Keeping Your Dog’s Joints Healthy

Although we normally think of aching joints associated with older dogs, you should begin to think about your dog’s joint health before the dog is even born and continue with strategies to maintain healthy joints throughout the dog’s whole life.  Preventing joint disease before it starts is a much better strategy than trying to deal with the painful symptoms after the fact.

Choose Breeding Stock Carefully

Hip dysplasia is a congenital disease where the hip socket is too shallow to properly contain the ball at the top of the femur.  The joint is loose, and as the muscles surrounding the hip socket develop, they pull on the bones, causing the joint to become unstable.  As the ball bounces around in the socket, the protective cartilage begins to wear down and cause pain and lameness in the hind legs.  The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA)  estimates that somewhere between 20 and 40% of large breed dogs will be affected by this disease, although any breed of dog may have problems.

If you are a breeder, make sure your dogs have healthy hips before you breed them.  If you are purchasing a puppy from a breeder, you will want to see certification from the OFA as to the soundness of the parents’ hips.

For a fee, the OFA will review X-rays taken by a local veterinarian for signs of hip dysplasia.  If the hips are normal for the specific breed of dog, an OFA number is assigned to that dog.  If a dog is found to have hip dysplasia, the information remains confidential, so make sure you see the certification number which indicates that hip dysplasia is not present.  The OFA number may be added to the dog’s AKC registration papers, but that is not required.  The important thing is that both parents have a certification number, particularly if you are considering a large breed.

Another certification program is run by the University of Pennsylvania.  The PennHIP program can screen dogs as young as 16 weeks old, and is said to produce fewer false negatives.  In the OFA program, a certain percentage of dogs may be certified who later turn up to have hip dysplasia.  Under the PennHIP program, this percentage appears to be lower.  Unfortunately, the PennHIP test is more expensive, and breed organizations have been slow to endorse the program.

After reviewing the X-rays of a dog, the University of Pennsylvania will send a report to the owner with a Laxity Profile Ranking score.  The recommendation of the PennHIP program is to breed only those dogs who test in the top 40% of dogs of that breed, with the hope that the incidence of hip dysplasia will then be bred out of the breed.

The best strategy for avoiding hip dysplasia is to only purchase puppies from dogs who have been certified as free from hip problems or as in the top 40% of hip laxity as compared to other members of the breed.  Another great prevention strategy is to avoid purebred dogs altogether.  Mutts rarely have hip dysplasia due to the diverse gene pools from which they are created.

Dog Sports

Assuming your dog does not have a genetic predisposition to hip dysplasia, the next prevention strategy to assure maximum joint health is to protect your dog from rough play during his developmental period.  Dogs should not be enrolled in any type of sport until his joints and growth plates have fully developed.  Even jumping up and down off the furniture or standing on their back legs to compensate for their short puppy stature should be discouraged.

Just as with humans, the more stress that is placed on the joints through exercise, the greater the likelihood of joint problems later in life.  Sports that don’t include a lot of running and jumping will be the ones that are least likely to cause the protective cartilage over the joint surfaces to deteriorate.  For this reason, swimming is one of the best exercises for your dog.  It has virtually no impact on the joints, and working the muscles against the resistance of water is one of the best ways to keep your dog in shape.

Rough-and-tumble dog sports have been associated with tears in the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) of the knee and elbow joints.  It is vital to strike a balance between keeping your dog active and protecting his or her joints.  Proper conditioning before competitions is important, as is warming up and cooling down before and after strenuous exercise.

Keeping Your Dog in Tip-Top Shape

As your dog grows, keeping him or her in great physical condition can help to prevent joint problems.  Dogs who are overweight are much more prone to osteoarthritis than dogs who maintain an ideal weight.

When you look at your dog from above, you should be able to see a defined waistline.  If not, you need to cut back on the food and treats.

