When you control your dog’s weight, you help to reduce the pain and swelling associated with dog arthritis. Just like with humans, the key to controlling weight is diet and exercise. But this formula doesn’t work with all dogs, so there’s a natural tendency to look for a magic solution.

There are some food supplements that sometimes work to help control your dog’s weight, but none of them are a sure things. The most commonly used food supplements appear below:

• DHEA (DeHydroEpiAndrosterone)
• Slentrol
• L-Carnitine
• Green tea extract
• Chromium
• Chitisan and other fat absorbing drugs

DHEA (DeHydroEpiAndrosterone)

DHEA has no serious side effects, and it does produce good results in some dogs. When it is effective, DHEA helps to reduce the amount of fat stored in your dog’s body. It also has these additional effects when given in 5-25mg daily doses:

• Promotes muscle building even though its anabolic activity is around 1/50th of traditional anabolic steroids.
• Helps build the immune system and is thought to reduce the possibility of cancer.
• Increases the effects of insulin and helps send nutrients from the blood into the body’s cells which promotes weight loss.

Slentrol

This is a prescription drug. It traps fats in the intestines causing the dog to feel full and eat less. Studies by the manufacturer, Pfizer, indicated a 12% weight loss over 4 months without feeding special dietary foods.

Slentrol is a controversial drug that does not always work, but you may consider using it in these situations:

• If you feed your dog treats.
• Your dog’s metabolism does not promote weight loss.
• Multi-dog households where dogs share common meals.

L-Carnitine

This is an amino acid with properties similar to a vitamin. It promotes fat metabolism and energy production. Studies also indicate that L-Carnitine helps with weight loss and muscle mass maintenance in some dogs.

Green Tea Extract

This is very commonly found in human weight loss products. One of the ingredients is Epigallocatechin gallate (a type of catechin) that has reduced obesity when tested on mice. It works by decreasing energy absorption and increasing fat consumption (0xidation). Don’t buy the human variety as it may contain caffeine.

Chromium

Chromium does not seem to do much to promote weight loss in dogs and is no longer recommended by vets.

Chitisan

Chitisan is made from shellfish and introduces fiber to the body. It is believed to bind fats and keep them from entering the bloodstream, but its effect have not been fully proven,. Like Chromium, Chitsan has fallen out of favor in the last 5 years.

So there you go. There really is no magic bullet for controlling your dog’s weight, but using one of these supplements, along with good old diet and exercise, could help you keep your dog’s weight under control. And that’s important, especially if your dog suffers from dog arthritis.

Physical therapy is a crucial part of any dog arthritis treatment program. But helping your dog get the exercise he needs doesn’t have to be boring. In fact, you can dance your dog back to good health and you don’t have to get dressed up and go to a club. You can do it all right in your home or back yard.

Dog dancing is fun, for you and your dog, but it’s also a legitimate form of dog physical therapy. This is particularly true if your dog has arthritis in his hind legs.  You might be surprised to find that your dog actually enjoys dancing.

Here’s why dog dancing is good dog arthritis physical therapy

• It helps their ability to bear weight on their hind legs
• It helps build muscle mass
• It helps improve your dog’s balance

Here’s how it works:

Weight Bearing

Dog dancing helps your dog bear more weight on his hind legs by increasing the pressure on the hind leg joints. As these joints work harder, they get stronger. Of course, if your dog has hind leg arthritis, dog dancing may be painful initially. So take it slow and don’t overdo it. As time goes by, you can increase the time and dancing intensity as your dog develops more hind leg strength.

Increasing Muscle Mass

When you dance with your dog, his hind leg muscles have to work harder to support his weight, and working muscle groups is what makes them stronger. This is especially good  dog arthritis therapy for the muscles around the hip and knee joints. These muscle groups support those joints and help protect them from excessive wear and tear, as well as helping prevent the joints from slipping sideways.

Improved Balance

Since dogs don’t naturally dance, or walk on their hind legs for that matter, your dog has to concentrate in order to keep from losing his balance. As you move through the dance steps, he learns to anticipate the movements and move along with you.

The more you dance with your dog, the better he’ll be at it, and the faster he’ll begin to recover from the pain of dog arthritis.

Physical therapy can be a very important dog arthritis treatment… and can also be a bit of fun! Dancing with your dog can serve a genuine purpose as a form of physical therapy – especially for hind limb . Many people take dog dancing very seriously and participate in canine freestyle – dog dancing routines with your dog! You don’t need to go to classes, all you need to do at home is have some fun and get some meaningful exercise for yourself and your dog. Take note of how your dog reacts – some think your crazy, some will bark and sing, others will hold their paws out in readiness for the dance ahead.

