I have a 5 year old boy who had OCD surgery on his hock when he was 2. Now he has arthritis in that hock. He cannot tolerate NSAIDS. I currently give him Tramadol twice a day, vitamines C & E as well as Glucosamine & fish oil, but the cooler weather is causing a lot of pain. Does anyone know of any better meds to reduce his pain?

You may want to talk to your vet about upping the Tramadol and/or adding a joint supplement.
There are so many good joint supplements out there. Most have Glucosamine, Chondroitin or MSM (the sulfer in MSM is a precursor to the body's formation of chondroitin sulfate), perna caniliculus or blue-green algae both of which are natural cox-2 inhibitors...they mimic the results of the NSAIDS in a natural form. Another good ingredient is ASU (Avocado/Soy Unsaponifiables), which has been tested widely in Europe as effective as an anti-inflammatory.
Sounds like your boy needs some extra meds or neutriceuticals to help him out. OCD of the hock surgery is not generally curative, and they often need creative pain management for life.
Email me privately and I can help you with this, with your veterinarian's okay.

You might want to give Lubrisyn a shot - http://lubrisyn.com/

there is a new therapy called prolo you may want to google it. I hear there are a few vets using it to much success on ocd, hip dysplasia, arthritic areas.

You might want to consider feverfew, which is an herbal remedy. Make sure you read all the side effects and med interactions before you give. It is also a blood thinner.

I've had a lot of success with acupunture for pain management for arthritis, both age and surgery related

And if there is a physical therapist and facility near ou consider developing a program of excersizea and stretches to help keep the joints lubricated.

Try the Trixsyn.

I would suggest talking to your vet about Adequan therapy. It works fast and has no long term side effects. I've had great results with it, and my vet is a huge fan of it also. It's also cost effective once you get past the loading doses. I do a monthly maintenance dose.

We use Gluc/Cond made by Osteo Biflex Triple strength along with Nature's Farmacy CCM Plus twice a day.
She has severe arthritis in both knees.
If I waver even a little and try one pill or less scoops of the CCM Plus the difference is noticable in 3 days.
We feel lucky to have managed her pain this long with no medication.

Works great for pain. I used it many years ago for a dog with HD.

Info from Dr. Pitcairn:

http://books.google.com/books?id=YSKQngJJBcMC&pg=PA236&lpg=PA236&dq=how+many+mgs+of+alfalfa+for+dogs+in+pain&source=bl&ots=lKMJUQ0_eJ&sig=cs2y04Eh9HiJn50txO_KCYLmPOY&hl=en&ei=oFn0SpTsOs6TlAfE9b24Aw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CAwQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=&f=false

You can get 500mg tablets at GNC.
or get it in powder form here:

http://www.b-naturals.com/atlantic-alfalfa-1-lb-p-7

Vit C to bowel tollerance works well too as an antiinflammatory. Fish body oil at 1000mg/10 lbs of weight also.

Its often a combo of things that work - especially when going holistic.

There is great info at www.dogaware.com under the arthritis section.

Also consider organic Apple Cider Viniger (with the mother)(GNC carries Braggs brand)

Taken from:

http://curezone.com/blogs/fm.asp?i=973742

"Firstly, ACV may be an effective remedy for arthritis, gout and kidney disease and helpful in alleviating joint pain. The malic acid content of apples dissolves calcium deposits."

Good luck in finding what works for your dog.

We have a dog (9yrs old) with severe hip dysplasia, our vet put him on Prednisolone and he is a completly different dog. I know it is a steroid and am concerned a bit. I have 50mg pills, cut in 1/2. We started on one pill a day for 4 days, then every other day and now every 4th day. His quality of life is so great now, happy, playful etc. We feel the quality of life for him is the most important. The only thing I can say about the med is that he drinks more water and has to urinate more off. Small price to pay for his comfort.

Are you sure its 50 mg. ? All I have ever been given is 20mg and give half or less for allergys. That just sounds like alot.

Adequan injections.... My old boy had major relief from this treatment.

Maybe I didn't make it clear in my message that the pills are 50mg, cut in half so the dosage has always been 25mg. 1st 4 days 25mg each day, then every other day and now every 4th day.

I have used the Homeopathic tablets Zeel and Traumeel with good success. They are relatively inexpensive with no known adverse side effects. Several of my friends with Labradors have done well on it. The Zeel is more for Arthritis pain and stiffnes.. The Traumeel more for inflammation and acute injuries... but for some a combo works best. You can do a search online and purchase then on the web.
Best regards.