When you place your thumbs on the dogs spine and fan your fingers out over his or her rib cage, you should be able to feel the ribs through the skin.  If not, the dog is overweight.  Doctors Foster and Smith offer a very detailed method to determine whether or not your dog is overweight.

In addition to cutting back on the number of calories your dog is eating, you will want to increase the number of calories he or she is burning off by starting an exercise regimen.  Even a daily walk can help shave off a few pounds and strengthen the muscles around the joints to give them greater stability.

Food Additives, Supplements, and Prescription Medications

The primary objective in adding joint protective supplements to a dog’s diet is to strengthen and protect the joint cartilage.  Cartilage acts as a shock absorber inside the joints, cushioning and protecting the bone ends to keep them from grinding against each other.  When the cartilage becomes inflamed or begins deteriorating, it is less able to provide protection to the bones.

One of the most well-known supplements used for joint health is glucosamine-chondroitin.  Glucosamine has been found to help build cartilage, while chondroitin helps to fight against the enzymes in your dog’s body that cause cartilage to break down over time.

You may have also heard of giving your dog fish oil as a nutritional supplement.  Fish oils contain omega-3 fatty acids which are known to reduce inflammation.  Nordic Naturals sells fish oils, and offers a great description of their benefits in a recent issue of Nordic News.

Check the label on the dog food you are currently using.  We all know that some sort of protein should be listed first, but check the other ingredients on the list, as well.  Many dog food manufacturers are now including joint protective ingredients in the food, making it unnecessary to purchase separate supplements.  Many times these foods have a price premium because of the added ingredients, so you should compare the cost of the food the amount you are spending on supplements.

Once arthritis has set in to your dog’s joints, you will focus on pain relief and reducing inflammation.  Simple buffered aspirin can do both jobs, but make sure you are giving real aspirin, not acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil).  If your dog’s pain cannot be relieved with these over-the-counter products, you might ask your vet for a prescription of Rimadyl, EtoGesic, Metacam, or Zubrin, all of which provide a reduction in inflammation.  Some also contain pain relievers.

The next step in treatment is steroidal drugs which will also reduce inflammation.  Examples include prednisolone and dexamethasone.

Symptoms of Joint Degeneration

Even with the best care, your dog may begin to develop osteoarthritis as a natural effect of aging.  As your dog first begins to develop joint problems, you may or may not notice subtle changes in his or her behavior and ability.  The dog may start to slow down and prefer shorter periods of exercise than he or she had previously enjoyed.  Getting up onto the couch or jumping into the car may become more difficult.

As the disease progresses, your dog might begin limping or holding the affected paw up rather than supporting his or her weight with it.  The pain and stiffness may be worse after the dog has rested for awhile.  If he or she gets up to walk, there may be a pronounced limp for the first few steps, then a more normal gait.  The dog may not want you to touch the affected joint because it becomes sensitive to touch.

As the dog begins favoring one paw, you might notice the muscle mass beginning to shrink.

Physical Therapy

Your arthritic dog may benefit from physical therapy.  A regimen of gently extending and flexing the joint, coupled with massage, can help to reduce both pain and inflammation.   Underwater therapy might include swimming and running on a treadmill in a pool.  These exercises can help your dog lose weight which will place less stress on his or her joints, while allowing the dog to achieve greater range of motion without pain.

Your therapist may also recommend other treatment modalities such as ultrasound and electrical stimulation.  The Canine Rehabilitation Institute can help you find a certified rehab specialists in your state.

Ask your vet or physical therapist for a recommendation as to an orthopedic bed for your dog.  Soft bedding that keeps the joints warm can also be of benefit to arthritic dogs.

Surgical Solutions

A veterinary orthopedic surgeon can provide definitive relief for your dog’s joint pain.  Surgery is most likely to be used for younger dogs who have developed joint issues as a result of injury.  Repairs may be done arthroscopically or the whole joint may even be replaced.  Cartilage grafts may also be implanted to replace or supplement what has deteriorated or that which has been lost due to injury.