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Is Your Best Friend in Pain?

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative condition
affecting an estimated 20 percent of all adult dogs.

Arthritis doesn’t just affect people—it can also hurt your best friend. An estimated one in five adult dogs suffers from this painful, degenerative joint disease, which can seriously reduce your dog’s mobility and quality of life. Although the incidence of arthritis tends to increase with age (like in people), it can affect dogs of any age, breed or size.

What is arthritis?

Arthritis is a progressive joint disease that inflames and erodes joint cartilage. Without the cushioning and lubricating effect of healthy cartilage, the joint becomes painful and disabled. Arthritis may develop because of an inherited malformation, an old injury, infection, or from normal wear and tear.

Normal Hip Joint

Diagnosis of arthritis

A diagnosis of arthritis requires a thorough physical examination combined with a detailed history of clinical signs. X-rays are necessary in the majority of cases to confirm the diagnosis. Many dogs need to be sedated for proper positioning to insure accurate radiographs.

Hip Dysplasia

Hip dysplasia is often seen as a dislocation or partial dislocation of the head of the femur. Dislocation produces joint laxity and stretches the joint capsule, causing pain and lameness. In older pets, the changes seen include cartilage erosion in the joints, flattening of the femoral head, and arthritis.

Common signs of arthritis

While people can easily explain their symptoms to a doctor, dogs have no way of telling you when they hurt. That’s why it’s up to you to recognize the signs of arthritis pain. Common clinical signs include:

► Limping

► Reluctance to climb stairs

► Falling behind on walks

► Difficulty getting up in the morning or after a nap

► Stiffness hours after exercise

► Repeated licking of a joint

► Personality change

The pain associated with arthritis, and the stiffness and lameness they cause, can be overcome. If you have any questions about your pet’s discomfort, please ask one of our doctors. Help your best friend put quality of life ahead of his pain.

Risk factors

► Obesity—Many dogs suffering from arthritis are overweight. A weight reduction program is probably the most beneficial thing that can be done to help a pet suffering from arthritis.

► Lack of Exercise—Providing your dog with a regular, scheduled exercise program can be helpful in lessening the effects of arthritis. Controlled walks and swimming help maintain muscle conditioning. Try to avoid vertical activities such as jumping up or climbing stairs.

Pain management

► Ascriptin—an aspirin product containing Maalox (prevents stomach irritation), may be helpful for some pets. It is very important to monitor your dog for signs of aspirin irritation leading to bleeding ulcers; routinely check for dark or tarry stools.

► Glyco-Flex—a natural food product derived from shellfish (mussels). These marine organisms are rich in glycosamino-glycans (GAGs), which are essential for lubricating the joint surfaces in people and pets. Supplementing your pet’s diet with GAGs is often beneficial in relieving the painful signs associated with arthritis.

► Rimadyl , Metacam and Deramaxx—recent advances in veterinary medicine have led to the development of non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that are very beneficial in the treatment of arthritis. We have seen many dogs respond quite dramatically to these medications.

Safety of NSAIDs

As with all drugs, side effects may occur. These are normally mild, but may be serious. Signs of intolerance may involve the digestive tract, liver or kidneys. Dogs on long-tem NSAIDs should be regularly monitored with blood tests to check for possible liver or kidney damage.

Dietary management
Hill’s Prescription Diet® J/D is a promising new diet for our arthritic pets. It has been clinically proven to reduce pain in over 80% of dogs with arthritis. The diet contains:
► Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA), an Omega-3 fatty acid. EPA literally turns off the genes responsible for cartilage damage.
► High levels of Omega-3 fatty acids and the lowest Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio help reduce the mediators that cause inflammation.
► Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulfate provide building blocks for cartilage repair.
► L-carnitine helps maintain optimum body weight.
► Antioxidants protects joint tissues against cell damage.

Many arthritic pets benefit greatly from pain-relieving medications. It
is very important to be aware of side effects with their long-term use.