As part of a physical therapy program, dog dancing should aim to improve:

• Improve weight bearing
• Increase muscle mass
• Improve balance

Improve Weight Bearing

Dog dancing helps to improve weight bearing. Standing on the back legs will load the hind limb joints which can be a helpful exercise for dogs with hind limb arthritis. Take things slowly and not for too long to start with or your dog

may get sore.

Increase Muscle Mass

If your dog is using his legs the muscle mass will increase to cope with the increased workload. This is helpful because the more muscles there are around the joints (especially the hip and knee joints) the more the joints are stabilised and protected from excessive loading and wear. This is the same for ourselves and a big reason why physiotherapy is important after our surgeries.

Improve Balance

Dog dancing is not exactly natural for our furry friends (nor for people like myself!). It takes concentration and the improvement of skills such as balance to be able to dance like a doggy Fred Astaire. With practice they can improve their balance and this in turn is a great help for their dog arthritis treatment.

Keeping your dog lean and healthy can add years to his life. Changing daily activities is recommended to keep your dog interested in exercise and to prevent boredom. Need ideas? Use the following list of exercise activities to maintain dog health:

• Playing at the park is great exercise for your dog and you! Also, time spent exercising together will strengthen the bond between you and your pooch.
• Playing catch with your pooch provides great exercise for him. Remember to give him or her praise for his or her accomplishments.
• Keeping your dog entertained with toys might help cut down on house or lawn damage. Busy dogs are less likely to cause household problems than bored dogs.
• Dogs love to interact with other dogs and need to have their own time for doggie play.
• Swimming is a great activity that will increase your dog’s cardiovascular fitness, muscle tone, and strength. Dogs that suffer joint diseases or have injuries also will benefit from this type of low-impact workout.
• Daily walks with your dog will get you both moving and offer more time for owner-pet bonding.

Hip Displasia Treatment Options

Surgical Options

Juvenile Pubic Symphysiodesis

Triple Pelvic Osteotomy (TPO)

Femoral Head Ostectomy (FHO)

Total Hip Replacement (THR)

This procedure, which must be done by a specialist surgeon, involves the removal of the hip joint and replacing it with an artificial one or prosthesis. THP works well for older and bigger dogs with chronic hip dysplasia but which don’t qualify for FHO.

DARthroplasty

Non surgical options

• weight control
• exercise
• massage therapy
• heat therapy
• anti inflammatory medicines
• acupuncture and
• trigger point therapy

You don’t have to be a trained dog massage therapist to help reduce the pain of dog arthritis. Dog massage is a great part of an arthritic dog physical therapy program, and it’s easy to do. Of course, dog massage is not a cure for dog arthritis, but it is a great way to slow down the progress of the disease and reduce both pain and swelling.

Smaller dogs will benefit from a 10 to 15 minute massage session. Bigger dogs may require 20 to 30 minutes. Some dogs won’t be comfortable with the dog massage therapy in the beginning, so time your sessions accordingly. You can always increase the time as your dog shows more acceptance of the procedure.

Of course, you don’t want to aggravate the dog arthritis by overworking body parts, so take care to work within your dog’s pain tolerance levels. Be particularly gentle around swollen and tender areas.

The best time to perform dog arthritis massage therapy is in the morning and the evening. Morning dog massage therapy helps relieve the stiffness and pain that develops overnight. The evening dog massage session will help reduce the muscle tension and soreness that develops during the day’s activities.

If you’re not sure how to perform dog arthritis massage therapy, ask your vet to show you or to introduce you to an animal massage therapist. That way you can learn how to develop a routine and how to perform the basic massage strokes.

If you want to try it yourself first, follow these steps:

• Begin by lightly stroking the area you are going to massage. Use light pressure. The goal is to start increasing the blood circulation.
• Switch to a light kneading motion concentrating on the areas with tight muscles. Mix in some light hand friction so you can loosen up the muscle fibers and encourage blood circulation through the muscle mass.
• Then switch to effleurages, a light stroking technique, to help with drainage. Don’t massage the joints directly; concentrate on the muscle mass around the arthritic joints.
• If you dog will tolerate it, finish the session with some light stretching exercises. Then stroke your dog gently to stimulate circulation
• Encourage your dog to drink fresh water after the session to help dissolve the lactic acid released by the muscles during the dog arthritis massage session.

As you continue the dog arthritis massage therapy routine, you should see a gradual increase in your dog’s mobility.

Every dog owner knows why they gave their dog its name, but how well do you know the story behind their breed names? Let’s take a look at where a handful of common breeds found their monikers.

1. Jack Russell Terrier

Yep, Jack Russell was a real guy.

John Russell was born in Dartmouth, England in 1795, and over the years he became quite a hunting enthusiast. While he was studying to become a clergyman at Oxford, he met a milkman who had a white terrier bitch named Trump who seemed to be the perfect dog for fox hunting.

