After suffering a back injury early on in my life I now can appreciate the pain and discomfort that arthritis brings as I head into my late forties. This is no different for dogs. The majority of dog breeds naturally are constantly ‘on the go’ and so put a lot of strain and pressure on their bones and joints. This is especially true of working and sports dogs.
Therefore it is essential for you to recognise any early signs of arthritis in your best friend, so it can be managed, so helping them to live as comfortable and pain free life as possible.
Symptoms include:
A reluctance to get up or move
Stiff painful joints in dogs
Increase in weight
Grumpy or aggressive when joints are touched
Loss of appetite
Not interested in exercise
Sleeping more than normal
Swollen joints
Lameness
Types of Arthritis:
There are over 70 types of arthritis conditions, but here are a few that mainly affect dogs:
Osteoarthritis which can also present as inflammatory arthritis and degenerative joint disease (DJD) in dogs. This is usually presented by progressive, long term, permanent, deterioration of the cartilage surrounding the joints.
Polyarthritis in dogs, which refers to multiple inflamed swollen and painful joints
Spinal Arthritis. This affects the back, hips (hip pain in dogs) and spinal column.
Septic arthritis - which is caused by a bacterial or fungal infection to one joint in particular. It is more common to middle aged male dogs. In particular, German Shepherds,Dobermans and Labradors.
This has been a very quick reference guide to arthritis symptoms and I hope it has helped.
If you would like to read another of my related blog articles, ‘Dog Health. Do Joint Supplements Work?’ then just click on the link.
Also, if your dog is showing signs of arthritis then you may want to have a look at our Nourish + C Max Strength Dog Joint Supplement. It contains only high spec natural human grade ingredients. It is also Gluten and Wheat Free.
Read the most recent 5 Star Review from The Good Vet & Pet Guide, Facebook we received or our Success Stories from extremely happy dog customers