Arthritis is a pathological change in the joints of dogs; every fourth elderly dog is susceptible to this disease.
-traumatic (bruise, sprain or rupture of ligaments, damage to intra-articular cartilage or bone)
-osteoarthritis (secondary disease due to hip dysplasia, subluxations, cartilage diseases)
Most susceptible: Chow Chow, Dalmatian, Samoyed
-traumas of various etiologies
-reducing activity so as not to cause pain
-weight gain (due to inactivity)
- reluctance to walk in bad weather
Making life easier for dogs with arthritis
- constant monitoring of the pet’s body weight
- training on simulators in special centers (to the extent possible)
- floor coverings must be non-slip (remove tiles and linoleum and replace with carpet)
-organize a soft sleeping place (mattress made of soft foam, capable of remembering the shape of the dog’s body, Model: Mattress 50×60 cm - 3250 RUR, 60×70 cm - 4200 RUR) Can be covered with a heated blanket
- consultation with a veterinarian 2 times a year
*anti-inflammatory drugs (Doxycycline, Rimadyl, Metacam) Take with food
* chondroprotector STOP-ARTHRITIS FOR DOGS fl 200 ml - 370 rubles 1.5 (preventive dose) - 2.5 (therapeutic) ml per kg of animal 2 times a day on the root of the tongue for a course of 30 -90 days, depending on the doctor’s recommendation.
*Chionat (by Bayer) and Bonharen
*Traumeel, Zeel homeopathy
-Surgical (for severe osteoarthritis with DTS, traumatic arthritis)
- hawthorn, nettle, licorice have an anti-inflammatory effect (cannot be taken together with anti-inflammatory non-steroidal drugs)
- to reduce inflammation, use local compresses:
*2 drops of lavender oil
*2 drops juniper oil
wet the cloth and apply it to the sore spot, cover it with a towel and apply a heating pad. Procedure duration 30 minutes
-exclude grain foods, potatoes (except sweet ones), tomatoes, eggplants, peppers
-enrich the diet by adding ginger, celery, alfalfa, broccoli, legumes, sunflower seeds, egg yolks, mango, papaya, avocado, orange. Give it to your dog as a puree
-add oregano, turmeric, ginger to food
-Quercetin with Bromelain (120 capsules, 800+200 mg - 1200 rub.) one hour before meals
-salmon oil, cod liver +vitamin E
-fish oil 150 mg per 2.5 kg
-vitamin C (calcium ascorbate or sodium ascorbate) in large doses, the dose must be selected by gradual increase until the stool worsens, returning to the dose at which the stool is normal, stop there and take it constantly
-Heptral (tab. 400 mg 20 pcs. -1500 rubles), Heptor + B vitamins to support the liver, take between meals
-in addition to clean water, periodically give water with the addition of natural apple cider vinegar (1 teaspoon per half liter)
Arthritis is becoming more and more common in older dogs, especially large, heavy breeds. This is a condition that affects the joints, making them inflamed and painful, making it difficult for the dog to move around.
There are several types of arthritis and you need to know which type your dog has. This will make it easier for you, then you will know how to treat your dog and ease his pain.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a type of arthritis. This type of arthritis occurs when a dog's immune system becomes overactive and cannot distinguish between natural proteins produced by the body and foreign proteins. The immune system begins to produce antibodies to fight the proteins and attack the surface of the cartilage, around the joints.
The joints become very inflamed, and the dog begins to move more slowly. This is also an erosive disease, and is not limited to inflammation of the cartilage, the disease contributes to the abrasion of bones in the joint. Moreover, the disease does not only affect one joint; unfortunately, several will be attacked at once, which causes severe pain in the pet.
Rheumatoid arthritis is not a common disease in dogs and very little is known about what actually causes it. This may be due to a sudden infection, digestive disease or even cancer. Sometimes this can happen even if the dog does not have such problems. The disease usually affects small dogs, toy breeds, around 4 years of age.
Osteoarthritis is the most common type, and dogs are more likely to suffer from it. It is usually caused by damage to the cartilage in the joint due to injury, although age also plays a role in this condition. The joints and cartilage begin to wear out, causing inflammation in some cases. This is an incredibly painful condition and makes it difficult for your dog to move around.
