In addition to Mr Melody and myself, and the two Melody children , we also have a doggie named Max. Or Max the Dog as the small Melodies call him. He's an old doggie, he's twelve and a half and quite doddery on his legs, and he's recently had an ulcer on his eye had his third veterinary appointment this afternoon to check on its progress. We saw a different vet than usual this afternoon, who also took a look at his back legs.
All is going well with the eye, so far so good. Max the Dog has had dodgy legs on all four corners since he was a young puppy and had osteochondrosis in both his elbows at eight months of age for which he had two big operations and months and months of physiotherapy; he also has hip dysplasia in both hips and has medication for arthritis in his hips. I said he was doddery didn't I? Today, the 'different' vet recommended glucosamine for his dicey legs.
"It only costs as much as the Metacam. It will make a vast improvement to his mobility" said the vet, so we agreed to take it to try. Bear in mind that Max the Dog will be taking glucosamine for the rest of his life.
John and the boys took Max back to the car while I went to reception to pay the vet bill for the ten minutes we were in the surgery - £78 odd... gulp!! I questioned the total, and was told the glucosamine tablets were almost £60 for just over a month's supply.
Did I take them? No. Sorry. Our dog has been doddery for several years now and no-one has ever suggested them before. To pay out £60 per month for tablets in addition to the medication he's already taking (At £30 a month) is ridiculous. The same vet also recommended that we take Max swimming in a doggy swimming pool to improve his legs and told us that there was a specialised doggy swimming pool in the next village. Errr - no, I don't think so either thank you.
I think next time we'll make an appointment to see the vet who has her feet firmly on the ground :?
And finally - the newest addition to the Melody Household - Matthew's plant that he has grown from seed at school during the science project this term. Matt has named his plant 'Speedy McJunior'. I know what this plant is, but do you??
7 comments:
i certainly wouldn't rule out natural alternatives completely, but £60 for glucosamine suppplements sounds ridiculous. I found this company a while ago that do a glucosamine supplement for pets. it's combined with Chondroitin, MSM and Vitamin C...they're based in the channel islands so all of their prices are tax-free. Have a look at a product called Joint Formula by Healthy Direct (http://www.healthydirect.co.uk/0706.htm)
I bet you could use human Glucosamine if you got the doseage right (I take GS/Cod liver oil and got 60 odd tablets for about £6 in Holland and Barrat!!) Spot has cod liver oil too, and that's just the cheapest one I can find at the time, usually 250mg although she has had 500mg and been fine. Might be worth checking out some pet type forums. But £60???? I don't think so!
Great minds and all, I was going to suggest using human supplements of glucosamine too!!!!!! maybe look and see what the pet tablets contain in terms of dosage, but I think £60 is ridiculous too!!!!!
Glucosamine for dogs - I googled just that and the first hit is £5.69 or something for 360 tabs. Here http://www.simplysupplements.net/glucosamine-sulphatefor-catsdogs500mg-p-308.html?gclid=CJ2RmrXEtowCFRouZwodpD4YKA
Bit different to £60 !!!!
Thanks for all your links! Max says a big 'woof' to everyone and has wagged his tail in appreciation. His tail still works just fine *wink*
Is it a sunflower - she asks in complete ignorance.
We give our 11 year old GSD glucosamine tablets from Holland and Barrett - in fact, it was the vet who suggested we go there. He has one 1,000 every night and they really do make a difference. However, he's now got to the point where he needs wheels to go out for walks - a bit pricy but he positively zooms round the lakes so very much worth the money. :0)
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