It’s a degenerative condition that affects one or more joints, with the resulting pain from inflammation progressing over time if left untreated, causing the condition to get worse. It can result in changes to the cartilage, fluid, bones and capsule of the joint.

• A painful, progressive inflammatory disease of the joints
• The joints most commonly affected are the hip, knee, elbow, shoulder, carpus and spinal column
• Causes damage to the joint cartilage resulting in inflammation causing pain
• Pain associated with arthritis is significant. This pain has a profound impact on mobility and quality of life
• Is an ongoing degenerative condition

There are many things that can cause arthritis in dogs such as:

• Traumatic injuries that result in joint instability
• Obesity - being overweight increases the forces acting on the joint
• Genetically weakened or unstable joints e.g. hip dysplasia
• Failure of proper bone development in young dogs

Excessive weight places significant stress on joints, which accelerates the development of arthritis. Your dog’s ideal weight can be achieved by carefully reducing their calorie intake, or by feeding a calorie reduced diet, and resisting the temptation of giving all those treats from the table, our small leftovers could be equivalent to a cheeseburger for our dog!

Exercise builds muscle mass, which increases joint stability and keeps them mobile. It also assists in weight control. The general exercise rules for an arthritic dog include:

• Several short exercise periods throughout the day with rest periods in between
• Similar daily exercise patterns, even on weekends
• Warm up and warm down periods at the start and end of each exercise period
• Not exercising dogs to the point of exhaustion

Medications are available to help manage the symptoms of arthritis. Some of these medications include those that manage the chronic pain associated with arthritis. Effective pain management helps to:

• Relieve your dog’s suffering
• Restore mobility
• Restore quality of life
• Slow down disease progression

There are 3 fundamental principles of therapy:
1. Use it in combination with diet and exercise lifestyle changes
2. Use immediately upon your dog’s initial arthritis diagnosis
3. Use pain medication continuously and for the long term

After treatment with Rimadyl or Trocoxil, the transformation in your dog can be remarkable. Day after day, dog owners and veterinarians tell us about the incredible difference that Rimadyl or Trocoxil has made in the quality of dogs’ lives. Some benefits your dog could experience include:

• Getting up quicker
• Moving around faster
• Jumping into the car or on to the back of the ute again
• More responsive to commands
• Regaining the personality of a younger dog again
• Sleeping easier and more peacefully
• Generally feeling ‘happier”

If the chronic pain associated with arthritis is left untreated a condition called central sensitisation of the central nervous system develops, which increases joint inflammation, painful flare ups and cartilage breakdown, and increasing the pain your pet is experiencing. Once this happens, it becomes more difficult and takes longer to treat.
Continuous pain relief will help prevent this from happening, and over time the benefits for the dog improve progressively.