My bad...

[brandtrn]

Can't believe I've been so thoughtless! I realized a few days ago that Baby Lucy's hemp supplement capsules were running low, and made a mental note to order more...and then forgot! Realized my bad when giving Lucy her supplement for tonight and saw that I had given her the VERY LAST ONE! How rotten of me! In this past month, since we started Lucy on hemp, her arthritis symptoms have improved immeasurably. She is no longer hobbling around on three legs and is in fact, on occasion, again chasing Ricky throughout the yard as well as chasing rabbits, squirrels or any other small creature unfortunate enough to drop into her "domain." Obviously, I ordered more tonight, and I'm fortunate enough to be a Prime member at Amazon. This means that I'll get the next delivery within two days, and I hope that I'll manage, somehow, to keep my Lucy comfortable until her next shipment arrives. This time, I ordered a TWO month supply so hopefully, I won't be running into the same issue again. The stuff has taken care of Lucy's arthritic discomfort far better than any manufactured pharmaceuticals from the vet have done thus far.

[Icey]

Brilliant news! That stuff's not only good for animals but for humans as well, but as a medicinal oil (as opposed to capsules), it's not so easy to get hold of over here, which I find ridiculous. It can be prescribed in certain circumstances where constant pain interferes with daily life, but even then, nobody actually suggests it - you have to ask.
Don't feel bad about forgetting Lucy's supplies, because once your new order arrives, she'll be bouncing around again. It's only human to err, but if the poor girl seems to be suffering a bit, you CAN give her paracetamol - 10 mg per kg of weight, by mouth, twice a day, with or after food. For example, most paracetamol comes in 500 mg tablets, so a 30 kg Labrador (just over 66lb) could take three-fifths of a tablet twice a day, with food.
I hope she's soon feeling better, and "bad mummy" can rest easy. I think you're being a very GOOD one actually. At least you care about your pets.

[yogi]

I don't want to marginalize what is going on with Lucy, but lately I've been wondering if the little critters actually suffer as much as we think they do. We have a Shi Tzu who is over 12 years old - don't know exactly how old she is because she is a rescue dog. Apparently she is suffering from a collapsed trachea. We were told by the vet that such things are quite common for pooches of her breed and age. It's quite distressing for us humans to witness her symptoms. She will be walking along then suddenly stop, caugh, gag, and look around as if she might be dizzy. This doesn't last for even a full minute at which point she continues her walk as if nothing happened. She seems to be unaware that something serious is going on and is not bothered by any of it. I realize that arthritis involves acute pain and your puppy certainly feels it. But I don't know if she cares about it any more than the weather. I don't think doggies worry like us humans do.

[Icey]

Pet owners who care for their animals DO naturally worry about them. They rely on us in a similar way to that of a child. In the wild, animals soldier on even when they're suffering - until they can't - because lameness etc., encourages predators. In your own dog's case, bless her, collapsed tracheas can be quite a common problem or signify other underlying health conditions, but it's thought that the condition doesn't actually cause much, if any, pain, apart from perhaps any associated coughing.
Arthritis IS painful, and animals usually let us know if they're hurting. Luckily, there're various medications which can help with this, but because hemp's natural, it probably does more good than a plethora of chemicals.

[brandtrn]

I would agree, Dennis, that Lucy probably isn't worrying as much about her pain as I am. Before I managed to get her some relief, she appeared to take it as a matter of course and continued to get a good bit of enjoyment from life, hobbled up though she was. Dogs appear to take life just as it comes and seem to accept it far better than we do. I suppose that we could take a lesson from them ;-)

[Icey]

I think it's nature's way that animals - unless they're in sudden immense pain - don't make a song and dance about it. It doesn't mean that they can't feel pain of course, but that they deal with it by trying to carry on as normal. This's what they'd do in the wild, or hide away and literally lick their wounds or wait to die. A suffering animal slows up, and as I said above, that'd attract others to attack them.
When my two dogs were suffering last year, I could tell by their actions and expressions that things weren't good for them. They still did their best, and used to come to us for comfort, by squashing up close to us if we were sitting or lying on sofas, but the way they looked at us pleadingly was heartbreaking. They'd wag their tails at the idea of going for walks, and would stagger up and go as far as they could, even though they were incontinent and uncomfortable. When they'd had enough, they'd stop, or turn back for home. In the end, despite pain relief, they WERE whimpering occasionally, and we knew that we couldn't let them go on like that.
Animals deal with pain in a different way to us human beings, as you say.