Dogs and Arthritis...How Do Parents Help?

As you may have seen on our Twitter page yesterday, a friend's Newfoundland named Thor has bad arthritis and it seems to be getting worse.  I stayed with him last night while my friends went to training class with their Newfoundland puppy, Megan.   This advancement of Thor's pain got me thinking about what we as pet parents can do to help our fur kids if this ever happens to them and while there are tons of websites with ads for medications claiming to naturally help arthritis I personally had a hard time finding good information about this topic.  I did, however, find these three links that I liked:

http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/guide/arthritis-in-dogs-symptoms-and-causes

http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/medications-supplements-dogs-arthritis

http://www.glucosamine-arthritis.org/arthritis-pets/glucosamine-large-dogs.html

Thor has had so many health problems which is unfortunate and very unlike the breed.  He has had a couple of shoulder surgeries, he has allergies to several things not the least of which is fleas and, of course, arthritis.  Big breed dogs often have issues with joints  which is why a lot of owners will give supplements to their big dogs to help with this later in life.  I personally give my Great Dane supplements to hopefully keep his joints as healthy as possible for as long as possible.

Thor at 4 years old

Arthritis is very painful, as the ones of you who know someone who has it or may have it yourself know, and as the disease progresses it becomes harder and harder to treat.  Pain medications can only do so much which is why it is very important to keep your dog as healthy as possible by feeding him/her the best food you can and visiting your vet so any early signs/symptoms can be detected.

There are several other conditions that can lead to arthritis in larger dogs such as hip dysplasia, cruciate ligament rupture and Osteochondrosis.  These conditions are very easy for a good vet to detect so if you notice any changes in your dog's gait, or if he/she cries out in pain during various everyday activities such as walking then call your vet immediately.

We all love our animals and keeping them healthy is extremely important.  Feed a good food, know what's normal for your animal and please see your vet every year.

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