While it is important for a dog to exercise well and get a good healthy exercise routine, too much, too often, can lead to problems later in life. Your dog can get injured while running, chasing a ball, or jumping out of a car. You won't always be aware of these injuries, as some are too small to be a problem at first.
However, the damage may have already been done and your joints are beginning to crack. A good diet is also important, as overweight dogs are more likely to suffer from arthritis. The dog's joints are not designed to withstand such pressure as excess weight, which is also a consequence of lack of physical activity. All this together will lead to the fact that the cartilage will begin to deteriorate.
Some dog breeds are more sensitive than others, but all dogs are at risk, especially as they get older. Age undeniably takes its toll on joints and they begin to wear down, causing a huge amount of discomfort for your dog.
Treatment is possible, but usually only to relieve pain so that you can have a higher quality of life. Unfortunately, especially in older dogs, damaged joints cannot be cured, and you can only try to stop the further development of the disease. Therefore, watch your pet as closely as possible.
Dogs are not only the most devoted and faithful creatures, but often also the most positive and active. But what to do if the pathological condition of the joints limits their activity, causes pain and discomfort? This occurs if arthritis develops in dogs - inflammation in the joint tissue, due to which the limbs cannot fully move. How can you help your pet, and what does veterinary medicine offer to treat the pathology?
More recently, experts had no idea that arthritis affects not only the joints of people, but also pets. And signs of a pathological disorder in the animal were associated with age-related changes. Therefore, the disease that occurs in dogs is not as well studied.
There is a conditional division of arthritis into the following types:
A provoking factor can be called a slippery floor covering, on which the dog can slip, get bruises and sprains. In the house where the dog lives, it is better not to cover the floor with smooth linoleum, tiles or parquet.
Arthritis is accompanied by a complex of symptoms, some of which are difficult to miss:
The changed behavior of a pet should alert you - after all, dogs often suffer pain, and only accompanying signs indicate that something is wrong with their health.
In some diseases, it turns out that care and proper care are more important than taking medications. And arthritis belongs specifically to diseases of this category:
Experts warn that heating inflamed areas with purulent inflammation is contraindicated. If you suspect the presence of suppuration, it is better to consult a veterinarian. The owner's help in treating arthritis is invaluable, but only if he does everything correctly, according to the prescribed treatment regimen.
As soon as the dog becomes lethargic, begins to limp and behaves differently than usual, it should be taken to a veterinary clinic or a specialist should be called to your home. Often the disease manifests itself in such a way that it is difficult to determine which joint is inflamed or one or more limbs are affected.
To diagnose the pathology, the veterinarian asks the owner to perform several exercises with the pet, after which he feels the joints to detect inflammation. A painful reaction to touch confirms that a pathological process is occurring in this joint.
Later, the dog is given an x-ray of its limbs and appropriate therapy is prescribed. In some cases, laboratory testing of fluid accumulated in the affected joint is recommended.
When choosing treatment, first of all, the cause of arthritis, the severity of the condition and the form of the pathology are taken into account. The basis of therapy is the use of medications from the following groups:
In addition, the specialist prescribes a number of exercises that should be performed with the pet. They contribute to faster recovery and faster rehabilitation of the patient. If signs of pain and discomfort occur during exercise, they should be stopped immediately.
Therapy should be gentle, since excessive intensity can provoke progression of the disease. If inflammation is severe, experts advise visiting the pool with your dog. This will strengthen the muscles without much effort on the part of the sick animal.
A massage course and a number of physiotherapy procedures are also prescribed - electrical stimulation, thermotherapy, which help improve the condition of the affected joints. When prescribing treatment, the veterinarian warns that in certain situations it will be necessary to undergo not one, but several therapeutic courses. In addition, you will need to appear periodically for preventive examinations.
Some clinics practice stem cell therapy. This is an innovative method for treating arthritis, during which fat tissue is taken from the dog and stem cells are isolated from it - the procedure is carried out under anesthesia. The resulting material is then injected into the joint. The event allows not only to eliminate unpleasant symptoms, but also to restore damaged tissue.
