Choosing the medication to give your dog when it has arthritis is not easy, it can feel like quite a compromise in some cases. On the one hand, you want your dog to be pain-free from the start, but you also don’t want to risk them getting another long-term condition from the medication that you give them. It is up to you and our dog’s vet to ensure that your dog has the best possible treatment and medication so they are in no pain, they are healthy and happy and can live a long life.

Today, we are going to discuss the medications that can help you achieve this and how to use them in the best way. Of course, it is important that you take your vet’s advice on board, but if you want to try anything you can to make sure your dog is happy, then it is important that you know everything about arthritis and how it can affect your dog and then how to minimise the effects.

What is arthritis?

Arthritis in dogs is a disease that can affect one or all of their joints. It starts with the breakdown of the cartilage that lines their joints, this cartilage stops friction inside the joint. Once this begins to break down the joint, friction of the bone on bone contact will make them very uncomfortable. This is what causes the pain from arthritis.

As the joint breakdown gets worse and worse, this will cause inflammation around the joint. This is the body trying to heal the joint and also the muscles and other tissues responding to the condition. This causes noticeable swelling, more discomfort and pain, it will also lead to more stiffness within the joint.

The medications that can help with the effects of arthritis

In the early stages of arthritis, it is important that your dog gets relief from the pain that they are in, this can be achieved with NSAIDs which are non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs. NSAIDs will help reduce swelling in the joint and stop the pain from affecting your dog so much. We do not recommend that you use NSAIDs for long-term treatment because they can have an adverse effect if you do, but in the early stages, they work great.

Diet, exercise & supplements

While the NSAIDS are making your dog feel good again, it is a great time to implement natural treatments that will have no side effects in the future. One of these treatments is an exercise and diet regime. A diet of fresh veg is likely to be recommended as is the use of supplements. Supplements including glucosamine and chondroitin can help support and protect your furry friend’s joints by slowing cartilage breakdown and providing building blocks for cartilage repair. Essential Fatty Acids (EFA’s) – salmon & fish oils rather than plant EFAs – and Green-Lipped Mussels extract have also been shown to have beneficial effects against arthritis in dogs. Supplements that might work but don’t have as much evidence are avocado and soya bean oils, CBD oil, turmeric and curcumin. Then there are supplements with anecdotal evidence, but little or no scientific evidence – cherry juice, bakers yeast, apple cider vinegar and Boswellia serrata (a plant extract).

Watch a video here of our Head Vet talking about the use of supplements.

The diet helps your dog lose any excess weight pressing down on the joint, and the supplements contain nutrients that can help to reduce inflammation of the joint(s). The exercise portion of the regime will help your dog build up muscle to take even more weight off of their joints.

By using everything available to your dog at the right stages of their treatment, you can make a huge improvement in their condition and stop most of the pain from arthritis. If you would like to find out more about treatments for arthritis including stem cell therapy, you can on our blog. We have a massive library on here dedicated to helping dog owners and dogs battle arthritis together.