Dog Arthritis Treatments

Arthritis in dogs is usually a disease that’s age related and is known to be one of the most common diseases in dogs. No matter what the age of your pet it can be affected, especially if they are over weight. Arthritis is more common in larger breeds that grow to more than 60 pounds, like Golden Retrievers, Labradors, Rottweilers and German Shepherds.

The pain your pet experiences from arthritis is because of the breakdown of cartilage surrounding its joints that cause extreme discomfort during movement.

Many pet owners have taken a preventative approach to try and fend off these age related issues of mobility and pain. If you want to start your pet on such a regimen it should be done before the get to be five. The usual supplements that you would give your dog would include Chondroitin and Glucosamine. They have been proven to help promote healthy joints in not only dogs, but humans too.

If your pet starts showing symptoms of arthritis you need to take steps to help control their pain quickly. Dogs are good at masking some of the symptoms of pain so when you see it’s painful for them, believe me it’s really bothering them.

The first thing that you must do is to identify these symptoms in your dog, and these may be hard to detect at first. These can include: slow movement, decreased motion, trouble in getting up, not wanting to run, sleeping more than normal and almost anything else that might be an indicator that your pet is feeling some discomfort. If your dog shows any of these signs you need to go to the Vet to have them examined.

If your pet is diagnosed as having arthritis your Vet will most likely prescribe an NSAID or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. The most popular of these drugs are Rimadyl, Deramaxx, Metacam and Previcox. These medications are available only with a prescription. As with any prescription pain meds they may have certain side effects in your dog.

Many pet owners have worried about with the cost and side effects of the prescribed drugs and have looked for more tolerant and less costly alternative treatments. Many have found that natural supplements have shown to be an excellent way to relieve the pain of their pets arthritis.

My Lab Brandy was eleven when she started taking an NSAID. Other than the extremely high cost it was an effective medication and relieved her pain. Due to the amount of medication required for my 75 pound dog it was costing me over $100 a month to keep her medicated. This very costly treatment caused me to try and find an alternative treatment that was less expensive, but still provided pain relief with better mobility. I discovered that in a natural supplement that was both affordable and effective.

Don’t assume that high priced prescription medicines are the only answer. You also can find an affordable and effective natural arthritis dog treatment. I did and I was extremely happy with the results!