How to Treat Canine Arthritis at Home
If it is very difficult to get to see your vet, then I would strongly suggest that you at least try and get a video consult or a phone consult. Because, as your caring veterinarian, I want to make sure that your dog's pain is controlled quickly. And the only way that we know how to do that is via medication. So don't sit there at home thinking about all the other options. If you know your dog is in pain, please do speak to your vet.
Get Your Foundations Right
With regards to ways to manage pain at home, there are lots of things that you can do. Things that I love, is making sure that their lifestyle is safe. As said, slippery floors will make pain state worse. If you imagine that you've got painful hips and your feet keep slipping away from you, uncontrolled, and that's going to pull on that hip joint. That's going to hurt. So get your slippery floors sorted, your bedding right, try and minimize how much impact forces they have going up and down those stairs, jumping in and out of the back of the car. Stop your family members throwing balls and Frisbees and sticks because again, the impact force is not nice on arthritic joints.
Home Therapy Options
With regards to home therapies, I'm a very hands-on person. I love massage. I love heat therapy. So things like that can be really, really helpful. With regards to things like supplements that you certainly can buy online, and you can give to your dog again, speak to your vet ideally. What we do know is some can offer benefits, but it's a little bit of an uncontrolled market. We don't know what is in some of those products. So speak to your vet, or speak to your veterinary technician, and they can give you some more advice. At home again, get the foundations right. It makes a big difference in pain control.
For additional information about canine arthritis, check out Dr. Capon's work at Canine Arthritis Management.
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