Greetings,
Welcome to this month's issue of The Pet Arthritis Chronicle. Please pass this along to your friends!

Table of Contents:

1. Featured Articles from The Pet Arthritis Resource Center
2. More Help for Arthritic Pets
3. Pet Arthritis Message Boards

Featured Pet Arthritis Content

A Guide to Glucosamine Products for Pets Canine Hip Dysplasia Stories of Users of Rimadyl Natural Arthritis Relief for Pets Recommended Books on easing arthritis pain in Pets Using Glucosamine to Ease Arthritis Pain in Pets

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More Help for Arthritic Pets

All of us with arthritic pets go through some suffering of our own when we see them struggling. Of course, we do our best to make sure that they are as comfortable as possible.

For those who regularly read this column, you know my recommendations. The use of a high-quality liquid glucosamine, weight loss, and paying attention to certain nutrition issues, are all factors that help. In my book, those are the big three.

A Little Extra Common Sense can go a Long Way
If you follow the guidelines that we have discussed in past issues, you will also see that I have mentioned a few steps you can take to make your arthritic pet more comfortable; most are just things that are easy to implement but something that we just don't consider.

Simple Steps that Help a Lot
What are we trying to do for our pets? For most of us, the goal is to make them more comfortable no matter how bad their arthritis pain may be. It makes sense to help in any way we can when our pets are in a more extreme kind of discomfort. Let's mention a few more simple steps that make their day-to-day living a little easier:

Weather Issues - Some pets are kept indoors while others are allowed to go outside. When the weather gets cold and damp, keep them indoors. That kind of weather can really have an impact on their comfort levels.

Using "Slings" - If your pet is at an advanced stage of arthritis, the use of a towel as a sling helps a lot in getting them up from a resting position. Simply slip the towel under their stomach area.

Heat - I have mentioned in the past that using a heating pad can make your pet more comfortable when their joints are sore. When I said that, a number of you asked about hot water bottles. The answer is that they are fine to use so long as you limit use to a couple of applications a day for about 10-15 minutes and making certain that they are not too hot. It does little good when trying to make your pet more comfortable if you are applying too much heat and possibly burning their skin. If you want to add some protection against an adverse event like that, you can wrap the water bottle in a towel.

Arthritis in the neck area - If your pet displays discomfort in the neck area, try elevating their food dishes. If bending over to eat is uncomfortable for them, why not make life a little easier.

Thermo-reflective beds - We have discussed the fact that heat is good for arthritic pets. For resting or sleeping pets, electrically-heated beds are available. Most electrically-heated beds range from $60 to $80 in cost for those that can afford to provide this luxury for their pet. However, for those who cannot afford these more expensive beds, pet stores and some catalog companies offer "thermo-reflective" beds. These inexpensive beds contain a core made from a reflective material that takes your pet's body heat to warm itself. Fortunately, these are less expensive and can be found in the $18 to $20 range.

Most of these steps apply to more severely affected pets but remember that even little things mean a lot to them.

See you next time.

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Pet Arthritis Message Boards

Dogs

• Canine Hip Dysplasia
• Arthritis in Dogs
• Glucosamine for Dogs

Cats

• Feline Hip Dysplasia
• Glucosamine for Cats
• Arthritis in Cats

Other Animals

• Arthritis in Other Animals

Here's a few sample posts from the Forum...

Randi
Posted on 15 Feb 2004

Well looking for some help. Randi is 10 years old and really suffering. We have been going to the vet for 4 weeks now gettting a shot that doesn't seem to be working. She can't even sit. She has to swing her back legs to the side and fall down. Doesn't complain but we can tell she is hurting. Will take any suggestions...

Did most of you who's dogs were diagnosed with arthritis notice that there was a shift from one joint to the other in regards to the swelling? My 4 year old golden started having discomfort in his rt. hind knee and then it went to the other side and now it is in his front. Is there anything else one can do for the dicomfort such as heat or ice to make them feel better?

Post your own message on The Pet Arthritis Message Board now!

This concludes the February Issue of The Pet Arthritis Chronicle. Look for the next issue in your inbox on March 15th, 2004!

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Have a great February from The Pet Arthritis Resource Center and The Pet Arthritis Chronicle. See you next month!