Spinosis Experience

Got a great dog of mine, one of my all-time favorites and a stud dog, get Spinosis.
What is it? Basically it is advanced arthritis of the spine. The way it was explained to me, is where ever the concentration is highest, from there back, is where you will have problems with everything from THAT point on back. My dog's is in his mid spine, so his ass end is neurologically comprimised and I'll have to make sure I help him with his digestion, possibly.

What to do?

I have had great results with Dex. I picked up Prednisone from the vet, but Prednisone is harder on them, from my understading, so I'll stay with the Dex until it is no longer affective. I'll add fiber to his diet to skirt any potential digestive problems. However, if the Dex is working, then the digestive system should be fine as well.

Was told by someone who would know, a drug called "Ascriptine" is very affective as well. It was an over the counter at one time and is an aspirine, malox and calcium combo. I'll add this if it's available along with glucosamine. All this with a great diet and we'll see how it goes. He's a little over 10 years of age, so we'll do our absolute best to keep him functioning at whatever his optimal level is.

Just thought I'd share in case anyone ever runs into this.

witch stud was it ngk if you dont mind me asking?

Spondylosis does NOT require steroid therapy.

I would go to a vet and ask about using a NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) like Rimadyl.

Long term steroid use will destroy a dog's immune system.

Jack

I'll get right on it Jack and always - THANK YOU!
It's insane to me that vets continually don't get it right.
I specifically told this guy that this dog was important and was a stud dog, in a breeding program. He's a dog I think a lot of and want to be able to use as long as possible.

Scary - the dog is Tupark. If you asked him, he won't complain about any of this. He's losing muscle mass, so I'll need to make sure I pay close attention to his nutritional needs and get him some exercise. He's still just as happy as always. Just got him bred yesterday and got a dog coming from CDE to breed to him later this week as well.

Jack - THANK YOU!

damn im sorry to hear that ngk i know tupark was one if not your main stud.

I hope everything goes well NQK.

I’m sorry to hear this, he is a very well bred dog.

You might want to have bloodwork done before and after using Rimadyl to check his ALT (liver) numbers as some dogs can have a bad reaction to Rimadyl and it can affect their liver. My old dog cannot take it, which is shame as it does work well for many dogs. Just wanted to mention this.

Best of luck with him and I hope you can get him fixed up.

Thanks guys for all the positive words and warnings.
I've had him on Glucosomine for 2 days, and believe it or not, right now, it's making a real positive difference. I've looked some stuff up and Deramaxx and Zubrin are both good scripts for this as well. I'll be gettin him some of this soon.

As long as the guy is in no pain and acts like he enjoys life, I'll be doing my part. He is my main Alligator stud. He's the only living son of Hailstone anyone can seem to find and a real solid bulldog himself. He's all the positives the Hailstone dogs are known for without the negatives which is really just being high key, wound up dogs ALL THE FREAKIN TIME. I like a smart, laid back kind of dog myself and that's Tupark.

Anyways,,,,THANKS!

Good luck, let us know how it goes :)

I'll do that. Right now, he's responding great to Glucosamine alone. I've got Rimadyl ordered and will get him on that. I got him bred again yesterday. He's weak in his ass end, but not to a detrimental depth.

I was going to start him exercising every day, but had a tooth pulled yesterday and the freakin pain meds didn't agree wtih me, so I'll have to start him up tomorrow.

Right now he's getting Glucosamine morning and evening. And as I've said, great results on this alone so far.

Glad to hear that he is doing good.

Tupark is still doing well enough to breed. Got him stuck to two dogs this week and he's by no means perfect, but he's doing alright and in no pain. Started on his berinyl yesterday as it just came in. Hope that adds some quality of life to the old guy as well.