5 year old British bulldog limping

[Bully16]

Hi! Long time lurker and first time needing some help We have a 5 year old British bulldog and he has always been an active boy. 2 months ago he started limping on his front left shoulder and it didn’t go away within a few days so we went to the vet and were prescribed anti inflammatory meloxicam for 7 days. It worked a treat and within hours after first dose he was walking around as normal. A few days after the first round ran out he was limping again and cried/yelped in pain and trembling. Back to the vets for an X-ray and exam which they found nothing and even sent to a specialist who also couldn’t see anything. Prescribed a months worth of meloxicam again with the vet thinking it was a soft tissue injury that hasn’t healed. He also said that he has lost weight and has lost a lot of muscle on his front left shoulder. All was going well and then the month ran out and he started limping again. We got some more meloxicam and now a few days later there is a limp on his back left leg. He’s moving really slowly. Totally at a loss as to what could be going on and hate seeing our boy like this. He’s eating, drinking and keen to go for walks. The limping is on and off but worse when he just gets up. The vet has said an MRI may or may not find anything and our boy was absolutely traumatised by the aneasthetic from the X-rays so we’re not sure what to do as he gets really stressed and don’t think he would cope with going through much more. Wondering if anyone else has experienced anything like this? The only other thing that comes to mind is Over the last 2 years he had kennel cough and then a really nasty skin infection but both went away with vet treatment. Please help We’re so worried and just want him to be happy again.

 

[Bulldog2001]

Hi! Long time lurker and first time needing some help We have a 5 year old British bulldog and he has always been an active boy. 2 months ago he started limping on his front left shoulder and it didn’t go away within a few days so we went to the vet and were prescribed anti inflammatory meloxicam for 7 days. It worked a treat and within hours after first dose he was walking around as normal. A few days after the first round ran out he was limping again and cried/yelped in pain and trembling. Back to the vets for an X-ray and exam which they found nothing and even sent to a specialist who also couldn’t see anything. Prescribed a months worth of meloxicam again with the vet thinking it was a soft tissue injury that hasn’t healed. He also said that he has lost weight and has lost a lot of muscle on his front left shoulder. All was going well and then the month ran out and he started limping again. We got some more meloxicam and now a few days later there is a limp on his back left leg. He’s moving really slowly. Totally at a loss as to what could be going on and hate seeing our boy like this. He’s eating, drinking and keen to go for walks. The limping is on and off but worse when he just gets up. The vet has said an MRI may or may not find anything and our boy was absolutely traumatised by the aneasthetic from the X-rays so we’re not sure what to do as he gets really stressed and don’t think he would cope with going through much more. Wondering if anyone else has experienced anything like this? The only other thing that comes to mind is Over the last 2 years he had kennel cough and then a really nasty skin infection but both went away with vet treatment. Please help We’re so worried and just want him to be happy again.

I’m sorry to hear about his shoulder and leg.
Meloxicam actually causes joint issues and kidney problems, even with it being anti inflammatory, I decline it when it’s prescribed for any of my dogs. That’s probably what happened with his back leg, from the meds.

I have a dog that was limping bad on the shoulder and it was never diagnosed as arthritis since we were certain it was.
I know many dogs with shoulder arthritis and arthritis in back legs(all of them have used the meds from the vet too, which didn’t help), but what we all did(and this is what has helped my dog and all the others) is Green Lipped Mussels powder.
I buy the Thrive brand Freeze Dried Green Lipped Mussels and it’s incredible, works amazing and all the dogs with arthritis I know ALL use this Thrive Green Lipped Mussels powder, and it works amazing.

My dog was limping so bad on her shoulder and I gave her the Green Lipped Mussels and she no longer limps anymore and same for the other dogs I know.

Unfortunately those medications do more harm than good, and there is natural alternatives that work better with no side effects.

Green lipped mussels are a whole food source of Glucosamine, condroiton and magnesium. Since it’s a whole food source it’s much better and easier to absorb in the body.

I highly recommend the Thrive Green Lipped Mussels as your dogs arthritis sounds very much like my dog and the others I know with great success from the green lipped mussels!
It’s not very expensive either.
I also work at a ‘holistic pet store’ and that green lipped mussels is a popular product and has had many people say it’s working amazing-even for a dog who could barely get up. Can take up to 3-4 weeks to notice a difference(sometimes sooner, depends on the dog and how severe it is).

It’s available in Canada(and made in Canada), but not sure if you can get it in US, are you in Canada??


Also what do you feed him??? I ask because arthritis is a inflammatory condition, and for good health the anti inflammatory diet is key as well. Low carb is best especially in these problems.
What brand and protein do you feed???

Hope he gets better soon.

Keep us updated!
I’m happy to help! Especially with Diet and supplements

 

[Bulldog2001]

Hi! Long time lurker and first time needing some help We have a 5 year old British bulldog and he has always been an active boy. 2 months ago he started limping on his front left shoulder and it didn’t go away within a few days so we went to the vet and were prescribed anti inflammatory meloxicam for 7 days. It worked a treat and within hours after first dose he was walking around as normal. A few days after the first round ran out he was limping again and cried/yelped in pain and trembling. Back to the vets for an X-ray and exam which they found nothing and even sent to a specialist who also couldn’t see anything. Prescribed a months worth of meloxicam again with the vet thinking it was a soft tissue injury that hasn’t healed. He also said that he has lost weight and has lost a lot of muscle on his front left shoulder. All was going well and then the month ran out and he started limping again. We got some more meloxicam and now a few days later there is a limp on his back left leg. He’s moving really slowly. Totally at a loss as to what could be going on and hate seeing our boy like this. He’s eating, drinking and keen to go for walks. The limping is on and off but worse when he just gets up. The vet has said an MRI may or may not find anything and our boy was absolutely traumatised by the aneasthetic from the X-rays so we’re not sure what to do as he gets really stressed and don’t think he would cope with going through much more. Wondering if anyone else has experienced anything like this? The only other thing that comes to mind is Over the last 2 years he had kennel cough and then a really nasty skin infection but both went away with vet treatment. Please help We’re so worried and just want him to be happy again.

