Arthritis can be defined as inflammation of the joints. This disease can affect any joint in the body where two bones joint together. Symptoms include difficulty moving, limping or lameness, reduced interest in exercise or playing or irritability. If you notice any of these signs in your pet’s behavior, you have to schedule a vet visit as soon as possible. 

“It feels like there are rice krispies in there,” said Judy Morgan, DVM, an integrative veterinarian and owner of Clayton Veterinary Associates and Churchtown Veterinary Associates, both in New Jersey.

Unfortunately, this disease can’t be cured, so your dog will need certain natural remedies to soothe the pain and improve mobility. However, when you will find out the diagnosis, your vet will help you create a dog arthritis treatment plan.

“There is no reason to allow your pet to suffer from untreated pain,” Dr. Morgan says. “For many pets, this may require a multi-modal approach, meaning you may need to keep adding therapies until you achieve the desired effect.”

So, here are some natural remedies for arthritis in dogs! Click through for more info!

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.

Choose the right supplements

Many people choose glucosamine to improve their dog’s joint health, but there are even more natural supplements that can “help restore joint health by providing nutrients for cell repair,” Dr. Morgan says, “including chondroitin, green lipped mussel, deer antler velvet and colostrum.”

These supplements help improve bone health as they provide the body with the nutrients it needs to strengthen. So, it will stimulate joint function and can help reduce inflammation and pain. 

Elizabeth Anderson Lopez has a beautiful female Bull Terrier called Medusa. “She loved to play ball, but we learned that we had to curb how long we let her play and how far we threw it because she was clearly in pain later that day, often spending the rest of the day/evening in her bed,” Lopez says. After finding out the diagnosis established by the veterinarian, they treated Medusa with glucosamine and chondroitin. “It was nice to give her a chewable that was like a daily treat,” Lopez says.

Cannabidiol (CBD)

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a substance found in various products, such as edible treats, oils, different beverages and creams. It can help dogs relax their muscles and relieve pain. “It can provide relief from pain and inflammation for many pets,” Dr. Morgan says.

Tammy Larson, the owner of a Miniature Pinscher, in Tacoma, Washington, said that her dog (named Mozart) was diagnosed with arthritis at the age of eight. “He went from being very active — spinning —to very slow getting up,” says Larson. “He also was diabetic, so we changed his food to wheat-free and gave supplements such as CBD elixir to help him. It perked him up pretty much right away and helped him move better. It even improved his behavior from whining from pain to being his sweet self!”

Acupuncture therapy

As you probably know, acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine, used especially in traditional Chinese medicine, which helps your body relieve pain. This medical technique is also used for dog arthritis pain relief. 

“It’s been around for thousands of years, and acupuncture works very well for many patients,” Dr. Morgan says. “It is possible to decrease heat, swelling and inflammation using acupuncture.”

During the acupuncture process, your dog’s body releases endorphins, which helps reduce pain and inflammation.

Cold laser clinic therapy 

“Cold laser therapy uses certain light wavelengths that decrease pain and inflammation and increase blood flow through the area to bring healing blood cells into the joint,” Dr. Morgan says. “Class IV cold laser therapy has been working very well in my practices.”

For some dogs, glucosamine and chondroitin treatments don’t work, so owners should opt for cold laser therapy that is performed in-clinic only, which seems to be much more effective in some cases, but this depends on the dog’s physical condition and how advanced the disease is.

Canine physical therapy / rehabilitation

Canine physical therapy or rehabilitation can help reduce the pain and inflammation and improve the overall health of veterinary patients that suffer from arthritis and other orthopedic and chronic diseases. Most dogs that receive this therapy treatment are overweight. 

Rehabilitation can include swimming, stretching, walking over poles or other obstacles or underwater treadmill. Some physical therapies for dogs require a specialist. Your vet will help you with recommendations.

Prolotherapy

Prolotherapy is “an injection technique that stimulates the growth of healthy connective tissue to help strengthen torn or weakened ligaments and tendons and eliminate chronic pain,” Dr. Morgan says.” There is minimal risk of complications, and pain associated with the procedure is generally mild.”

This solution is injected into the affected ligaments and joints of your dog and helps relieve pain and inflammation, while also being a factor that stimulates your dog to be more active.

“Anti-inflammatory drugs should not be given, as inflammation is what we are producing to get the scar tissue to stabilize the joint,” she adds. “Inflammation brings in more blood flow, which brings oxygen with the red blood cells and healing proteins and antibodies with the white blood cells and platelets.”

Adequan injections

Adequan (polysulfated glycosaminoglycan) injections are recommended by veterinarians to treat joint pain in dogs. “The injections are given in the muscle or under the skin,” Dr. Morgan says. “Adequan helps rebuild healthy joint fluid and lubricate the joints.” Adequan is considered a natural remedy because “it’s basically the building blocks for joint fluid, which increases the lubrication of the joints and improves mobility with decreased pain,” she says.