Dog Arthritis – The Options
Dog Arthritis
If your dog is displaying any of the symptoms mentioned further down, then he/she may have an arthritic condition (dog arthritis). To be specific, there are two types of conditions that a dog may suffer from that involves inflammation of the joint/s. One is degenerative joint disease, the other is inflammatory joint disease.
Either way there will be some form of dog joint pain being experienced by your pet and you may be seeking some dog arthritis pain relief suggestions.
Degenerative Joint Disease
Just as in humans, a dogs joints contain cartilage that protects the bones and creates a smooth slick surface for movement of the joint. This protective coating can be damaged through trauma or overuse. Eventually the exposed bone will grind against the facing bone of the joint creating pain, muscle stiffness and inflammation.
This wear and tear can come about in various ways:
- If your dog has hip dysplasia (genetic malformation of the hip sockets), then there is a much higher risk of just normal activities causing the joints to degenerate.
- Unusually high activity levels such as jumping or climbing that involve heavy impact through the joints. As much fun as it is, Frisbee chasing/catching could be one such cause.
- Traumatic Injury such as a fall or being struck by a car.
- An active dog that is significantly overweight causing an acceleration of joint wear.
The above scenarios will lead to osteoarthritis which affects 20% of mature dogs. The condition may not present itself until your pet has had years of abnormal stress. The cartilage has no nerve supply and dogs have a high pain threshold, so the symptoms may appear to come on fairly quickly.
Once the joint is severely damaged the lubricating synovial fluid will lose its capacity to protect the bone surfaces. Moving from the ground up we find your dog has 3 types of joints to allow them the range of movement they need:
- Gliding joints – the ankles.
- Hinged joints – the knees
- Ball and socket joints – hip and shoulder joints
The joints are lubricated by synovial fluid to allow them to glide over each other. Tendons and ligaments stabilize the joints. When the joints are damaged by injury or disease, arthritis (joint inflammation) may occur.
Inflammatory Joint Disease
(IJD) type arthritis is much rarer as a dog arthritis condition than degenerative joint disease. Causes of this affliction can be:
- Infection – either bacterial or fungal.
- Ticks – these parasites can carry viruses and other infectious agents
- Compromised Immune system (may be genetic)
Symptoms Of Dog Arthritis
Any of the following signs are cause to see your vet:
- Trouble getting up from a prone position.
- Yelping in pain when lifting leg or squatting to defecate.
- Refusing to run,jump or climb
- Favoring a particular side to plant weight on when walking
- Lifting a limb when walking/running
- Walking more slowly – needing to rest more often
- Avoiding sitting when commanded
So What Are The Dog Arthritis Treatment Options?
Depending on your pets condition (degenerative or inflammatory) an analgesic for reducing dog joint pain and perhaps an anti inflammatory may be used. You may also have to modify your dogs diet – not only to reduce weight but also to eliminate any allergy causing foods.
Regular exercise is also very important to keep your dogs joints mobile and maintain muscle tone around the affected limb. Failing all these strategies, surgery may occasionally be required.
Pain Medication and Anti inflammatory Drugs
Pain management may be the first necessary step to allow your dog to rest and sleep without interruption from pain. This is critical to his recovery. Just because your pet (after having been given pain killers) is active and frisky, don’t take this as a sign that all is well and he can jump and leap with abandon.
You still need to protect his joints from damage that may arise from his over exuberance! These drugs are only to be used in conjunction with dietary and exercise modifications, not as a cure all. Make sure you only keep your dog on these drugs for short periods.
Analgesics (for example acetaminophen) are for pain management only, whereas anti inflammatories reduce pain and swelling whilst decreasing joint stiffness. Anti inflammatories can be of the NSAID type (Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drug) or steroidal (Prednisone, Cortisone).
Acetaminophen (Tylenol®, Panadol®, Exdol®, etc.) may be appropriate for your pets mild hip dysplasia.
This medication is a painkiller and not an anti inflammatory, so another medication may also be prescribed by your vetinarian to completely address dog pain relief. Please, don’t self prescribe dosages and combinations of drugs. Over dosing your pet on acetaminophen may result in liver damage. Do not use Ibuprofen for an arthritis treatment for dogs as it affects their kidneys.
When low doses are given, NSAIDs reduce pain; when taken at a higher dose, NSAIDs can also reduce inflammation. NSAIDs (Aspirin®, Anacin®, etc.) can be purchased without a prescription – Over The Counter (OTC). NSAIDs when used over long periods can actually accelerate joint breakdown.
Your dog may experience heartburn or bleeding ulcers if multiple NSAIDs are administered. Seek out buffered aspirin, specifically for dogs, to avoid these side effects when treating arthritis in dogs. For NSAIDs you will require a prescription. Some of the available NSAIDs are:
- Phenylbutazone® (Bute)
- Cox 2 Inhibitors (Rimadyl® (carprofen)
- Metacam® (meloxicam) Etogesic® (etodolac).
Cortisone
Corticosteroids bring down inflammation and edema (swelling) of dog arthritis. In severe cases your veterinarian may use an injection to deliver the drug directly into the affected joint. This drug is extremely powerful and relief can be almost immediate.
Visco Supplementation
This involves artificially lubricating the joint and cartilage using an injection of hyaluronic acid, or HA (Legend®, 
Hylartin® and Synacid®), and poly-sulfated glycosaminoglycans (PSGAGS) such as Adequan®.
This method is not a cure, it temporarily frees up the joint – it requires regular injections and visits to the vet.
Surgery
As a last resort you may have to consider surgery. This could be necessary if your dog has intense pain and joint stiffness. Surgery is called for in the case of degenerative joint disease.
The best case scenario would see your vet performing arthroscopic surgery to clean up cracked cartilage particles from the joint. A joint may need to be fused or “trimmed” to a better shape. The more involved surgeries would include shoulder and hip socket prosthesis being used to replace a damaged joint.
To learn more about dog arthritis and dog pain relief check out this article.
