Older dogs, just like older people, often develop arthritis. Arthritis is a condition where the tissue within the joints deteriorates. This causes the bones to touch, they rub together, and cause pain. Although older dogs develop arthritis, it will appear in different degrees. Larger dogs tend to have arthritis worse. This is because they have more weight to carry, and this causes more stress on their joints. There are several things you can do to help your dog with arthritis.
1. Liquid glucosamine. We have been using liquid glucosamine for three or four years now with our older dogs. It's an all-natural product, and has no side effects. There are no dangers associated with liquid glucosamine, as there are with prescription drugs. In fact, many prescription drugs have been shown to cause illness and even death in some dogs.
2. Keep your pet at a healthy weight. The more weight your dog has to carry, the more stress there will be on the joints. It's far better to have your dog a little on the skinny side than it is to be overweight. Although it is difficult sometimes to keep the weight off of older dogs, it is important to be as diligent as you can. Your dog will have a much easier time growing older with arthritis if they don't have to carry around the extra weight.
3. Moderate exercise. It's important that older dogs do not over exercise. If your dog experiences limping or whining after exercise, he or she has probably overdone it. We have a 15 year old dog who still thinks she is a puppy at times. She will go out to play and run around in circles and end up hurting herself. We often have to control her actions and make her slow down and be aware that she is capable of hurting herself. Also, if she gets too much exercise, we notice that she ends up limping at the end of it.
So what's the best treatment for arthritis? Arthritis does not have to ruin your pets quality of life. A daily dose of liquid glucosamine, moderate exercise, and healthy weight will help ensure your pet leads a comfortable, active, and fulfilling life even if arthritis slows them down just a bit.
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