Caring for Your Pet’s Joints | HealthyPets

In addition to lowering your dog's weight, there is a wide variety of supplements that can also work to promote healthy joints in aging dogs. Though there are a cornucopia of brands that offer treats and supplements that you can feed your dog, it's important to know which ingredients to look out for to ensure that they are actually working.

Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulfate are two ingredients that are excellent for combating the deterioration or swelling of joints. Though many joint care products are on the market, it is important to make sure they include Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulfate. Some examples of supplements that include these ingredients are Joint MAX, Consequin, and Phycox but there are other supplements that contain them.

Shogun had two flights of stairs to navigate and in his later years he mostly stayed on the first floor. Stairs are hard on joints but you can reduce the strain of your pet by installing ramps or plush step covers to reduce the impact. Whether you have stairs or not it is a good idea to install carpeting on your floors when you have an older pet since hardwood and rile floors are high impact.

Provide alternate forms of exercise from running and walking that are not as high impact. If you live by a lake or pond, swimming is one viable option for certain dog breeds that is very minimal in the strain it puts on your dog's joints. For those of you that do not have access to a place where your dog can swim, you can move your walks to areas that are mostly grass or another low impact surface and keep the pace at a slow saunter.

Though these are excellent tips for preventing joint problems, there are further steps that should be taken once your dog has developed a serious condition. With Shogun, we had little time between our realization of his joint problem and his eventually passing so there wasn't a lot we could do. The earlier you can identify an injury or condition the faster you can act on it to prevent the problem from getting worse. The following are symptoms of pain in dogs that can help you identify a problem:

Difficulty lying down and getting up

Exceedingly slow when beginning to walk or move after getting up

Difficulty with stairs

Swollen joints

Limping or standing off-balance

Once you identify the problem there are several things you can do to slow or even remedy the problem if it's not severe.

If you've identified a problem with your dog's joints problems there are a variety of drugs and therapy you can give your dog to reduce the pain and inflammation in his joints. ProLabs FLEX Rx is a prescription strength drug designed to reduce pain, restore cartilage and absorbs joint destroying free-radicals. A variety of therapy options are also available including acupuncture, chiropractics, laser therapy and stem cell therapy.

By using these tips you can prevent serious joint damage to your pet and reduce joint pain for pets with arthritis and other joint problems. We hope that you take these tips to heart and that you and your pet stay healthy and stay happy!