If a patient comes to the clinic with severe arthritis, often due to severe trauma, torn ligaments or fractures, surgery may be required.
Arthritis, without timely treatment, can literally immobilize an animal and deprive it of a full life. Therefore, it is important to treat this pathology in the initial stages, without waiting for complications.
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A 4-month-old husky puppy developed problems with his hind legs, we noticed about a month ago - he limps when walking, puts his paws upside down, often lies down, has difficulty getting up when lying down, when you lure him with something, does not stand up on his hind legs, runs slowly, 15.01 in the morning after She lay down for a walk, they called her to eat - she couldn’t reach the bowl on her own, she couldn’t lift her hind legs at all, by the evening it got better. But the hind legs are very light in weight, the front ones are stronger. When you touch her hind legs, she doesn’t whine, i.e. She's clearly not sick.
2.5 weeks before this, I was seriously injured, I ate something on the street, I had vomiting and diarrhea for 4 days, I was given injections 3 times for vomiting and diarrhea and for weight gain (I don’t know what medications).
On January 15, we took him to two veterinarians. The first one underwent a biochemical analysis for calcium-phosphorus - calcium 2.5 phosphorus 1.4. They took an x-ray - I'm attaching the pictures. The doctor said that since calcium and phosphorus are normal, this is not rickets, the photographs also do not show rickets, so they said that most likely it is arthritis. Arthroglycan, tenophosphamide, Nise and Vittri were prescribed.
18.01. another veterinarian examined her and said that it is useless to take a calcium-phosphorus test from puppies, because... it may be normal in the blood, but it may not be absorbed by the body, and she said that it was definitely a lack of calcium, she felt the ribs and said that there were some lumps there, which are a sign of rickets. I asked if the dog was eating something inedible - they said that she chews the ground on the street, and at home she chews on concrete-plastered jambs, and constantly licks the wallpaper. The doctor said - well, then it’s definitely rickets, especially since the pictures show that the bones are transparent and are already starting to bend, but should be straight. She prescribed calfoset, calcemin, convit chondro, tenophosphamide.
We don’t know who to believe and how to treat the dog. Can you, from this description and from the photographs, determine what it is? We live in N. Tagil, friends advised us to contact you.
Thank you in advance for your response.
Message edited by tyasha: January 18, 2014 - 18:32
Many dogs are very similar to their owners - in disposition, temperament, and they may even have some common appearance features. To the same extent, dogs and people can experience the same diseases. One of these is arthritis.
Inflammatory processes in the joints, which cause severe pain to the pet, most often appear in adult dogs that are more than 4 years old. Such cases are the most common in veterinary practice, although old age is not always a risk area. Today's popular toy dog breeds can develop arthritis before the age of 2. In this case, it is due to their physiology.
In the mammalian body, all joints have a special lining made of cartilage, which acts as a shock absorber when bones rub against each other, and at the same time contains the necessary lubrication, ensuring ease of movement. In the presence of injuries, inflammatory diseases, infections in the body, and even under severe stress, destructive processes can develop at the junctions of the joints. In this case, the protection of bones by cartilage tissue is minimized, which over time will cause swelling and, accordingly, pain when moving, when the bones rub against each other directly. In this case, the joint capsule begins to noticeably thicken, which leads to a noticeable loss of its elasticity. This creates a painful vicious circle: movement causes the thickening of the capsule to grow, which leads to even greater injury to the joint and damage to the cartilage tissue, and causes severe pain.
Such destructive processes in the body are also relevant for dogs - after all, pets are not able to give a clear signal to the owner “in time” about what exactly is causing them inconvenience. Therefore, arthritis is often detected already at the painful stage. In this case, the dog tries to move less so as not to cause pain to itself, which over time causes it to gain a lot of weight, which in turn only worsens arthritis due to the increased load on the joints.
Depending on the reasons that can cause it, arthritis is divided into the following types:
It’s easy to identify your dog’s arthritis: just note the symptoms that are familiar to it.
As mentioned earlier, when the joints are inflamed, the dog tries to move less and less. She refuses active games and walks, does not want to perform usual actions for her, such as going down or up the stairs, and her limp is noticeably increasing. The dog becomes increasingly slow, and he may even neglect to meet his owners when they come home. The dog may prefer to remain in a lying position even during feeding.
