Arthritis is a common issues that affect many dogs, and another truth about this condition is that it can attack dogs of any size. This condition hurts every dog's quality life and this can make every owner nauseated when watching their beloved dog in this condition. Here is good news for you as a dog owner, delegating responsibility for owning a dog and educating yourself about possible medical conditions, such as arthritis, can help in keeping your dog comfortable and healthy.
If you notice that your dog is not active when running or maybe much slower when walking, this is the result of arthritis in your dog. Of course, to make this perfect you need the help of a veterinarian to find out the cause of the sudden change in your dog movement. There is something you need to know about this condition. Arthritis is extremely common and the possibility that your dog will be hit with arthritis increases with age. This is what you should keep in mind as a dog owner about arthritis including their symptoms, best treatment options, and some certain things you can make use of to keep your dog strong, happy, and active.
What Is Arthritis?
Dogs with arthritis can suffer from two different conditions. The first is called osteoarthritis or degenerative joint disease. This type of arthritis can occur due to the gradual loss of cartilage that provides the bone mattress. As the cartilage wears off and the bones rub against each other it can easily result in pain to your dog. Inflammatory joint disease is the second type of arthritis. This can occur due to the destruction of cartilage in your dog body system and this destruction can happen as the result of fungal or bacterial infections. It can also happen due to some certain tick diseases or genetic defects that invade the immune system.
Image Source : dogsnaturallymagazine
What Can Cause Arthritis in Dogs?
Arthritis is caused due to the loosening of the joints, which needs to be tightened. If the ball and joint cavity are not thickening appropriately, it can result in the degeneration of the joints, which usually result in loss of function in the joint. Arthritis can also be caused by a variety of environmental and genetic factors. Some dogs are born with arthritis. In terms of inheritance, it is a complex disorder involving several genes. Environmental issues can also result in arthritis. This issue may include:
- Obesity and rapid weight gain
- Poor hind limb muscle development
- Pelvis or recurrent fatigue lesions
- Nutritional issues.
Symptoms of Arthritis
Dogs born by parents with the bone disorder has the highest chances to suffer from bone disorder pain (arthritis). How can you discover or tell if your precious dog has arthritis? Before going in into the symptom’s aspect, it is important to keep this mind, dogs suffering from these conditions are usually silent. Occasional sometime you will hear them moans when the pain is getting too much for them, but most times it is somehow hard to tell if your dog is suffering from this condition.
Observing your precious dog friend can help diagnose what is actually wrong with your dog and the best treatment to make use of. If you observe that your dog is not playing, doing what he uses to do or just sleep around every time, then something is wrong. Here are some symptoms you can observe to know if your dog is suffering from arthritis:
Rigidity
Arthritis is the results of joint pain in your dog, and the most obvious sign these conditions are dullness. If you observe that your dog is not moving or running faster but slower and appears frozen in joints or throughout the body, this means your dog is affected with arthritis condition. Some dogs find it difficult to get out of bed or walk for a long distance because the joints hurt pain. If you discover that your dog is becoming less active, it is a good idea to consult your veterinarian.
The Reluctance to Jump or Climb Stairs
Jumping ability is inherent in every dog. They love to run, jump to reach the hanging clothes in the yard and jumping and playing on the stairs. Arthritis can prevent your dog from doing what he loves doing.
Discard Certain Views
Base on the position and severity of arthritis in your friend, your dog may find it painful to sleep or site down in certain positions. You will also discover that your dog is avoiding sitting or lying down, even when you ask them to do so.
Touch Pain
Arthritis conditions in your dog are not only about their movement but also by palpation. If you notice that your dog cry or move away any time when touched, it may be because you are touching the affected area and it is painful.
Diagnosis of Arthritis
To diagnosis your dog's health, you need to take a step by visiting and talking to your veterinarian about your dog check-up on its physical examination. With the proper check-up and test, this will help to discover the main issue of your disorder. However, it is up for you to inform your veterinarian about what your dog is experiencing.
If Arthritis suspects, one of the first things your veterinarian will do is manipulate your dog's hind legs to examine the joint release and check what caused the pain. Sometime your dog physical examination may include blood tests to discover the inflammation that indicate the joint disease through blood picture. Your veterinarian may also ask for your dog's health and symptoms history, and other incidents or injuries that may have contributed to those symptoms, as well as any information you have about your dog's paternity.
The final diagnosis is usually accompanied by an x-ray. Your veterinarian will take your dog x-rays to discover the degree and severity of Arthritis in your dog, this will help determine the best treatment to solve your dog issue.
Treatment of Arthritis
There are many treatment options for treating arthritis in dogs, ranging from the environment to lifestyle changes to surgery.
Sometime your dog arthritis condition may not be a serious issue or your dog condition may not include medical surgery or financial reasons, your veterinarian may help you with non-surgical approach treatment. Base on your dog's disorder case, your dog veterinarian may suggest the following treatment method:
- Weight loss to eliminate stress to reduce or remove arthritis in your dog body.
- Physical therapy
- Limitation on exercise, especially on hard surfaces.
- Anti-inflammatory drugs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), corticosteroids or aspirin)
- Common fluid modifiers
Why it is Important to sleep well on a Good Bed?
Imagine your precious dog sleeping poorly on the ground or poor bed with his joint pain, what will he/she do? Complain? No, but just try to sleep like that in pain. As a caring owner, you need to take some proper steps to improve your dog's sleep and also to relieve its pain.
The kangaroo dog bed is an orthopaedic grade memory foam bed, which has been tested over 100s of hours to achieve the quality of the comfort. As Kangaroo Bed is made of memory foam bed, it helps your dog ease the pressure points and provide additional support for bone and joint decay.
