed, the CBD oil is legal, as it contains no THC. Unfortunately the cannabis plant, even when it has no THC in it at all, is still illegal to possess or to grow. Some people import high-quality CBD oil into Australia, and you can get it (though it can be hard to find, and isn\’t cheap). I\’ve seen some dogs have a new lease of life when their owners have put them onto daily CBD oil.
Have you got an old pet (more than 7 years of age)? If so, you might be missing the subtle signs of pain and discomfort – give Dr Edward a call if you\’d like him to come and show you what\’s really going on with your old friend, and help you set up a treatment plan to help them really enjoy their twilight years…