Joint Health for Dogs: 5 Ways to Keep Your Dog’s Joints in Good Condition!

Joint health conditions affect over half of dogs aged 7 or older in the United States. While joint conditions are normally more common in larger dogs that bear more weight on their legs, all dogs are at risk of developing joint health concerns as cartilage deteriorates. Ways to support good joint health for dogs include maintaining a complete, balanced diet and healthy movement, preventing over-exertion, providing a comfortable resting place, and quickly seeking veterinarian support if you spot any signs of canine joint discomfort or limited mobility.

Supporting Joint Health for Dogs: What Pet Parents Should Know

Maintaining your dog’s joint health is very important to their overall wellbeing and mobility. Here are some key facts about supporting canine joint health:

• Joint issues affect over half of dogs aged 7 or older in the United States.
• Mainly occurring in the hips and knees of your pet, the discomfort can also affect the elbows and other joints, too, making it uncomfortable for your beloved pet to sit, lay, climb or walk.
• Discomfort is normally caused by the wear and tear of cartilage after years of jumping, running, and playing.
• As cartilage deteriorates, dogs often can develop more serious complications.
• Joint health concerns are normally more common in larger dogs, as they bear more weight on their legs throughout their lifetime.
• Certain dog breeds are more prone to joint difficulties, such as Labradors, German Shepherds, Newfoundlands, and Rottweilers.
• Despite joint problems being normally more common in larger and older dogs, all dogs are at risk of limited mobility due to deteriorating joint health.

5 Ways To Support Joint Health For Dogs

There are several ways that pet parents can support dog joint health, and help protect their pup’s happiness, health and overall wellbeing into older age.

1. Maintaining a Complete, Balanced Diet Can Help Promote Good Dog Joint Health

What your pet eats can have a huge impact on their overall health, weight, and development – especially the condition of their joints. If a large breed puppy overeats – with a Labrador that can happen quickly – they can become too heavy for their growing bones, which may cause future joint conditions. Choosing the right diet for your pet will help support good dog joint health, by ensuring they stay at a healthy weight, and preventing too much stress from being put on their joints.

It’s not only the amount they eat but the nutrients they’re getting from their food. We should be aiming to feed our pets high-quality pet food, which has been balanced with all the correct vitamins, minerals, proteins, and carbohydrates. Cheaper foods tend to contain lower quality ingredients, from which it can be more difficult for your pup to obtain all the goodies.

Supplementing your dog’s diet may help ensure they are taking in enough essential vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids to keep their joints healthy. A joint-specific supplement containing glucosamine could be beneficial for your dog’s overall mobility and comfort.

2. Maintaining Movement Helps Keep Joints Healthy

Just like us humans, joint conditions can worsen if your pup is not using them enough. Exercise is extremely important, even if your dog begins to experience discomfort. If they struggle to walk you can organize hydrotherapy sessions instead for your pup. Physiotherapy is also becoming very popular in dogs due to the same evidence-based results that there are in humans! The more they move, the more blood will be circulating in the joints, pumping natural lubrication to the needed, vulnerable areas – so making sure your pup continues with gentle movement and exercise can keep their joints limber and flexible.

3. Preventing Puppies From Over-Exerting Themselves Helps Support Healthy Joint Development

It’s vital for pet parents to protect the health of their puppy’s developing bones and joints by limiting exercise to healthy bounds. A lot of joint difficulties can develop as a result of injury; jumping too high, running too fast, taking a fall, or over-exercising puppies while their joints are still growing. Particularly when they are a puppy, your dog can get excited, running around like crazy – the zoomies! If they sustain an injury while ‘going crazy’, it can sometimes cause problems.

Make sure that, if your dog is still a developing puppy, you prevent them from over-exerting themselves, limit the lengths of walks, and provide them with lots of other fun options and games. Make sure there aren’t any high platforms for them to jump off, and encourage many different types of exercises, such as uphill walking, swimming, and stretching to retrieve balls and treats.

