Please can you help with an upsetting problem with my 13-year-old Italian Greyhound bitch. Her eyesight is not so good now and any kind of movement causes her to yelp or scream. She jumps at speed and yells as if being beaten. She is otherwise healthy. I have tried drops of Rock Rose Larch Aspen and Mimulus but with little success.
As a ‘conventional’ vet, I must confess that I have not come across Rock Rose Larch Aspen and Mimulus. I will therefore look forward to reading any response from my ‘alternative’ colleagues on the Think Tank because I do consider myself broadminded and am always happy to consider alternative therapies.
This is especially so in the situation you are describing, because my own Labrador Retriever is often similarly afflicted, especially after strenuous exercise. For her, it is often neck pain because she cannot bend down to her food bowl, and to see a hungry Labrador unable to reach her food is not a happy sight. Her bowl is now seated in a stand to raise it off the floor.
At other times she squeals for no particular reason, and cannot jump into the car. I suspect she would be unable to go up and down our stairs, if she had not been trained to stay downstairs.
Pippin has responded very well to high dose glucosamine, either as a supplement or more recently incorporated into a prescription diet for joint health. Maintaining a healthy bodyweight is also important, neither over- nor underweight. In reserve, when Pippin has an acute flare-up, then a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug is invaluable to alleviate the pain.
I know how distressing it is when Pippin squeals with pain so I can understand your concerns. Back pain is uncomfortable and depressing for us so it must be even more so for a dog. It is important to remember that back pain is a sign of an underlying problem and you should have your dog examined by a vet – there may be something else going on for which there is a specific or more suitable treatment.
Alison Logan, vet
Hello
ReplyDeletemy name is Leigh Smyth and I work with animals and their owners using a number of complementary therapies, essential oils, herbs, Reiki and magnotherapy, as well as occasionally Bach Flower Remedies.....my feeling about the Bach Flower Remedies is that although they are useful in helping animals with emotional issues, they need to be used in conjunction with remedies that actually help reduce the physical pain your dog is experiencing.I agree with Alison, Glucosamine and Chondroitin can be useful in redcuing inflammation and pain, as can the herbal remedy Devils Claw (I always recommend that we use herbs as close to their natural state as possible, so try to get the devils claw as the dry tuber.) Also have a look at the information on Bioflow magnotherapy collars for dogs.....I swear by them for any sort of pain, including arthritis, but I amm biased, so I urge you to do your own research, and give one a try if you feel you'd like to.
It is very important to have a diagnosis from your vet as to what is the cause of your dog's pain, then you canmake an informed decision about how best to treat it.
Best wishes with it all!
I am a Bowen therapist and can reccomend Bowen for a problem such as you describe. Bowen is a hands on therapy but non invasive and the dog is allowed to walk away and completely controls the session. The first session is often quite short as Bowen therapists believe that "less is more" and Bowen is a therapy that works best when you are not continually working on the dog. Bowen works over soft tissue and muscle, and there is no manipulation involved, and we take care to pay attention to the dogs body language and stress levels as we work. If you would like to find out more there are a number of websites which can give more information; and if you look on www.caninebowentechnique.com you will find a list of therapists and I reccomend that you have a chat with your local therapist.
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