The result of such slowness and abandonment of an active life will be rapid weight gain, which will only increase the pressure on the joints.
Symptoms of arthritis will appear if we want to touch the pet’s sore paw - the dog will squeal in pain and may snap. The mobility of the inflamed joint is noticeably reduced, and its contours are greatly smoothed. Additional symptoms will be the dog's decreased appetite and increased body temperature.
As soon as you notice your dog is lame, don't waste time letting the arthritis get worse and take him to see a veterinarian. It is often difficult to determine at first glance which leg is causing pain, since the dog can limp on both legs at once, especially if they are hind legs. To properly diagnose the disease, the doctor will ask you to do exercises with your dog, after which he will feel its joints and determine which of them may be inflamed. The presence of a tumor or painful reactions of the dog to touch will help determine the specific joint. After this, an x-ray will be taken to determine the correct course of treatment. It may also be necessary to directly analyze the fluid contained in the swollen joint.
The course that the doctor will select for the successful treatment of the dog will depend on the reasons that caused the onset of arthritis and the severity of its form at the time of contacting the veterinary clinic.
To begin with, medications will be prescribed that will reduce pain and prevent increased inflammation in the joint. In addition to antibiotics, the doctor will prescribe special chondroprotectors that help quickly restore damaged cartilage, help strengthen it and protect it from the effects of possible infectious diseases.
If there are several causes of arthritis, the doctor prescribes their parallel treatment.
You should not rely on medications alone, although they will give noticeable results and the symptoms may disappear quickly. For successful treatment, the doctor will prescribe a course of therapy, indicating a number of exercises that should be performed with the dog daily. At the same time, the owner must carefully monitor its condition and, when the first signs of pain or discomfort appear in the pet, must stop them.
Therapy helps strengthen muscles, but it must be very gentle, since excessive intensity can only worsen arthritis. Often, with arthritis, and especially if it is severe, swimming in the pool is prescribed, since this does not put stress on the paws, and the muscles are strengthened much better than when doing exercises on a hard surface.
Additionally, the dog may be prescribed a special massage and various physiotherapy procedures, sometimes even acupuncture.
Surgery is necessary for severe cases of arthritis, especially if there has been severe trauma, torn ligaments or fractures.
During treatment, the doctor is obliged to carefully educate the owner about possible complications in the presence of arthritis and that one course will not be enough. Even after successful treatment, it is necessary to check with a veterinarian several times a year and, possibly, undergo repeated courses of treatment, even if there are no obvious symptoms of new inflammation in the joints.
It is especially important to carefully monitor your dog's weight and prevent it from increasing.
Arthritis, no matter how much you want it, will not go away without leaving a trace, and especially not quickly. Therefore, you should already protect your pet from its appearance in advance. First, you need to provide continuous carpeting in the house that will not slip, otherwise the dog risks injury. Be sure to spend time outside with your dog and teach it to do various exercises. The load should be moderate and suitable for your dog. Exercising too intensely can cause injuries and sprains, which in turn cause arthritis.
The dog's sleeping place should be soft and comfortable, especially if your pet has arthritis.
Photo gallery: Arthritis in dogs
To begin with, it is worth saying that arthritis is not a specific disease, but a general designation for various joint diseases . It can be either an independent disease or a manifestation of another disease. Arthritis in dogs is divided into five main types.
Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis in dogs. Osteoarthritis is the degeneration of the cartilage that covers a joint. Its cause may be injury, severe stress on the limb (due to excessive physical activity or excess weight), abnormal shape of the limbs, developmental defects (for example, hip dysplasia, which affects dogs of many large breeds).
Another form of arthritis is rheumatoid arthritis in dogs, and is more common among small and miniature breed dogs, although large breeds can also be affected. This is a non-infectious, inflammatory chronic disease that, if left untreated, can lead to joint deformation over time.
Acute traumatic arthritis develops due to mechanical damage to the joint (trauma). Typical symptoms of acute arthritis are lameness, swelling, pain, and increased local temperature. If first aid for an injury is not provided in time, infection will develop over time and inflammation will begin.
