One important responsibility of dog ownership is recognizing the signs and symptoms of dog arthritis as they may occur in your aging pet. Almost all canines of any breed will develop osteoarthritis to some extent in their life. Small breed dogs are affected less by this joint disease then are larger breed dogs simply because they carry less weight and thus there is less strain and stress on their joints.

In most cases, the symptoms of canine arthritis do not show up until the middle or late years of a dogs life. If arthritis symptoms do show up in young dogs, it is probably connected with the disease we call rheumatoid arthritis instead of osteoarthritis.

One of the first indications that your pet may be suffering from this joint disease is that he or she will began having trouble negotiating steps and stairs. In most cases, dogs with arthritis have an easier time going up steps than they do going down. This is simply because the gravity effect causes more strain and stress on the joints while descending the steps than going up them.

Another common symptom of the canine arthritis is that the dog will have trouble rising from a lying position or lying down from a standing position. You may see your pet hesitate or actually give audible grunts and groans or whimpers as he or she lies down. Dogs do not exhibit pain as humans do and simple grunts and whimpers may indicate quite severe pain for which the animal is experiencing.

Immediately upon noticing these possible symptoms a pet owner should take his or her pet to the veterinarian for a complete diagnosis to find out whether or not canine osteoarthritis is causing the problems. If the vet determines your dog has arthritis joint disease, he will suggest several treatment options for dealing with the symptoms.

Keep in mind that there is no cure whatsoever for arthritis whether it be in dogs or humans. The medications and suggestions the veterinarian may provide simply offer a means for the dog to better cope with the progression of symptoms as he or she ages. Many veterinarians will suggest prescription medications to treat the immediate problem. However, many of these prescribed medicines have shown to cause severe side effects in many animals. Actually, they have also caused deaths in some dogs.

Many veterinarians today are suggesting an all-natural alternative called glucosamine MSM. This supplement is completely safe and provides the animal with the building blocks required to rebuild and regenerate the tissues which were damaged by the arthritis disease. The benefits to this supplement are not seen immediately in animals and several weeks or months of daily dosages of the glucosamine are required before the animal may experience benefits.

If your veterinarian does not suggest using glucosamine, always ask him or her about that option. The supplement is a safe alternative which has proven to be highly effective in animals in the early stages of the disease.