Why Joint care for dogs is Harder Than You Think

 What is joint care for dogs?

Dog joint care is the skilled and hands-on care of a dog’s joints to prevent the onset of joint problems such as arthritis or to manage pain and inflammation in injured or diseased dog joints.

It entails evaluating a dog’s joints to determine whether or not they have problems or the potential to develop problems; performing appropriate diagnostic testing to determine the best overall plan of care for each dog; and carrying out appropriate preventive or management actions.

The importance of joint care for dogs

Muscle, bone, and joint problems can limit a dog’s ability to participate in daily activities. As a dog parent, you may occasionally notice your dog moving a little slower than usual or even limping. In many cases, this is due to the dog experiencing hip or joint discomfort.

Hip and joint problems can occur in dogs of any age. While some dog breeds are more prone to hip and joint problems than others, and senior dogs are more frequently affected simply due to age and the natural deterioration of their joint, muscle, and bone health, it is important to remember that hip and joint problems do not discriminate in their dog victims.

The essence of dog joint care is best understood by distinguishing between two types of dog joint health problems: developmental and degenerative. When a dog’s joints do not develop properly, it is said to have developmental dog joint problems. A good example is when a dog develops hip dysplasia.

Degenerative dog joint problems are those that occur when the condition of a dog’s joints deteriorates over time. One example is the wear and tear that occurs as a result of joint use.

Whether a dog has developmental or degenerative joint problems, joint care can help reduce pain and strain on the affected joints by assisting it in changing the way it does things or engages in daily activities.

Joint care for dogs is more than just treating dogs with joint problems or providing post-operative joint pain relief. It also includes proactive canine joint care. This includes ensuring the dog maintains a lean body weight and engages in regular exercise to help keep the joints healthy; providing nutritional supplements to improve joint comfort and protect cartilage from damage; optimizing bone growth by mildly limiting food consumption during growth and avoiding calcium supplementation; protecting joint cartilage by using the best joint supplement for dogs; and keeping the dog trim.

What makes joint care for dogs hard to achieve

Indeed, every dog owner understands that joint care for dogs does not imply preventing the dog from using the joints. It simply means assisting the dog in using its joints in a way that does not strain or damage them. However, this is more difficult than the average person believes. This is due to the following factors:

Dogs are masters at concealing their pain
It is a dog’s natural instinct to conceal or mask its pain. Our furry friends will hide their pain for as long as possible, making the pain they may be experiencing difficult to diagnose.

Being skilled at concealing signs of disease, injury, and pain in dogs helps them avoid being perceived as weak and thus easy targets by potential predators. While this is beneficial to dogs, it makes joint care difficult because it requires someone who understands the dog’s behavior to detect any subtle changes that may indicate pain.

Difficulty immobilizing a dog’s affected joint
It is common knowledge that joint care for problematic joints necessitates immobilization of the affected joint for a period of time. Given the playful nature of dogs, it is difficult to ensure that the affected joint is immobilized in order to achieve faster joint care results.

Wide-ranging clinical signs of canine joint problems
Because of the wide range of clinical signs and severity, as well as the large number of retroactive management approaches, dog joint problems such as osteoarthritis make joint care a complex undertaking.

It is even more difficult for dog parents who have multiple dogs because a diagnosis for one dog cannot be generalized to the others. Every dog is unique, andjoint medicine for dogs prescribed for one dog may not help with the ailments of another dog.

The challenges involved in encouraging mobility
As part of their joint care program, dogs with hip and joint discomfort will require regular, gentle exercise. This can be difficult at times because the affected hips or joints are sore and stiff.

Given the importance of keeping such dogs’ muscles strong, ligaments flexible, and blood circulation functional, their owners must do everything possible to encourage them to move around and warm up. This could include using treats like tasty arthritis supplements or anti-inflammatory meds for dogs.

Having difficulties with joint care for your dogs? Get help from a vet

When faced with the difficulty of carrying out a joint care plan you’ve devised for your dog, always seek professional assistance from a trusted veterinarian.