I have 2 German shepherd dogs and both have various health problems. They have dysplasia in both hips and Shadow also has elbow dysplasia and food allergy to cereals which create a lot of itching and pain. Her sister Summer also has Dysplasia in both hips and sesamoid disease present in two toes on both paws. She has also developed recently an allergy to dairy products. They both have arthritis : They are 8 now and the dysplasia in the hips was diagnosed at 11 months but too late for any preventative operation as arthritis was already present. Summer was later limping on her paws and after numerous x rays they discovered the sesamoid disease. Incredibly rare in a GSD and normally specific to racing dogs such as Greyhounds or Rottweilers. I had to give her pain relief and lead walk only for 3 months and manged to avoid a painful and no guaranteed operation to remove the sesamoid bones which she had had from birth as a genetic defect: Well here we are at 8 and apart from the occasional problem when she has jumped awkwardly and more recently the cold and damp she is doing well. Shadow had an operation to clean up the srthrosis in her elbow but 4 years ago she started limping again. The vet suggested a vet diet and hooray she stopped limping.
Over the years I have avoided the NSAID and only given when absolutely necessary. Instead I have stuck to specialised diets for joint problems and in the last 4 years the Vet Diet. I have also added various supplements. Kept their weight controlled and ensured they don¨t overdo the exercise. I discovered very early on long walks on hard ground or over jumping was followed by a day of stiffness and pain.
Recently, this winter and here in Spain we are never that cold. But they both started to show the odd sign of limping and pain for the first time in 4 plus years. As they are already on a special diet i decided to look at additional support. I had no desire to put them on NSAID´s for any length of time.
I discovered a homeopathic natural Pain killer made by Winstons in the US. Fortunately a local pet shop near here is the one and only supplier in Spain for Winstons¨s products. The shop highly recommended saying many people had tried it and extremely pleased with the results. So I tried it and i have to say i saw improvement to the point they were no longer limping within a short time. I am not endorsing this product from any other point than a personal one. My own personal usage with my dogs and the wish to share any advice or possibilities that may work for your dog.
However, now having found this product here it appears good Spanish customs have prevented the delivery from reaching the pet shop. On what grounds! Well a few years ago I used a product only available in the US and had it sent over. Customs stopped it after a few months and returned it back to the company. It was completely natural. But they advised me that the product could be made up in a pharmacy and so therefore was available here as such. And as it had not been approved by whatever approval is required in Spain they were not permitting it. Unbelievable as this was a completely natural product! So now I imagining that they have done the same with the Pet shop parcel grr
Fortunately there are other suppliers in other countries within Europe including the UK so looks like myself and the pet shop owner or myself will be having to buy it there and having it posted over. They will not stop it coming from there but will from the US directly! Crazy Huh! Guess they just want to keep the money in Spain and don't like it going out. Considering they are so very lax about other things I find it incredible they stop such an item from entering through customs.
I could of course buy it much cheaper directly myself but I imagine they could stop that too.
The point being I have had a lot of success using homeopathic and natural supplements with my dogs in addition to their diet and basic management strategies.. Obviously each situation is different and I would not like to endorse not following your vets advice. I do use veterinary diets recommended by my vet and have had success with them. However, in my case more recently they have needed a little bit more than the diet itself.
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