There’s nothing worse than having to watch your pooch suffer from arthritis pain. You can tell by the look in their eye they hurt. Chances are you desperately want to do something to ease their misery. The good news is there are things you can do to slow down the progression of this painful disease, or perhaps prevent it from ever happening at all!

Thought by many to be an auto-immune disease, the immune system becomes over-active which causes the body to attack healthy joint tissue or cartilage. This results in pain and inflammation. Arthritis has many different symptoms and can occur at any age, although it is more common in older dogs than younger ones.

Arthritis causes the breakdown of cartilage around the joints, which leads to less protection around the bones within the joint. Areas affected by arthritis can become swollen, painful and difficult to move.Arthritis is most common in the major, weight bearing joints of the body such as the hips and knees.

Symptoms of arthritis in dogs include:

v Difficulty sitting, standing, or getting up from the floor or bed
v Favoring a limb
v Decreased activity, sleeping more, lack of interest in play
v Weight gain
v Attitude or behavior changes
v Appearing to have stiffness or sore joints
v Swelling around the joints

In humans there are many different ways to treat arthritis, and many of these methods involve multiple forms of treatment and many doctors visits. This may not be an option with your dog, but don’t despair as there are methods of treating your canine’s arthritis without shelling out tons of money to your vet. Glucosamine is considered one of the best ways to help with arthritis, as it provides a compound that is often lacking in older dogs or dogs with arthritis and can help their bodies regenerate cartilage tissue.

Along with glucosamine you may want to consider chondroitin, which is found in cartilage and can help slow down the enzymes that are causing the breakdown of the cartilage. Combining these two components and giving them to your dog regularly can help them create new cartilage and relieve their arthritis suffering.

In a clinical trial conducted in 1998, rats were given injections to induce arthritis. They were then divided into two groups. One group received glucosamine and chondroitin, while the other group received no treatment. Only 54 percent of the glucosamine/chondroitin group developed arthritis symptoms, as opposed to 96.5 percent of the untreated group.

Secondary arthritis usually occurs as a result of surgery or injury. This conditions as well as osteoarthritis show promising results when treated with glucosamine and chondroitin supplements.

Last, but not least, studies indicate Glucosamine/Chondroitin supplements are a safe and effective supplement to add to your dog’s diet at an early age. However, there are conflicting reports on this topic and it’s best to consult with your veterinarian and determine if this is the best option for you and your dog.