Maggie will be 13 in January. In Doggy years that will make her 91.
Photo on the beach this week.
Always active and ready to chase gulls, crows, squirrels, pigeons and lift pheasant or partridge alike, these days she is slowing down, and the colder damp weather is playing havoc with her joints.
We already know she has arthritis in her back legs, and have the metacam (an anti inflammatory medication) on hand to administer periodically to help relieve the stiffness and pain. We only give her a miniscule amount as a full dose on an extended basis could have adverse affects.
Both of us are experiencing twinges, cramp and pain in our knees, hands and legs, so we are extremely sympathetic.
Not so long ago, she fell off the bed and missed in the dark when trying to get back on it.
She landed heavily on her shoulder, and we took her to the vet the following morning just to make sure she hadn’t hurt herself.
The vet checked her over and said she seemed OK, everything was moving as it should, and she was probably bruised.
We took things easy, letting her set the pace on our walks and it settled down.
However, with the change in weather, she’s been favouring her shoulder, even more so yesterday, so we gave her a small dose of metacam and wrapped a hot water bottle in her blanket to give her some relief. She slept solid for two and a half hours, and we didn’t force the issue when it was approaching the time for her final wee and bedtime.
As soon as that was done, we all retired.
I think we need to chat to the vet for an alternative anti inflammatory as we are giving it to her more often now .
Photo taken on the boat May 2016.
pensitivity101 
It’s sad when our dogs suddenly get older (they seem to do it in leaps!). I give LM a salmon oil capsule and an arthroguard every day to help with arthritis etc
SL used to have Petcam drops for his bad arthritis; less harmful than eg rimadyl.
When my dog is really old, I give the pain meds, even if they do have adverse effects or shorten their life, because I feel it’s not just how long you live, but your pain-free quality of life.
Whatever happens, I know Maggie will have the very best from you. Just look at how well she looks at 13! 🙂
Thanks Sci. We do indeed want what’s best for her and certainly give her whatever pain relief necessary. The hot water bottle definitely helped.
I’ve used that treatment myself many times! 🙂
Maybe you should see if fhere’s anything homeopathic she could have instead. There is a vet herebwho practices both eastern and western medicine and it’s amazing how many healthier alternatives there are.
Something we can indeed look into. Thank you.
Hope it works out.
Sweet Maggie. It could be soreness brought on by the weather. When Hazel fell out of the second floor window (she pushed out the screen), she fell into a bush. She seemed ok but a few days later was limping. The vet said it was soreness and would work out but she was much younger than Maggie. Can you give her a glucosamine? It’s not a prescription and used here for arthritic dogs and cats a lot. Perhaps keeping her comfortable is the best you can do now. *hugs*
Thanks Kate. I think we tried glucosamine and also cod liver oil and it seemed to affect her motions
If you gave me cod liver oil I’d barf on ya! Yuck! 🙂
I know. I tried it once and yuk!
I hope the vet has something that works out better for Maggie.
Thanks Sarah.