Advice Needed

[kendseycollins]

Here’s the story, we recently brought Digz home to join or family.  She has been in my family for 10 years but has lived with my parents, and is at least 14 years old.  She gets along well with Kaos, our year and a half old APBT.  She’s a golden retriever cross of some sort, but really just a mutt.  She’s pretty healthy.  She has all her teeth, a good apetite, is still somewhat active (though she’s really just enjoying her twilight years basking in the sun.)  Her only problems are that she’s nearly deaf and has some arthritis in her hips.  We don’t have a ton of money and I know arthritis treatment for pets can be very expensive.  So, I’ve been researching some natural ways to help her.  I would like to modify her diet to include some extra joint friendly foods.  First, I was wondering if anybody knows if Tuna fish is bad for dogs.  It’s high in oils and omega-3s that are recomended for arthritis pain.  Also, I’m wondering about a small amount of fruit, as the vitamin C is also supposed to support joint health and ginger, as it is a natural inhibitor of pain and inflamation.  Since she moved in with us we have included romps in the park and nightly walks (though they are kept somewhat short due to her age,) into her daily routine and she really does enjoy her adventures (as does Kaos!) The next idea I had may sound a little bizzarre, but let me know what you think.  She’s a beautiful dog, but, as I am used to my pit, I was having some issues dealing with all her hair as she sheds her winter coat.  Brushing just seemed to get more on me that off the dog, not to mention it seems to be NEVER ENDING!!!  So, I finally got fed up and vaccuumed my dog.  As she is very hard of hearing, the noise didn’t bother her and she seemed to throughly enjoy the massage!!!  Here’s the crazy idea that I got as I was standing in my living room, using the vaccuum hose to de-hair my senile, childhood pet:  I wonder if the light suction down the spine and out to the hips, legs, etc. would encourage and stimulate blood flow to that end of things?  At any rate, I would appreciate any input as I think that she’s still got a couple years in her, but I hate seeing her struggle to get up and down the stairs.  Thanks, Kendsey.

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