How do I know if my dog has arthritis?
It is an unfortunate fact of life that our dogs age, as much as we would love for them to stay young and bouncy forever they bumble through the years slightly quicker than we would like. Arthritis is a common problem affecting 80% of dogs over the age of 8 and is the most common chronic condition in an older pets twilight years. While it is more common in our senior citizens it can affect up to 35% of dogs of any age. So any signs or symptoms shouldn’t be dismissed just because of a dog’s age. Developmental joint disease is a disease predominantly effecting younger dogs where their joints don’t align perfectly, this can result in joint changes that then progress into arthritis.
Often it can be written off as just something that happens as a dog ages but its important to note that arthritis can be managed well and pets don’t have to just tolerate it as a symptom of aging.
Arthritis cannot just effect one joint. As the disease progresses it can mean that the dog puts more and more weight on other joints causing then to have to work harder to compensate for the weight shift.
While arthritis is not curable there are many things we can do to slow down its progression and ensure your pet is as comfortable as possible.
Sign and symptoms of arthritis
Each dog will have their own set of symptoms, they can start off subtly not wanting to do things that they had previously been comfortable with such as; having their nails trimmed, being reluctant to go on longer walks, climb up stairs etc. These will then progress to the point where the dog isn’t coping with daily life anymore.
As Arthritis is a chronic disease it can often be a lot more subtle then any acute injury/pain. They often don’t yelp out in pain but rather have much more subtle signs such as increased anxiety and behavioural changes. This can be confusing and worrying as it is generally expected that they will react as if they had acute pain. It is important not to wait until they are physically struggling as it is far easier to prevent then cure.
A list of possible symptoms are below its important to remember that all animals react to pain differently and this is not an exhaustive list, if there are concerns that your animal is struggling it is always best to contact your vet.
· Sleeping more
· Hesitating to jump up/down
· Behavioural changes e.g. less tolerate to being touched, noise fears
· Difficulty settling down
· Changes in body shape/posture
· Panting
· Changes in fur pattern/coat seems duller
· Licking at joints
· Stiffness