For a dog's arthritis, treat with weight control, warm, dry, soft bedding, and exercise.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I would like to know if anyone has used the product that is seen advertised on TV for arthritis in dogs or for hip dysplasia that you spray in the water. I would like to know how effective it is and if you have had any experience with it.
I did not purchase that "remedy" from the TV ad, but there was a similar (if not the same) product available through a homeopathic supplier that I buy from so I tried it. I noticed no difference in my dog at all when she was taking it. And no difference after it was all used up.
Does anyone have a home remedy for helping dogs with arthritis?
By Oleeda B
There are a lot of reasons a dog develops arthritis-have you had the dog checked by a vet to see if the arthritis is from overweight, an injury, or skeletal malformation?
My Boxers would sometimes develop arthritis in later years for the same reasons people develop it. I learned massage for dogs, and it seemed to help make them more comfortable. Heating pad under the blanket, an egg-crate style mattress, and a bed against the wall on a non-slip rug also helped to make the bed comfy and easier to get in and out of. Putting the bed against the wall gave the dog something to lean on whilst trying to stand-seemed to help their mobility.
Also keeping them active helps, just as in people but you can tell when there is too much activity, the dog won't want to play, will whimper or groan while trying to walk, sit, shift position, or climb, etc. That's where a nice massage in a warm room works wonders.
My dogs (who developed arthritis) always hated water until the arthritis hit. After that, as long as they had firm footing, a warm bath is something that my dogs enjoyed and seemed to benefit from. We had a holiday once at a home with a walk-in Jacuzzi and we had to watch the dog or he'd be in there in a half-heartbeat, lol! He'd got used a warm bath helping him already, so when he saw the Jacuzzi he walked right in.
One thing we never did was use ointments or liniments as we were afraid the dogs would lick it off and be poisoned.
There are also commercially prepared (and expensive) kibbles out there that cut the amount of proteins that seem to aggravate doggy arthritis, ask your vet for a recommendation.
My vet says to use regular strength aspirin. 325 mg, aspirin not tylenol or advil or anything like that.
1 pill for every 40 lbs of dog. If he's bigger or smaller, the pills are really easy to just break in half for the correct dose.
I use herbs for arthritis for myself & have given them to a dog that was suffering. It was amazing to see her (big dog) get some spring to her step! She seemed very grateful!