Here is the photo of what the green lipped mussels looks like:

 

[Bully16]

I’m sorry to hear about his shoulder and leg.
Meloxicam actually causes joint issues and kidney problems, even with it being anti inflammatory, I decline it when it’s prescribed for any of my dogs. That’s probably what happened with his back leg, from the meds.

I have a dog that was limping bad on the shoulder and it was never diagnosed as arthritis since we were certain it was.
I know many dogs with shoulder arthritis and arthritis in back legs(all of them have used the meds from the vet too, which didn’t help), but what we all did(and this is what has helped my dog and all the others) is Green Lipped Mussels powder.
I buy the Thrive brand Freeze Dried Green Lipped Mussels and it’s incredible, works amazing and all the dogs with arthritis I know ALL use this Thrive Green Lipped Mussels powder, and it works amazing.

My dog was limping so bad on her shoulder and I gave her the Green Lipped Mussels and she no longer limps anymore and same for the other dogs I know.

Unfortunately those medications do more harm than good, and there is natural alternatives that work better with no side effects.

Green lipped mussels are a whole food source of Glucosamine, condroiton and magnesium. Since it’s a whole food source it’s much better and easier to absorb in the body.

I highly recommend the Thrive Green Lipped Mussels as your dogs arthritis sounds very much like my dog and the others I know with great success from the green lipped mussels!
It’s not very expensive either.
I also work at a ‘holistic pet store’ and that green lipped mussels is a popular product and has had many people say it’s working amazing-even for a dog who could barely get up. Can take up to 3-4 weeks to notice a difference(sometimes sooner, depends on the dog and how severe it is).

It’s available in Canada(and made in Canada), but not sure if you can get it in US, are you in Canada??


Also what do you feed him??? I ask because arthritis is a inflammatory condition, and for good health the anti inflammatory diet is key as well. Low carb is best especially in these problems.
What brand and protein do you feed???

Hope he gets better soon.

Keep us updated!
I’m happy to help! Especially with Diet and supplements

Thank you so much for your response!! That’s so amazing to hear and interesting that I have never heard of it before! I’ve spoken to so many people about it and googled for hours and no alternatives were suggested until now so I’m really excited to try it out. I asked the vet about arthritis but he ruled it out after the X-ray which was so disheartening to not have any answers or alternative treatments.

Im actually in Australia I will try and find a similar product here to try it out.
We feed him a mix of raw chicken mince, dry food (Black Hawk), and I try and sneak some sweet potato and eggs in but he is so fussy and picks them out sometimes. I also had been using rosehip powder and an omega 3 liquid supplement but not sure if any of that was helping.

Again thank you so much, I will try and source some and keep you updated!

 

[Cbrugs]

Turmeric paste is a great anti-inflammatory and is super easy to make.

 

[Bully16]

Thanks guys! He’s moving very slowly today and his poor little back leg appears to be swollen or have some fluid retention. I have ordered the green lipped mussels and have some turmeric hopefully that will help.

 

[Cbrugs]

Thanks guys! He’s moving very slowly today and his poor little back leg appears to be swollen or have some fluid retention. I have ordered the green lipped mussels and have some turmeric hopefully that will help.

It sounds like there might be something going on that supplements may not help with. It might be a good idea to go back to the vet if it’s swollen and you think there might be fluid retention.

 

[Bulldog2001]

Thanks guys! He’s moving very slowly today and his poor little back leg appears to be swollen or have some fluid retention. I have ordered the green lipped mussels and have some turmeric hopefully that will help.

Hopefully he improves soon!
Keep us updated!

 

[Bully16]

Hopefully he improves soon!
Keep us updated!

Thank you! We have been weening him off the meloxicam to see if that helps and we also started giving him a natural stress and anxiety supplement we used to give him when he was a bit younger and turmeric, and the back leg swelling has completely gone and limping on any leg is barely noticeable!! He’s still moving slowly (for him) so looking forward to when the green lipped mussels arrive and fingers crossed he’ll be all good! Thank you guys so much it really means the world to me to see him happy again.

 

[oscarmayer]

Sounds like you and your Vet are a bit stumped. Grasping at straws for some, ANY sort of relief for your boy. If what you are doing now becomes ineffective in the future, consider CBD...you never know.
We have seen it work wonders on 2 of our dogs...one still with us and the other has passed from old age. Our go to for the one we have now is:
Super Snouts Hemp and Joint Chews.
I hope that they are available to you down under.

 

[2BullyMama]

I second the tumeric paste

 

[VooDoo & Breezy Cano]

Voodoo has arthritis and hip dysplasia and that sounds like what you are describing. But if the x-rays didn't show anything... I give him hemp/CBD daily with his food and it works. I third on the Turmeric.
Hope your boy gets some relief soon.