Choosing the medication to give your dog with arthritis is not easy, it can feel like quite a compromise in some cases. On one hand, you want your dog to be pain free from the start, but on the other 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 your vet to ensure that your dog has the best possible treatment and medication so they are as pain free as possible, and they are healthy and happy, so can live a long life. There are medications which can help achieve this and your vet can teach you how to use them in the best way. It is important that you take your vet’s advice on board, but if you want to try something then you can to make sure your dog is happy. It is important that you know everything about arthritis, 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 more 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 in 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, 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 as 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. 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 and 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 rebuild the joint. 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.