Originally Posted by
Mollysmomma
My Molly turns 13 this spring & has also been having the hind end weakness for awhile now. It is so distressing to see our babies get old! We had a bad winter & she had the most trouble when it was icy. A couple of times she fell, & couldn't get up, & just laid down in the snow. Another time, in the house, her hind legs just seemed to give out all of a sudden & she sat down hard, & yelped in pain. She was having a lot of trouble getting up. It seems like sometimes when she tries to get up, her hind legs are kind of out in front of her, & she has to really lean forward & struggle to get up. We bought her a Solve It lifting harness to help her out when she is having trouble. All the other dogs I've had have been put on Rimadyl when they got old & started having arthritis problems, but Molly already has something going on with her liver, causing her to have an elevated ALT (whatever that may be). Because Labs can be prone to developing liver problems if put on Rimadyl & since Molly already has a problem there, my vet didn't want to put her on it. She prescribed some Gabapentin for Molly, & I've been giving Molly Cosequin for quite awhile. However, a new medication is out now to help with arthritis, so my vet was finally able to get it & Molly was the first dog she tried it on. It isn't supposed to have all the bad side effects that Rimadyl can have. It is expensive--$50 for 10 pills. Molly had to take a pill a day for about 3 days, & the vet said if it seemed to be helping to try giving her 1/2 pill each day, which is what we're doing. It does seem to be helping her. I know it isn't a cure, but I have not felt like I had to put the lifting harness on her since she started on the new med. I take her on 1 longer walk each morning (not that far--just down to the end of the road & back, maybe 1/2 mile). So we really aren't doing a lot of exercise. Molly wants to go, & she is always out if front, but she has a little more pep going down the road than she has coming back. If I try to take her for a longer walk, it does seem to tire her out. The other walks are just short potty walks & a chance to sniff around. The new med is called Galliprant--you might want to ask your vet about it. Sending along positive thoughts & prayers Dakota will be o.k! This getting old stuff is not for the faint-hearted......