just how can you tell if your dog has arthritis the last thing you want is for
them to be really painful and suffering in silence they do give us some clues
though so join me as I go through the ten main symptoms of arthritis in dogs
hi I'm dr. Alex Avery from ourpetshealth.com helping you and your dog to
live a healthier happier life so if it's your first time here consider
subscribing and hitting that Bell notification below just to make sure you
don't miss out on future videos just like this one so what are the signs of
arthritis in dogs what symptoms do you need to look out for to indicate that
they might be in pain well it's easy they limp right well yes they do and
lameness or stiffness is my first sign of arthritis in dogs but this isn't
always as obvious as you might think when several legs are painful then an
arthritic dog it may not clearly be limping also early on in the disease
they might only limp a little first thing in the morning and actually warm
up out of this pretty quickly once they get going and once they're up and moving
as the disease gets worse though then the lameness and the stiffness also
becomes more of a regular and permanent feature so arthritis symptom number two
is the fact that this lameness or stiffness might get worse in cold
weather now this is why warm draft-free bedding can really help in the home
management of arthritis and check out the video link below just to learn more
about these holistic and home management strategies that we can use in our
arthritic dogs okay so my third arthritis symptom is a general reduction
in activity levels you might not feel that they are lame
but you might notice that your older dog is just slowing down now it's very
frustrating to hear from people at their pet is stiff and is slowing down just
due to age and there is no way that they can be in pain well to this I say that
aging itself isn't a disease and that there may very well be a reason that
their dog is becoming slower and that reason is often pain so linked to this at
number four is the sign that your dog has a reduced desire to exercise now
they might be just as active as ever around the house but as soon as you get
the lead out or start throwing the ball they just quickly stop running around
and instead choose to plod slowly by your side
they may even no longer rush to the front door
to greet visitors like they always used to do the fifth sign your dog might have
arthritis is being hesitant or unwilling to jump or climb they may no longer come
upstairs because climbing is just too painful they might prefer to sleep on
the floor rather than a normal spot on the sofa when going out they may get
their front legs up on the boot but need help getting the rest of their body into
the car they may not even be able to manage this and needs to be lifted
completely into the back as our arthritic dogs get worse and start to
lose muscle in their legs then the sixth symptom of arthritis in dogs can be
difficulty actually getting up when lying down so slippery floors will make
this much more noticeable but some dogs will struggle and take some time to
stand no matter what they are lying on in an effort to reduce the amount of
pain they are in a dog with arthritis may spend more time sleeping or at least
lying in their bed after all their joints don't hurt as much if they are not
moving so increased time sleeping is my 7th arthritis sign this along with
reduced exercise and activity already discussed can then result in symptom
number 8 and that in weight gain very often we'll continue to feed our dogs
the same amount as normal even when they are less active as a result they lose
muscle and gain fat and so gain weight overall
now this makes arthritis even worse higher body weight means more force
going through painful joints increasing both inflammation and pain as pain
levels increase further you might see the final two common symptoms of
arthritis in dogs they might reduce their interaction with the family and
you might notice a change in general behavior they may become more grumpy
anxious withdrawn or even aggressive now this happens as they try and protect
themselves from increasing pain they are simply worried that being moved or even
just being touched or patted is going to hurt and so do whatever it takes to try
and reduce the chance of this happening now you might think that some of these
symptoms of arthritis in dogs are pretty extreme and that you definitely
be able to tell if your dog had arthritis before they got to that point
remember though that arthritis comes on very gradually so when you're seeing
your dog every day is actually quite easy just to miss these things or accept
them as part of the normal aging process so if you want to learn more about
arthritis as well as its treatment and home management then check out my
video series linked down below if your dog is showing any of these signs then
make sure you get them checked over by your vet they deserve to be pain-free in
their old age if you have any questions or if you notice any other changes in
your dog that you'd like to let other people know about then please leave a
comment down below also remember to subscribe and until next time i'm dr.
alex from our pets health because they're family