When dogs are still developing and growing, it’s important to build up their exercise levels gradually. This is because uncontrolled exercise in skeletally immature animals can strain and damage the developing joints, which could also worsen a pre-existing joint condition. This may result in abnormal joint conformation or structure, which can lead to more serious complications.” – Nicole, PetLabCo. In-house Pet Consultant

4. Make Sure Your Dog’s Home Environment Is Comfortable and Manage Any Risks

A common risk to joint health for dogs is potential injury from over-exertion or accident. Dogs can often injure their joints by jumping off the sofa, sprinting into the yard too quickly, or even just running downstairs – they can hurt themselves as easily as we do. So, to try to avoid these injuries and make your home safer there are a few things you can implement;

• Providing ramps
• Steps
• Gates wherever necessary
• Comfortable dog beds
• Avoid slippery wooden floor

Although accidents happen, the more you can do to reduce the risk of injury, the fewer issues your pup will experience!

5. Seek Veterinary Support if You Notice Any Signs of Discomfort

The quicker you address any niggles or potential concerns, the better you can protect your pup’s long term joint health. If you begin to notice your pup slowing down, limping, or putting less weight on a particular leg, go and see your vet immediately. 

FAQ: Joint Health for Dogs

1. Why Is Dog Joint Health So Important?

Good dog joint health is important to your pup’s overall wellbeing and comfort. Healthy joints allow your pup to move comfortably and stay active throughout their life. They make everyday activities like walking, running, jumping, and even simple movements such as standing up or lying down more comfortable.

Good joint health:

• Supports mobility and agility
• Helps maintain muscle strength
• Contributes to long-term comfort
• Supports healthy cartilage
• Helps dogs stay engaged and happy

2. How Can I Support Dog Joint Health at Home?

Supporting your dog’s joint health at home can help them stay comfortable, mobile and active. While some joint changes occur naturally with age, there are several ways pet parents can help maintain joint health as their dog ages, and support their pup’s long-term mobility.

1. Maintain a healthy weight – excess weight places additional stress on your dog’s hips, knees and elbow joints.
2. Encourage regular, low-impact exercise – consistent activity helps maintain muscle strength, which supports and stabilizes joints.
3. Provide a supportive sleeping area – a comfortable sleeping surface can help support your dog’s joints during rest – consider an orthopedic dog bed, memory foam bedding, and ensure your dog’s sleeping area is draft-free.
4. Use ramps or steps to help your dog comfortably access furniture or cars and prevent them from over-extending their joints.
5. Keep their nails trimmed – long nails can alter your dog’s posture and gait, which can place additional strain on joints. Regular nail trimming helps maintain natural movement and balanced weight distribution.
6. Schedule regular veterinary checkups – routine veterinary visits allow your vet to monitor your dog’s mobility, weight, and overall health, including their joint health.

3. What Are The Signs My Dog Might Need Additional Joint Support?

Watch for changes such as:

• Stiffness after resting
• Slower movement during walks
• Reluctance to jump or climb stairs
• Difficulty standing or lying down
• Reduced interest in activity

If you notice these signs, it’s best to consult your veterinarian.

Joint Health For Dogs: Final Thoughts

Pet parents can help protect their dog’s joint health by taking steps to ensure they enjoy a health, active lifestyle, a complete, balanced diet, and by managing any risks caused by excessive exercise or home environment.

By implementing a well-balanced diet, a healthy exercise regime, and by helping your pup to maintain a healthy body weight, you can support dog joint health at every development stage.

Sources

“Managing Canine Arthritis” American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation, Sep 19. 2011 https://www.akcchf.org/canine-health/your-dogs-health/caring-for-your-dog/managing-canine-arthritis.html

“Dog Joint Health: Pain, Osteoarthritis, and Other Joint Problems“ Fetch by Web MD, Jul 06. 2009 https://pets.webmd.com/dogs/guide/dog-joint-health-pain-osteoarthritis-and-other-joint-problems

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