Idiopathic arthritis in dogs is arthritis caused by other diseases (cancer, gastrointestinal diseases, infections, damage to the immune system). However, the exact causes of arthritis in these diseases have not yet been found (or the mechanism of joint problems is not well understood).
Finally, the rarest form of arthritis in dogs is drug-induced arthritis , which is a reaction to certain vaccines and medications. It occurs extremely rarely and is by no means a reason to refuse vaccination.
Arthritis in dogs causes them a lot of suffering, so it is very important to recognize the disease at an early stage in order to begin treatment on time. The dog begins to limp as the disease progresses, and there are also earlier symptoms of arthritis :
Arthritis is more common in older dogs than in younger dogs, but a dog of any age can develop arthritis.
How to treat arthritis in dogs? Only a veterinarian can prescribe the correct treatment after the type and cause of arthritis has been determined. Typically, treatment for arthritis in dogs involves the administration of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) . Please note that you cannot select NSAIDs for your dog on your own: many medications that are harmless to humans can be toxic to dogs (for example, ibuprofen). In addition, even correctly selected NSAIDs can cause side effects if the dosage is incorrect, so it is very important to strictly adhere to the dosage prescribed by your doctor.
The veterinarian may also prescribe special exercises, therapeutic massage and diet . If your dog suffers from osteoarthritis caused by excess weight, a special diet will need to be followed after recovery to keep the dog's weight normal and prevent recurrence of the disease.
For dogs with arthritis, moderate physical activity , which should be distributed evenly (for example, it is better to walk the dog several times a day, but a little at a time, than to take it out for one long walk). If you have a slippery floor at home, you need to cover it with a rug or carpet while your pet is recovering.
For purulent infectious arthritis, surgical intervention : opening the abscess and washing the wound with antibiotics or antiseptic solutions, after which a bandage is applied to the affected joint and antibiotics and painkillers are prescribed.
Arthritis in dogs is a disease that should never be left to chance . At the first signs of arthritis, you should contact your veterinarian and strictly follow his recommendations.
Heat helps reduce arthritis pain. For sleep and rest, it is advisable for the dog to sleep on an orthopedic mattress, which insulates it from the cold floor and ground, and also provides shock absorption to the joints. And if you cover this mattress with a heated blanket, you have the perfect place for a dog with arthritis.
Some veterinarians successfully use homeopathic medicines such as Traumeel and Zeel to treat and relieve arthritis.
Sooner or later, no matter what you do, your dog may need something to treat chronic pain. There is another range of nutraceuticals that may help manage pain: DL-phenylalanine (DLPA), an amino acid that is used to treat depression and chronic pain.
The dosage for dogs is 3 to 10 mg/kg body weight. In humans, very high doses can cause numbness, tingling, and other signs of nerve damage, so if you use high doses, monitor your dog closely. In order for the effect of using DLPA to be noticeable, it must be used constantly, and not just as needed. Once you see a clear positive result, you can stop taking the drug daily, in some cases it is enough to give DLPA once a week or once a month. It is safe to combine DLPA with all other arthritis medications except MAO drugs such as Umax (selegiline, L-Deprenyl), used to treat Cushing's disease and canine cognitive dysfunction, and amitrazine (used to control parasites: mites, etc., sometimes anti-parasitic collars are impregnated with it).
You can buy DLPA in online stores and health (or sports) food stores. In Russia, the price ranges from 400 to 800 rubles.
There is much controversy about the use of NSAIDs such as Rimadyl (carprofen), Etogesic (etodolac), Deramaxx (deracoxib), Metacam (meloxicam), and aspirin. This is due to the likelihood of side effects, which include not only the appearance of ulcers in the stomach, but also severe pathologies of the liver and kidneys. Deaths have been reported after one or two doses.
While there is no doubt that these drugs can be dangerous, they can help maintain quality of life when nothing else works. Joint inflammation creates a vicious cycle, destroying cartilage and causing pain that limits movement, leading to weight gain and muscle loss, further limiting your dog's ability to move and enjoy life. Natural anti-inflammatories can do a lot to help, but at the end of the day, they are not as powerful as drugs.
