Arthritis - Inflammation of a joint, usually accompanied by pain, swelling, and stiffness, and resulting from infection, trauma, degenerative changes, metabolic disturbances, or other causes. It occurs in various forms, such as bacterial arthritis, osteoarthritis, or rheumatoid arthritis .

Did you know that one in five dogs suffer from arthritis with 253,000 being diagnoses in South Africa every year. And it is not just the oldies!

Some dog breeds such as German sheppards, Golden Retrievers and Boerbulls are perhaps more prone to developing arthritis due to a predisposition to HD (hip dysplasia), OCD (osteochondritis desiccants) of the shoulder or elbow and cat breeds such as Manx and Rex's are also at higher risk due to likely hood of HD. Even in these breeds it is possible to limit or slow down the progression of the disease.

Diagram to show the destruction of a joint in Arthritic conditions
Click here for a larger view of the diagram

A good Start

A good start in life helps. Breeding from sound, disease free animals is very important in limiting the spread of some of these debilitating conditions. A tendency to HD and other joint disease can be inherited but other factors also play a roll.
Life style, exercise and nutrition can also contribute to degeneration of the joints. Exercise is important but in puppies who's joints and bones are still growing and developing it should be controlled. Little and often is the best, 10km hikes at the weekend and nothing else should be avoided.
Dietary deficiencies or excesses of some nutrients can cause problems. It is ideal that dogs, especially large breeds have a slow but steady growth rate. All the nutrients in the food should be balanced to the calories i.e. if they eat the correct amount of food they will get the correct amount of calcium etc.
The Super Premium brands such as Hill's and Eukanuba are formulated like this and their Large Breed foods have L-Carnitine added for the formation of lean body tissue i.e. muscles that support joints.

Middle years and middle aged spread

Every animal has one or more incidents in their life that can contribute to the formation of arthritis, be this a kitten jumping from the second storey or a dog hit by a car or a puppy that was made to go jogging with his owner every day. It may even be something as simple as the pet being over weight.
Have you seen the signs of arthritis developing in your pet? – slowing down, cats less willing to jump down from the top of the wall, slight limp when they get up in the mornings.
This is the time to take action to keep your pet comfortable and slow down the deterioration of the joints.
Very often dogs and many cats are over weight, some only slightly but more and more are becoming obese. The more the weight, the more the stress on joints, even healthy ones.
The body condition score is a way for you to judge if your pet is over weight without scales.

If you suspect your pet is over weight, let's do something about it now before they really start to suffer with sore joints. Please feel free to bring your pet in for a weight check and have a chat with one of our nurses. They will be able to recommend a weight loss food to make the slimming down of your pet easier. There is no charge for the consultation with the nurse – so what do you have to loose – apart form a few kilos!

Getting comfortable.

There are many small things that you can do to help make your mildly arthritic pet comfortable. To start with try to make your pet more comfortable, warm soft bed, inside is preferred especially in the winter or wet weather. Beds that are slightly raised off the floor may be better if your floor is very cold and damp. For cats a bed low down but where they will feel safe, maybe a cosy cave bed in a corner or behind the sofa.

Although it is necessary to exercise to keep joints supple, watch how your pet behaves. If they seem to be reluctant to exercise or tire easily then you must slow down to a level that is comfortable for them. Watch them, are they stiff after exercise, does their limp become more pronounced towards the end of the walk.
Swimming is fantastic exercise and is non weight bearing so less traumatic to joints.
Even little things can help, for big dogs leaning over to eat from bowls on the floor puts extra stress on shoulders and elbows, elevate the bowls, we sell bowls on stands or find a home made solution for this problem.
In the winter cats which are sore will be unlikely to want to leave the house, provide a litter tray for them.

When a little extra help is needed

There are many Joint Supplements on the market for humans as well as animals. Most of these contain the same nutrients, Chondroitin sulphate, Glucosamine with the addition Green lipped muscle extract, L-carnitine, omega 3 and EPA in some products.
Chondroitin sulphate neutralises destructive enzymes and improves the synovial (joint) fluid. Glucosamine helps to repair and renew damaged or worn articular cartilage.

We sell two of these products in our shop, GCS is in power form and is excellent value for money. Canosan is a relatively new tablet on the market and has been proven to be very effective. Although it is not registered for use in cats half a tablet a day can be given and seems very palatable for even fussy cats.

Click here to visit www.hillspet.com and find out more about the Joint Diet.

Another way to give these nutrients to your pet is in a food, Hills JD (Joint Diet) This is a dog food with all of Hills good nutrition principles but with added EPA, Omega 3, Glucosamine, Chondrotin Sulphate and L-carnitine to support the joints and prevent further degeneration. It is an excellent food and many dogs benefit greatly from it.

Severe Arthritis

Arthritis is a painful condition and it may be necessary in some cases to give pain killers, non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID). The modern versions of these drugs can be given long term if required. These can only be dispensed by the veterinarian after a clinical examination has been carried out on your pet. Although these are safe, they are like most drugs, not without their side effects, especially if used in large doses for long periods.

For this reason we would recommend any pet needing NSAID should also have their joints supported by either being fed Hills JD or taking a supplement such as Canosan or GCS. It is often possible to lower the dose or even stop the NSAID when these treatments are combined.

If you have any questions about Hip Dysplasia, Degenerative Joint Disease or Arthritis please contact us. We want to keep your pets pain free and full of life!