Preventing Joint Problems in Dogs
Preventing joint problems in dogs
Most of a dog's joint health is decided before its first birthday and by its weight ever after. Here is what you control, and what you cannot.
Growth: the part you only get once
A puppy fed too much does not get fat; it grows too fast. Excess energy pushes cartilage at the growth plates to divide faster than it can turn into bone, and the result is soft, poorly mineralised bone that deforms under a heavy body. Add extra calcium on top and remodelling goes wrong in the other direction. The prevention is dull and effective: a complete puppy food, fed by the table, weighed, with nothing added, and a lean puppy throughout. Large and giant breeds need the slower-growth Junior phase longest. Feeding a puppy.
Weight: the part you control every day
Every extra kilo is carried on four joints, thousands of times a day. Overweight dogs develop arthritis earlier and feel it more. Keeping a dog at its ideal weight is the single most effective joint measure at any age. The rib check.
Exercise: right kind, right amount
Regular, moderate, and varied. Puppies: short walks that grow with age, no stairs or jumping down in large breeds while the growth plates are open. Adults: daily walks over long weekend hikes; swimming for dogs that will. Seniors: shorter and more often, on soft ground, and warmed up. Ball-throwing on hard ground, with its sprinting, twisting and skidding, is the exercise most vets would happily ban.
What food can add
Rich in glycosaminoglycans, the building blocks of cartilage and joint fluid. In our recipes for larger and older dogs.
From fish oil, with a well-documented effect on joint inflammation. Supports cartilage formation in growing dogs.
Cofactors for the enzymes that cross-link collagen. A copper deficiency in a growing dog shows as a dropped, over-flexed stance.
Glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM have mixed evidence but are safe and help some dogs. Worth trying for eight weeks in a stiff dog; stop if nothing changes.
Arthro Fit Care SnackJoint care snack
Medidog Joint Active DropsJoint supplement
Maxi Adult (Fit & Vital)Large breed adult
Senior (Fit & Vital)Senior with joint support
Genetics and the things you cannot change
Hip and elbow dysplasia run in families and breeds. If you are buying a puppy, ask for the parents' hip and elbow scores. If you already have the dog, everything above still applies and matters more.
- your dog is stiff after rest, slow to rise, or reluctant to jump or climb
- there is any limp lasting more than a day or two
- a puppy’s gait looks odd, bunny-hops, or the limbs look bowed
- an older dog is slowing on walks; pain relief has come a long way
Growth-phase guidance from "The young dog: key aspects of dietetics" by Nicola Rinn, veterinarian, Happy Dog veterinary team. General information, not a substitute for veterinary advice.
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