When using NSAIDs, a number of precautions should be taken to at least to some extent reduce the risk of their use. First, before starting the use of any NSAID, it is necessary to have a blood biochemistry test, and every few months after that (provided that the drugs are used regularly) to undergo repeated tests to check liver and kidney parameters.
Secondly, you should always give NSAIDs with food and not on an empty stomach to help prevent stomach ulceration, which is a very common side effect.
Third, never combine NSAIDs with each other, or with prednisone, as this significantly increases the chances of ulcers and other dangerous side effects.
The last thing to know is that you should be very careful when switching from one type of NSAID to another. If possible, it is advisable to allow at least a week's break between stopping one drug and starting another.
It is also important to know that, according to statistics, Rimadyl and Deramax cause serious problems more often than other NSAIDs. Be especially vigilant if you use one of these drugs, or ask your veterinarian for a substitute.
Cytotec (misoprostol) may be given additionally to reduce the likelihood of stomach ulcers. This is a human medicine that helps mitigate the effects of COX inhibition, which is responsible for the damage caused to the intestines by NSAIDs.
Another medicine that may be helpful is sucralfate, used to treat ulcers. Sucralfate interferes with the absorption of all medications, so it should be used at least two hours before or after taking other medications.
Plants such as slippery elm and marshmallow may also protect the stomach and intestines, although they have never been specifically tested in combination with NSAIDs.
A safer alternative to NSAIDs is the synthetic opioid Tramadol. If medication is no longer possible, discuss the possibility of using it with your veterinarian. Tramadol will relieve pain, unlike NSAIDs it will not cause addiction, although it will not have the same anti-inflammatory effect as NSAIDs. It can be used concomitantly with NSAIDs or given alternately. This will give the body a chance to rest for some time from such harmful NSAIDs.
Tramadol can be given continuously or as needed. Despite the fact that addiction to it is unlikely, after prolonged use it is impossible to abruptly stop taking it. The dosage should be reduced gradually. One possible side effect of tramadol may be constipation. If this is the case in your dog, he should be given something to soften the stool. Additionally, tramadol should not be combined with acetaminophen (Tylenol) as the combination may cause harm to your dog.
Due to the large number of contraindications, not all dogs can use NSAIDs, or use them in very limited doses. Many antidepressants, such as Amitriptyline and Prozac (Fluosectin), help to slightly reduce pain. Caution should be exercised when using them with Tramadol.
Amantadine (Midantan; PC-Merz) can be used to increase the effectiveness of other medications. It is used together with corticosteroids, NSAIDs, Tramadol, opioids and gabapentin. Neurontin (hapabentin) (an anticonvulsant) is also used to treat chronic pain. It can also be combined with other products. The downside is its high cost.
In cases where nothing helps, narcotic drugs are used. Hydrocodone is added to enhance the effect of NSAIDs. Hydrocodone is usually given in combination with acetaminophen or acetylsalicylic acid (such as Vicodin). Please note that the latter components are toxic to dogs, so Vicodin cannot be combined with NSAIDs. Any drug is addictive, so it is better to avoid their constant use, and use it from time to time as needed.
Doxycycline also has an anti-inflammatory effect.
In this article, I shared my findings in the field of effective treatment of arthritis in dogs. It is important to try different combinations of the suggested products to find the one that works best for your dog. Each dog is different and what works for one may not work for another. I feed my fifteen year old Shar Pei, Piglet, a natural, grain-free diet. Daily she receives Arthroflex (which includes glucosamine, mussels, DLPA, bosvilia, bromelain and vitamin C), high doses of fish oil, turmeric, SAMe and vitamin E. I also alternate between giving her Senior Blend and Alfalfa-Yucca Blend ( both blends are from Animal's Apawthecary). To make it easier for her to walk, she takes Metacam and one dose of Tramadol daily. She also receives sertraline (Zoloft), which reduces anxiety and also helps reduce pain.
This combination of natural and traditional remedies helps keep Piglet alive longer than I could have hoped, even longer than I could have hoped. Now she looks at me intently, reminding me that it is time to take her for a walk, which still occupies the first place in her life, and sometimes she insists on going for a walk even when it is pouring rain.