Osteoarthritis and How to Manage Osteoarthritis in Your Dog

Osteoarthritis, a common degenerative disease common among humans, can also be acquired by your dog. This may cause a great deal of discomfort for your canine best friend and reduce his quality of life, including the time and fun activities that you spend together. Although osteoarthritis is a progressive disease, which means it will get worst, basic knowledge, early detection and pain management can help your dog cope with his illness and live a full life.

Basic Facts

The smooth cartilage, which is located at the end of your dog's bones, serves as a protection. When this cartilage deteriorates, the bone is exposed. The nerve endings, which are highly sensitive, collide against each other, which cause the joints to get sore and inflamed consequently causing pain in every movement. New bones may also develop around the joints, which cause more pain. This is the disease called osteoarthritis. This often results in the wear and tear that normally develops as your dog ages. Other causes can also be attributed to existing conditions such as hip and elbow dysplasia.

Signs and Symptoms of Osteoarthritis

Dogs can't vocalize what they feel. Although they have the same way of recognizing pain like humans, they can't exactly tell you that their hips hurt when you play fetch or their knees get stiff when they climb up and down the stairs. Instead, they endure it as much as they can, and subtle changes cannot easily be noticed, but observing changes in your dog's physical wellbeing can help in early treatment of the disease. His muscles will become visibly smaller because they will put more weight on the limbs that are not affected. This muscle wasting, in turn, will also alter his gait or the way he walks. His behavior will also change in response to pain, becoming inactive and reluctant in engaging in physical activities.

Treatment with Deramaxx

Although there is no known cure for the illness other than joint replacement, pain management can lessen its effects. Deramaxx is an NSAID or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug that helps relieve pain and reduce inflammation. Having less pain will encourage your dog to get back up on his feet. Owners should also monitor the weight of the dog since inactivity and obesity will further cause damage to affected joints. Prescription Deramaxx (Deracoxib) for dogs directly targets arthritis pain. Deramaxx is the first and only coxib-class NSAID approved by the FDA for veterinary use. It inhibits COX-2 while sparing COX-1. Deramaxx comes in convenient tablets for all-day arthritis pain relief. Deramaxx requires a prescription. This will be an ideal treatment for your dog and peace of mind for you.