Manage their weight

One of the most important things that you have to take into consideration if you want to prevent arthritis or to combat the symptoms associated with this disease is to manage their weight. Overweight dogs are more likely to develop arthritis and they may also have more severe symptoms, mobility being decreased in this case. 

“Weight management is the most important part of therapy,” Dr. Morgan says. “A dog who is more than 5 percent overweight will have decreased mobility. Most pets are much more than 5 percent overweight. Getting the pet down to a lean body weight can decrease the amount of treatments necessary and greatly decrease medication usage,” she added.