Hiding in Plain Sight

by Malcolm Riordan

"He's just slowing down." "Oh, she's just getting older." In tossing out these blanket clichés, you might be turning your older dog out to pasture years before their time! Lessening activity, slowness, stiffness, reluctance to/or difficulty getting up can be signs of arthritis.

Our dogs, in their own special way - for which we adore them - live in the moment, in the world of now. And as part of this ever fascinating canine approach to life, dogs will accept and adapt to their pain and gradual limitations in subtle, low-profile fashion. It is too easy for us to miss the signs, and so miss a huge opportunity to provide more active, happy years for our dogs - years they would gladly devote to sharing with us.

If your dog is affected by arthritis, there are several ways you can markedly improve daily life for your aging best friend.

Weight loss – Getting an overweight dog gradually down to an ideal weight, and even to the thin side of normal is one thing alone that can have an almost magical effect. This cannot be overemphasized. A lot of bang for the buck here.

Moderate, regular exercise – Increase muscle strength and range of motion through daily low impact exercise, gradually building up to your dog's appropriate, sustainable limits. Over time, perhaps a few months, dramatic improvements in an older dog's strength, flexibility, and energy can be made. This beats watching them dwindle away to an inactive status, a sleeping lump on the rug before their time.

Diet supplements - Found in liquid, powder, tablet or capsule form, certain "nutraceuticals" protect cartilage and enhance joint-fluid production. These are felt to help at least half of the arthritic dogs that are on them for the trial period of four to six weeks. If these "joint supplements" help, they can then be continued indefinitely in lower maintenance amounts. It's worth a try.

Anti-inflammatory drugs - A relatively new class of medications, COX-2 inhibitors can be used as needed – to effect – and, when necessary, can be given regularly and indefinitely. Over the last 10-15 years, a half dozen or more types of this newer class of non-cortisone drugs have been developed and approved for use in arthritic dogs. As a class of drug, they are considerably more effective than say, aspirin, and markedly less likely to cause unwanted side effects. Many are available as once-daily, chewable, flavored tablets.

To the extent that a dog may be affected with arthritis symptoms, the supplements and medications – atop the essential foundation of weight loss/moderate regular exercise - can put interest and shine back in your dog's eyes, returning him or her to a more active status, making you smile and even laugh again, as he or she is able to resume the theater of their personality in a life once again shared with you.

The gradual onset of canine arthritis with age, and the effective ways it can be managed, is like a Fountain of Youth that is hiding in plain sight. Have your veterinarian help get you and your dog started on the journey there soon.

PS - cats get arthritis as well, although with much less frequency, and when they do, it is typically of the lower spine. The same principles as above do apply, but must be adjusted. It is well known that on Planet Cat, the nature of felinity does not hold with the notion of "‘moderate regular exercise" in quite the same way. Similarly, the medication options for cats are there, but with important exceptions and differences - so typically feline.

Below are Some Scenes from Woods

Come out to Woods Humane Society, or click on the logo below, and take a look through
some of the 100+  adoptable dogs and cats waiting for you to 'graduate' them into a new life.

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