Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Canine Arthritis


Yes, dogs get arthritis too. It is estimated that over 10 million dogs have been diagnosed and 31% of owners state that it is an a real problem for their pets. Canine arthritis is most common in older and large breed dogs since they will put more weight on their joints than the smaller pets.
Pain and discomfort is the same for pets as it is for humans, cartiliage breaks down around the joint in them as it does in us humans. The same medication glucosamine and chrondroitin work for pets as well as humans in relieving pain. MSM also works beautifully for dogs with arthritis. There are an assortment of pet foods that already include these supplements for the older pet.

Remember that your pet cannot speak to you about what ails him, so keep an eye on your pet, recognize the signs of pain and find a safe canine arthritis treatment for your achy pooch.

2 comments:

Cheery-O said...

I read your blog with interest and wanted to add a couple of comments. First, although many foods have glucosamine/chondroitin added, none of levels are anything more than nutritional. There's a story behind that, involving legislation originating in TX and one other state, but I won't go into that here. I think as a consumer that other consumers should be aware of clever marketing ploys that falsely call foods a "joint health formula" when in point of fact there is nothing beyond a token amount in the foods.

Also, MSM is fantastic for arthritic pain, but more so in the sense that it addresses inflammation in AVASCULAR tissues, and not the health of the joint itself.

Lastly, there are a ton of glucosamine/chondroiting products out there. There are a couple of canine supplements that are ConsumerLabs tested and approved to meet label claim. I don't know if it's appropriate to mention names here, but GLC 1000 is one. As a consumer, I want to know that I'm getting what I'm paying for, as we all should. They review many supplements, generic drugs, and vitamins and it's shocking to realize that many of the products label claims are invalid for one or more reasons.

I just wanted to add sone input to your blog...thanks for reading. I have a 4 year old Lab that I have on glucosamine and an older , one-legged Australian Cattle dog mix that is twice as fast as anything on the farm, and I attribute her speed and agility to the above mentioned supplement I won't buy anything , from Echinaceal to Centrum, without verifying label claim.

Cheery-O said...

I read your blog with some interest. I wanted to comment on a couple of things, however.

First, there are NO therapeutic levels of glucosamine and chondroiting in ANY dog food in the United States. Legislation was initiated in Texas and one other state, and the bill was signed into law stating that only NUTRITIONAL levels of these could be used in products. Ergo, despite what the clever marketers say on the bag, the levels of glucosamine and chondroitin are not going to do much except garner a higher price.

Secondly, MSM is fantastic for relieving inflammation due to arthritic pain. However, it addresses inflammation in AVASCULAR tissues, not within the joint itself. Consequently, the joint's associated structures like muscles, ligaments, and tendons are helped, but no benefit to the actual joint ensues.

Finally, as a savvy consumer, I check ConsumerLabs before buying any kind of supplement or vitamin. They do independent testing of products to verify that labels have been met; there are 2 canine glucosamine formulations that have met label claim. One of them is a company called GLC (I don't know if it's appropriate to mention names here). I got a free sample from the company and have been extraordinarily surprised at the difference in my 3-legged cattle dog mix and especially by how fast the turnaround time was.

I don't usually respond to blogs, but I like to consider myself an educated consumer, and I do the research on the products that I use, whether it's a cosmetic or a vitamin. Just thought that this info would help other people too.