Choosing the Right Vet for Your Pet

Golden Retriever Suffering With Arthritis? 3 Ways You Can Help It

If you have a golden retriever, it is a good candidate for arthritis. If your dog is suffering from this disease, it is difficult to watch them in so much pain. Fortunately, there are things you can do to help make it feel better. Follow the three tips below, and your dog will be acting like its old self again in no time.

Exercise

Even though your golden retriever is in pain, they should still exercise. Of course, they should not do anything that is too rigorous. A nice slow walk or an easy jog will be enough. Swimming would be great for your dog because the water supports most of its body weight. Your dog will let you know what it can and cannot do. Watch them closely. When you see they are feeling a lot of pain, stop the exercise, and let them rest.

Low impact exercise is important, as it keeps your golden retriever's joint muscles flexible and well developed, which keeps the joints stabilized.

Acupuncture

There are veterinarians that can provide your dog with acupuncture to help ease its pain. This works by inserting needles into certain trigger points. These triggers points are the areas where your dog is feeling pain, such as in its joints.

Pet acupuncture works by releasing endorphins, which are natural painkiller chemicals. How many needles the veterinarian uses, how deeply they insert them, and how long they leave them in, depends on your dog's case. The course of treatment may be a week or a few weeks.  The doctor will swab the area with alcohol before "tapping" the needle into your dog's skin. You should make sure only a vet that practices acupuncture does this treatment for your pet.

Weight and Nutrition

If your dog is overweight, this can put more pressure on its joints, causing more pain. Because it cannot exercise a lot, you need to make sure it is on a low caloric diet. When purchasing dog food at a pet store, make sure it is labeled for weight loss or overweight pets. You can also make your dog's food yourself. If you do not have time to make and prepare food, you can add things like carrots, greens, and cooked cabbage to your dog's current food to help keep it feeling satisfied.

Your dog's veterinarian can also prescribe medication to your pet to help relieve some of its pain.


Share