TREATING CANINE ARTHRITIS

Are you beginning to worry about the changes in your senior dog? Does he still show interest about your daily walks? Is he still his usual active self that runs and jumps on you? If not, he might be suffering from a canine arthritis.

Yes, just like us, our dogs also experience arthritis. They, too, feel a lot of pain because of it. Among the variety of types, Osteoarthritis is the most common. It is caused by worn out cartilage in a joint which serve as a pad to avoid physical contact of bone to bone. These cartilages deteriorate as the dog gets older and the direct contact is the cause of the pain.

Aside from old age, there is no other cause of arthritis but there are factors that lead to it like hip dysplasia, dog’s obesity or an injury. For young dogs, bone malformation during his growth phase leads to arthritis later in his life.

How will you know if your buddy has canine arthritis? He must show the following symptoms:

Inactivity. Your dog may unusually stop playing or roaming around the house.

Favoring of one leg, or the other. The dog will prefer one leg or both to pay his attention.

Difficulty to get up or lie down. There is an obvious hesitation in getting up or lying down.

Clicking of joints. Joints click because there is physical contact between bones.

Pain when walking. Because of the contact, the dog experiences pain.

Swelling of joints. Arthritic joints usually swell.

Whimpering or crying. The dog feels too much pain.

Difficulty in climbing stairs. Your dog may unwillingly climb your stairs because it pains him to do so.

There is no cure for canine arthritis. However, there are drugs that veterinarians might prescribe for your dog. Glucosamine and Chondroitin reduce inflammation and alleviate pain. There are also commercial dog supplements containing these drugs and others like Cosequin and Arthogen. A proper diet will be good for an arthritic dog. Acupuncture and Chiropractic are also available for pain relieving.

Seeing our dog in quite a state pains us even more. Still, we can do something for their comfort. Here are some.

Raise his food or water bowl. He might be having difficulty stooping down.

Keep him warm, especially on cold weather.

Apply moist heat to his arthritic joints.

Use ramps instead of stairs, if possible.

Give him a reasonably good exercise. It helps prevent further deterioration.

Unfortunately, when arthritis starts, the dog will suffer with it for the rest of his life. As owners, all we can do for them is doing the extra mile by giving them what they need: proper diet, good exercise, medications and most importantly, tons of love.