Laser Therapy

Ann

Ann

Moderator
Caro said:
Try replacing one whole meal with a mix of vegies.

I give Tully pumpkin (or sometimes sweet potato) with other vegies mixed in for one of her meals, then she gets her normal food for her other meal (the meal she takes her pills with). She loves pumpkin so is quite happy to have a vegie meal. I also sometimes mix in some meat broth with her vegies - dogs have a great sense of smell but they do not have a good a sense of taste as we do, so the smell of meat is often enough. I cook up a week or two's worth and freeze it.
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This is a terrific idea, Caro, thanks! I have to shave a pound or two off of Pixie who has just been diagnosed with severe arthritis (at age 8!) in both front elbows. I haven't been able to get that last pound off her and now we can't exercise her. She only gets 1/4 cup twice daily but I'm going to try the veggie meal once a day for a week and see what happens.
 
Oh wow, I'm really sorry to hear about Pixie. Sounds like she may have the same sort of arthritis as Deska. Elbows are heartbreaking because there's so few interventions . And it is so hard getting the weight off when they are inactive from arthritis.

Tully's weight is coming off, very slowly but she has lost a pound which for a little dog that barely moves all day is good. And I often see Deska eyeing off her meal - I'm certain he thinks she's getting chicken.
 
Caro said:
Oh wow, I'm really sorry to hear about Pixie. Sounds like she may have the same sort of arthritis as Deska. Elbows are heartbreaking because there's so few interventions . And it is so hard getting the weight off when they are inactive from arthritis.

Tully's weight is coming off, very slowly but she has lost a pound which for a little dog that barely moves all day is good. And I often see Deska eyeing off her meal - I'm certain he thinks she's getting chicken.
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My vet was shocked at the level of damage she has at her age and can't believe she moves as well as she does. I have her on a regimen of holistic medications that have helped enormously, and she's getting laser therapy treatments at the vet's office to reduce pain and inflammation which have also helped. PM me if you'd like info on the holistic protocol, Caro. I'm sure they'd ship to you.

(Sorry for diverting the thread!)
 
Divert away -- anything that helps the dogs . . . my vet has just begun offering laser therapy. Glad to know it helps. Wish I had that option with my previous ones when they had pains.
 
Mom2Melli said:
Divert away -- anything that helps the dogs . . . my vet has just begun offering laser therapy. Glad to know it helps. Wish I had that option with my previous ones when they had pains.
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Apparently it's a fairly new technology. I was surprised to learn they can use it for much more than just arthritis. They can use it for wound healing, surgical recovery, anything except cancer because the laser increases the size of tumors. We had a choice of that or acupuncture and although I'm a big fan of how well acupuncture works, it seemed this would be easier on Pixie. I'm glad I did. She's had three treatments and will have three more next week and then one a month to maintain. No drugs needed at this point, just the homeopathic supplements which I'm happy about.

I should probably move this to a new thread on laser therapy!
 
I moved the posts below from Mom2Melli's diet threat so as not to divert the topic there. Also, I thought others might be interested on the information about laser therapy.

By way of background, my Pixie was diagnosed just before Christmas with severe arthritis in both of her front elbows. She's only 8 years old and way too young for this level of arthritis. It's so severe that my vet said it borders on displasia and he was shocked that she moves as well as she does. I had already started her on a regimen of homeopathic medicines from Natural Rearing which were helping, and my vet suggested either acupuncture or laser therapy in addition to help reduce pain and inflammation.

We've just completed the first week of laser therapy (3 sessions) and it seems to have helped Pixie's mobility. We'll do another three next week, and then once a month for maintenance.
 
Laser therapy is very popular in the agility community. We have friends that carry around portable lasers to trials in case of any incident.

In fact, at a trial last year Lexi fell off the dogwalk. She seemed okay, but with a long weekend ahead of her we had a friend use their laser on her to prevent too much soreness/stiffness.
 
Thanks for this link, Trini. I hadn't heard of this and it's very interesting, although hugely more expensive than either acupuncture or laser therapy (which is surprisingly inexpensive). Still, a good option to have.
 
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