massage/arthritis

smkie

pointer/labrador/terrier
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#1
Is anyone else trying to learn the t-touch method? i am trying to do it right to help Mary every night. i am going to see if it makes a difference..she is getting very stiff and getting up off the floor is harder and harder for her. I try to keep her off the floor as much as possible but i find her there more and more. I think it hurts to much to get up on the sofa so she just isn't trying. She never was on the floor before. When i see her there i make her get up and help her up onto a cushion. When we go to the dog park now she is hurting before we get back..and that is with the arthritis med as well. She is 12 and if you look at her pics in my gallery u can see that up until now she has been very active. In the last two months i have seen an increase of aging..a fast one. I know in my heart that 14 is as long as she will be with me and have any quality of life. I am trying to make that as possible as i can. She seems to get relief from long soaks in a hot tub too. I can't afford acupuncture...if there is any other form of massage that anyone else knows about that would help would you please let me know.
 

Debi

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#2
how about a hot water bottle ...you could place it on her stiff joints. Poor baby girl. I bet the massage feels wonderful.
 

mrose_s

BusterLove
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#3
our dog id only 7, bevause she''s big and we lived in huigh set houses, going up and down the stairs gave her arthritis.
She has one of those potato sack beds, so she doesnt lie on the ground.
She got medication and some special cream that seamed to help... but im sorry, i dont no what it is called.

There is something interesting though. My mum hurt her shoulder, she went to a thing called bowan therapy (not sure how its spelt) it really helped her arm.

So off we went with sophie, it made her a heap better than she was, she was active again, and wasnt draggimng herself around like she used to.

hope that helps
good luck to you and her
 
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#4
Heat really would probably feel very good to her, Smkie. Try to find one of those bean bag chairs for her to lay on, too. I know my old dogs, particularly Purdue, loved them. You'll probably have to get one for bony Vic, too, lol!
 

smkie

pointer/labrador/terrier
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#5
Vic is young enough spring up onto the sofa spring being the key word there.it is HIS sofa too.. You should see the looks he gives when it is full of big kids...mary sometimes just goes into the bathroom and stares at the tub..(she speaks so loudly without saying a word) and a hot soak does seem to help. i know in the massage special i saw on the tv..they talked about the benefits i was unaware could help. Siad things about how it increased circulation and such. Just trying to learn all i can. The t-touch thread u posted Renee was very helpful.i was wondering if anybody else is trying to master the technique? I don't know if i am doing it right. I will look into the bowan therapy as well. I have a battery massager that is about 3 inches wide with rounded surface made by homedics that she loves..Bronki did too and i have used that with her in the past. Guess i am looking for miracles to keep my ol gurl comfortable. Victor has a bean bag at Mom's (no dogs on the furniture there) and he covets it from all the other dogs. I am not sure Mary could manage getting up from one..her bottom seems to weigh a ton and take great effort some days. That is why i don't want her on the floor..it makes it worse. They have bed with heat in them and i may be trying to come up with one of those. Mostly we give her a helping hand. (actually two)
Now that vic has Shaffer i see Mary sitting to the side.not joining in. It scares me because that was my first sign that something was wrong with Bronki. Someone would throw a toy and he would just watch her go get it without trying to get there first, or join in on the return retrieve. Maybe it is normal at her age, but doen'st seem like a few months should make that much difference.
 
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#6
Winter is hard on the elders and sometimes it takes several weeks of warm spring days to help.

Have you thought about giving her an Ascriptin for the arthritis? Our old vet had us give them to Purdue when he was an aging dog with an arthritic neck. It made a huge difference in his quality of life.
 
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#7
I used to give Eli full body massages... starting at his nose and working down to every toe. He would be in ectasy!
 

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