I found out in August 2025 that Derek has arthritis in his hips.
When I let Derek out to go potty, he likes to bolt to the property line so that he can bark at the neighbor’s dogs through the fence. But one day, I was watching him and it looked like he twisted or over-extended one of his back legs. He stopped in place and winced for a bit before trying again to run slowly. For a few days, he was running cautiously on that leg, so I decided to take him to the vet.
The vet took some X-rays and moved his bad leg around. Derek made some faces during the leg movements and the X-rays confirmed that there was something going on in there.
The vet prescribed Carprofen. I also put Derek on supplements.
I’m at the age where I’m starting to get bad joints, too. I had some X-rays taken of my knees and shoulder and there were bone spurs in there. I can feel them in my wrists, too.
The supplements Derek is taking are:
- salmon oil
- curcumin
- glucosamine
Also, I decided that I would take the same supplements that Derek is taking to see if they actually work and if I can feel a difference. And hopefully he is experiencing the same thing.
I was prescribed ___, but I almost never take it.
What I gather from looking at articles and papers online is that we could also do something with hyaluronic acid. There are oral supplements and then there are injections of HA directly into the joint.
Down the road, we can also look at physical (water) therapy and massage.
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