After convincing the milkman to sell him the dog, Russell began breeding Trump to develop a line of terriers with the stamina to hunt foxes all day and the courage to go after game that had slipped into holes.

Russell actually has two dogs named after him. We’re all familiar with the Jack Russell terrier, but the Parson Russell terrier, a similar breed with longer legs, also takes its name from Russell and is recognized as a separate breed.

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2. Lhasa Apso

The little dog’s name sounds funny, but its origins are pretty straightforward. The Lhasa Apso was originally bred as a watchdog for Tibetan palaces and monasteries; it was hard for an intruder to sneak in past the watchful, yipping pooches.

The “Lhasa” in the name comes from the city of Lhasa, Tibet’s longtime capital. Apso is a Tibetan word meaning “bearded,” so the breed’s name signifies that it’s a longhaired dog that originated in Tibet.

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3. Basset Hound

The lovable big-eared hounds don’t get their name from a person named Basset. Rather, “Basset” comes from the French word bas for “low” and refers to the dogs’ low-slung statures.

4. Cairn Terrier

These feisty little terriers originated in the Scottish Highlands, where they were renowned for their abilities as hunters of rats and other small prey like rabbits.

The dogs were particularly adept at hunting in the cairns, manmade piles of stones that dot the region as navigational markers. Thus, the breed became known as the Cairn terrier.

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5. Dalmatian

The spotted breed takes its name from Dalmatia, an Adriatic region that lies mostly within modern-day Croatia. Dalmatians have long been used as sentinels and guard dogs in the region, but it’s not entirely clear that they originated there.

Paintings and writings show Dalmatian-like dogs in various regions of Europe as far back as the 14th century, and the dogs have been used in Dalmatia since at least the 18th century. Since the dog was most commonly associated with the region, it became widely known as the Dalmatian.

6. Poodle

The poodle may be thought of as a fancy, snooty dog today, but it actually had fairly rough-and-tumble origins as a gun dog. Their name reflects their early work as retrievers who would swim out after fallen waterfowl.

Pudeln was a Low German word that meant “to splash,” so these brave retrievers were known as pudelhund, or “water dogs.” The word eventually evolved into the English “poodle.”

7. Weimaraner

The beautiful grey dogs with the expressive eyes have probably only been around since the 19th century. According to tradition, that’s when Grand Duke Karl August of Weimar began to selectively breed hunting dogs that were fast, had strong noses, wouldn’t back down from large game like wolves or wildcats, and were smart.

Karl August’s breed allegedly became fashionable among his fellow Weimar noblemen, and the breed gained popularity as a bird-hunting dog as well.

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8. Cocker Spaniel

Spaniels have been around as far back as the 14th century, and these popular pets also got their starts as gun dogs. English hunters prized the dogs’ particularly skilled tracking of woodcocks, so the dogs became known as “cockers.”

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9. Bouvier des Flandres

This herding dog’s name is pretty straightforward if you know a bit of French. The breed originated in Flanders, and French farmers who prized their working spirits named the Bouvier des Flandres, which translates into “Cow herder of Flanders.”

10. Dachshund

The dachshund is another breed with an unexpectedly ferocious origin. When the breed was first created in the early 17th century, hunters were attempting to create a fearless, elongated dog that could dig its way into a badger’s hole and do battle with the tenacious little mammals.

Their name reflects this early purpose; “dachshund” means “badger dog” in German.

11. Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

This spaniel takes its name from King Charles II of Britain, who was often depicted in paintings and tapestries in the company of a small spaniel and was reportedly “seldom seen without his little dogs.”

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12. Beagle

The exact origins of the word “beagle” are a bit mysterious, but anybody who has spent much time with the breed will believe the most commonly accepted story. The American Kennel Club traces the name back to the 16th century, when the hounds became associated with the French word becguele (“noisy person”) thanks to the din of their howls during hunts.

13. SHEEPADOR-

a cross between a sheepdog and Labrador-also known as a MUTT. Watson, was a sheepador

“If I sit down on a bench he is at my side at once and takes up a position on one of my feet.  For it is a law of his being that he only runs about when I am in motion ; that when I settled down he follows suit”

Thomas Mann

From ” A man and his dog”

The tradition of giving a bone to a dog has largely lost favor in the veterinary world.  But the practice persists enough that the U.S. Food and drug administration warned consumers about what could happen.

The report issued in Aprillists peritonitis, mouth and tongue injury, constipation, rectal bleeding and fragments stuck in the esophagus, windpipe, stomach and intestines as major health risks.

“Coming from the veterinary world, we all see these incidences involving bones more often than an owner,” says Joe Wakshlag DVM,  “Some dentists may say it helps them keep clean teeth, while others warn of tooth fractures, but the fact is a lot of owners like to see their dog enjoying a bone “the problem can be serious.  Veterinarians who believe this is a health threat should recommend a safer alternative for clients”