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Older dogs are like newborn babies. When these lovely creatures are feeling pain, they cannot tell anyone. The poor old dog gets slower and less active on a daily basis. Though they can not tell anyone, sometimes you can visibly see that they are in pain. Often this pain is the result of arthritis. Arthritis is quite common in older dogs, and it appears more frequently in larger dogs than it does in smaller ones. The larger dogs also have a more difficult time moving around when affected by arthritis than the smaller ones do.

Like arthritis in people, arthritis in dogs can appear in different forms with differing amounts of pain and symptoms. Dog arthritis, like the disease in people, is often caused by the inflammation of the joints. Dogs get the disease, and then it continues to get worse over the course of time. The joints that were once cushioned have lost this comfort, and the dog begins to have trouble getting around. The nerve endings are affected, and this adds to the pain of the aging animal. The dog will just not be the same frisky dog that it used to be.

What The Dog Owner Can Do To Help

The pain in the dog's joints is caused by the deterioration, and this impedes the dog from getting around. The owner will notice that the dog begins sleeping more and becomes less active. The dog that went running up the stairs before will no longer want to do this. The old dog with arthritis will also have trouble jumping into the car. The owner will probably find themselves doing a lot more for the dog than they had to previously. A good vet will be able to determine the problem, and then make suggestions for the care of the dog.

There is help for canine arthritis from a vet and the pharmacy. There are medications including some that will start to make the dog feel better right away. These will help the way the dog feels, but they will not necessarily eliminate the disease. Some of the drugs for a dog with arthritis are expensive, and some may cause unwanted side effects. For this reason, all natural herbal and homeopathic remedies have become quite popular. Each dog lover should work carefully with their vet to make the dog as comfortable as possible. The vet will be able to give plenty of advice to help the dog. Each owner should remember that dogs do not live as long as people so dogs are much older than their years.