Osteoarthritis in the Dog: 5 tips to get to a solution

Osteoarthritis in dogs is a pathology that can affect all breeds at any age, and consists of the degeneration of the joints, responsible for walking and in general for the correct movement of the bones.

Dogs suffering from this pathology experience so much effort in performing any activity that requires the manipulation of the joints: walking for a long time, running and jumping become painful feats to the point that the dog begins to prefer almost completely immobility.

Despite being a degenerative disease, there are nevertheless therapies and useful measures to prevent joint diseases of our trusted companion, slowing down the progression of the disease and thus ensuring a lifestyle as serene as possible and with less and less pain.

Do you want to find out symptoms, causes and tips to recognize and prevent the problem of arthrosis of the dog? Keep reading the article!

Dog osteoarthritis symptoms and causes

In the last 5 years, dog joint diseases have increased by 38%.

Joint problems, from dysplasias to arthrosis, are in the “Top Ten” of the most common clinical diagnoses of the pet. And to suffer from it are in particular the large / giant dogs and the older animals.

Hitting mainly the structure of the joints that guarantee bone mobility, it will be enough to notice how your dog faces a walk, or with how much ease he jumps on the armchair or manages to run in the park. Generically the symptoms of arthrosis are:

• lameness;
• the so-called “cold lameness”, due to a sudden stiffening of the joint after being stationary for a long time. The dog suffering from arthrosis, in fact, will tend to use as little as possible the sore paw, thus causing a sort of muscular atrophy;
• stiffening and swelling of the joints;
• reticence to perform prolonged movements and activities;
• tremor in the paws.

Paws dogs diseases: when do they strike?

Since canine osteoarthritis most often affects older dogs due to the systemic aging of the body, advanced age is the main cause responsible for the onset of the problem in most cases.

13% of older dogs suffer from osteoarthritis, and 1 in 4 dogs has to deal with joint pain.

However, it is good to remember that osteoarthritis in dogs can also affect young dogs, or even puppies, the causes can be traced back to two main problems:

• hip and elbow dysplasia, a congenital disease inherited from mother and father;
• excessive manipulation of the joint due to trauma such as fractures or dislocations.

It should also be remembered that excessive weight due to an unbalanced diet and lack of physical activity are an obstacle to the proper mobility of muscles, bones and joints.

Attention also to subject the animal to excessive physical activity: dogs dedicated to intense physical activity (eg sport) keep their joints always under stress, increasing wear and risk of trauma (eg fractures, dislocations, ruptures of tendons and ligaments).

Result: old and worn joints in subjects still in full vitality and physical fitness.

Dog osteoarthritis effective care

Unfortunately, to date there is no single medical therapy or surgery capable of solving joint problems once and for all.
The health of the joints is the result of a program of attention and specific care whose effectiveness will be demonstrated only with your participation, informed and aware.
In addition, help to prevent osteoarthritis can come from natural remedies: the existing therapies prove to be able to give excellent help to animals suffering from this pathology and significantly slow down their symptoms.
Usually specific supplements are used for joint problems, in addition to physiotherapy, a careful maintenance of physical movement and a diet that controls the weight of the dog.

5 Tips to prevent arthrosis of the dog

When you decide to take care of a dog it is very important to make all the necessary checks on its health and its predisposition to the different problems of development.
Osteoarthritis is unfortunately one of the most common diseases that affect dogs, especially those of large size, and for this reason it is good to have several measures that reduce the risk of its
onset.

Here are some useful tips to prevent arthrosis of the dog

1. Only use safe and certified farms

If you are going to take a puppy of a breed predisposed to joint dysplasia, turn only to farms with a certificate of pedigree from selected reproduction issued by ENCI (National Body of Italian Cynophilia). This certificate guarantees that the puppy is born to parents free from transmissible joint problems, and in this way the demand for genetically healthy dogs will be encouraged, increasingly disadvantaging the tendency to breed specimens destined to suffer pain and discomfort.

2. Ask your veterinarian for an early orthopaedic visit

Around three to four months it is advisable to ask a veterinarian for an orthopedic visit to establish the possible predisposition of your puppy to developmental diseases such as dysplasia, and to immediately intercept signs of arthrosis that could cause more problems in the future.
If your dog is diagnosed with this predisposition, there are currently surgical techniques that can greatly improve his joint health.

3. Treat dog osteoarthritis: control nutrition

Nutrition is fundamental: in fact, recent scientific studies have shown that reducing body weight is useful to reduce joint pain.
Organize a specific diet suitable for his age, size and lifestyle without relying on do-it-yourself methods.
Ration food so that each meal provides the right amount of energy without metabolic excesses and always keep track of the body weight of your trusted partner: overweight and obesity weigh on the joints, as is also the case in humans, with the risk of causing pain and difficulty in movement.

4. Attention to physical exercise

Good exercise is good not only for you, but also for your dog. Do not overdo it, however: always consider the age and size of your dog and avoid too intense physical efforts even in competitive activities, so as not to burden too much on joints at risk.
Always integrate a physiotherapy program in case your dog needs to recover from a post-operative state or trauma: constant pain often leads the animal to avoid movement, thus slipping into a muscle atrophy that would gradually prevent him from any other activity.

5. Use specific supplements for osteoarthritis in dogs

There are many products that help ensure the joint well-being of your dog, but contact companies that know the problem, engage in the search for new formulations and use selected and purified substances.

With patented formula based on Aloe Arborescens, Carrot and natural ingredients, Articur pet is an essential blend to keep the joint, bone and muscle system of your dog or cat healthy, guaranteeing significant results in supporting the therapies of animals with osteoarthritis already in progress or with puppies predisposed to bone and joint pathologies also thanks to the presence of omega 3 fatty acids and components that promote flexibility.

Do you want to know more and know the most suitable products for your best four-legged friend?

If your dog is larger in size, click here to discover Artricur Pet for 11 kg dogs. up.