Arthritis in Dogs – 6 Ways to Ease the Pain – Part 1 Weight

We found this wonderful article on Arthritis in Dog written by a knowledgeable vet Jo who is a veterinarian blogger.  Please go to her site to read more insightful articles:  http://creatureclinic.com/

Here is the first installment of 6 Ways to Ease Arthritis Pain in Dogs

Part 1:  Maintain Appropriate Body Weight

Say NO to Portly Pups and Hefty Hounds!

If there is just one thing you can do for the well being and comfort of your dog, keep those numbers on the scales in the healthy range.  It’s just common sense that the greater the load on the joints, the harder they have to work, and therefore the more painful life is for the arthritic dog.  Work out the healthy weight range for your dog then get to work on achieving it.  Some very caring pet owners simply don’t realise that their dog is a little tubby, so here is a great body condition score chart fromWSAVA that provides a general guide.

Body-condition-score-chart-dogs

Download (PDF, 1.3MB)

My rule of thumb when examining a dog is that I want to be able to feel their ribs, but generally not see them protruding, and when looking down from above I want to see a nice waistline rather than a barrel shape!  A great resource for keeping dogs at a healthy weight is the fantastic Slim Doggy, where you will find dog food data, a calorie tracking app, and loads of helpful tips about feeding and exercise.  I highly recommend it.  You don’t have to be cruel to be kind, its just a matter of taking responsibility for your dog’s nutrition and getting everyone in the household on board.  It’s well worth the effort – remember, food does not equal love.

Source:Source:  http://creatureclinic.com/arthritis-in-dogs/