Old dogs and arthritis

Meet my 14 year old Airedale Dona, she is a dog that has never been sick for 13 years. However as of early 2015 I noticed she has problems to go upstairs and would hesitate to do it while before it was very easy thing for her to do. Vet said it was normal for her age.  I kept Metacam and Rymadil at hand  since she had acute painful episodes and by the end of 2015 I had to carry her upstairs in my arms during such episodes that would last for about 10 days. In December 2015 I decided to try with dietary supplements, first two most important supplements were Curcumine powder (one full teaspoon mixed in food every day) and VitaKraft Vita-bon tablets (minerals and vitamins) every day and then I discovered No-Dol pills (made by Italian company ESI) but there are many similar products or products with practically the same composition made by other companies. Essentially the product contains natural supplements for  improvement of joint flexibility and reduction of joint inflammation.  It contains Glucosamine, Mangane, Chondroitin, MSM, Aloe Vera and Devil's Claw (this last sounds wicked but is really good for a dog). So after one month of therapy with all the supplements there was very little improvement regarding Dona's ability to walk upstairs but her acute episodes were gone and after almost two months of therapy there was significant improvement of her ability to walk upstairs - if she had to she could do it by herself slowly tough. The trick we do now when she wants to go upstairs is I gently pull and hold her tail upwards so it relieves pressure from her hips while she goes upstairs and usually after some time I can let the tail go and she make final few steps on her own.

So to conclude, supplements unlike drugs that your vet prescribes (for example Rymadil and Metacam)  need time to work, don't give up after a month or two on supplements because it might take more time before you see improvements on your dog.