Prevention is key to when it comes to dog arthritis. Most people in general start good preventatives to late. Check out our WHAT TO LOOK FOR section to learn more about the subtle clinical signs of early arthritis. There are obviously many factors that lead up to your dog getting arthritis. Below is a list of the most common things that you can incorporate into your dogs eveyday lifestyle
Preventions:
1) Daily Exercise: The average domestic dog does not get enough exercise. When you think about it in terms of wild dogs, they would have to exercise all day long, traveling great distances inorder to find food for that day. Todays, domestic dog on the other hand does a tremendous amount of relaxing. Why? Most households today are two income family households, therefore we spend much of our time away from home at work. The majority of dogs are left home all day. And what do they do? RELAX ! Most of the time our dogs spend their days sleeping and just hanging out.. By the time we get home and then prepare our dinner and spend time playing with our dogs they are getting one-two hours of exercise a day at most.
It is really important to excercise your dog on a regular basis. There are also a number of exercises that you can do with your dog on a daily basis to keep them strong and healthy.
2) Weight Management: There is a huge misconceptions amongst dog owners as to what a normal body weight of a dog is. In veterinary medicine a Body Condtion Score (BCS) is used to quantitate dogs weight and body condition. Much of the problem is that dogs today come in so many different shapes and sizes. In addition, people have a tendously to still believe that “pudgie” dogs look cute or that extra weight keeps them healthy. It is so important for pet owners to know what the ideal body weight for their dog is. Below is a chart of typical body condition scoring used by veterinarians. ***Note*** PURINA’s Study showed that dogs that were mild to moderately overweight on average lived 2 years less. If that does not affect you i dont know what will!
3) Joint Supplements: This can be a very challenging and complicated part of dog arthritis prevention. There are so many products on the market, many claiming to have the same ingredients. In addition, there is a huge range of pricing when it comes to joint supplements.
Rule #1: You Get What you Pay For!
This is one of those things in life where you truely get what you pay for. Quality ingredients are expensive.
Not all Glucosamines are created equal. Not even close.
The key to choosing a good supplement for your dogs is first know that you can trust the company and that they have the integrity to put only the best ingredients into their products. In addition, the dosing should be right. Again, trusting the company that makes the product is everything. Look for the companies that are the experts in the world of joint health.
Rule #2: Find a supplement that incorporates a balanced approach. Meaning find a supplement that incorporates both Chondroprotectant and Natural Anti-inflammatories. Most people think that glucosamine is the only supplement that they need. This is totally untrue. Finding a product wih effective anti-inflammatories such as MSM or Cetyl Myristoleate in addition to chondroprotectants such as glucosamine and chondroitin makes all the difference. Prevent the inflammation and build healthy cartilage is a balanced approach.
