Canine Arthritis

As with people, arthritis is a common occurrence in older dogs, causing joint pain and stiffness. In fact, 20% of adult dogs in the US are afflicted with arthritis. Injuries in younger dogs can facilitate the development of arthritis in their senior years. Longer body dogs, such as Dachshunds and Basset Hounds, are prone to back problems and are more likely to develop arthritis as they age. Hip dysplasia, a genetic disease more often seen in larger dogs, is a very common cause of arthritis in the hips.

We can’t rid the world of arthritis, but there are things we can do to help ease the discomfort felt by our fuzzy friends. Supplements such as glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate and omega 3s work to restore and regenerate your dog’s damaged joints by aiding in the synthesis of new cartilage. They also have anti-inflammatory properties. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can also help with pain and inflammation but should be approached cautiously because they are hard on internal organs. Consult with your vet for diagnosis and treatment.

Other tips for alleviating the pain caused by arthritis:

Weight control - Extra weight only puts more stress on arthritic joints.

Moderate exercise – Swimming and short walks are excellent ways to keep joints moving. Avoid the temptation to “baby” your dog by not exercising, and just let her determine how much she can do. (Tootsie’s idea of a good workout now consists of doing a loop all the way around the outside of the house.)

Comfortable bed – Keep your dog warm at night and away from drafts. Orthopedic dog beds with memory foam may help cushion achy bones.

Rugs and cushions – Strategically placed rugs and cushions provide soft places for your dog to relax, and can also help her to navigate slippery surfaces such as hardwood and tile floors.

Stairs and ramps – Pet stairs and ramps allow your dog to join you on the couch or bed without jumping and potentially injuring her legs. (Our agility teeter totter is now serving as a ramp to help Tootsie traverse the steps leading from the doggie door. How things change.)

For just one minute, I wish that I could see Tootsie as that crazy young pup running around the house. But, I’ll just have to settle for my memories and laugh at some of the new tricks she’s developed in old age. One of her favorites is to hound me every evening until she gets her evening treat. Then she seems to pretend that she didn’t get the treat and starts bugging me again a half hour later – like she’s doing right now. Better go give her another treat.

Please let us know what kinds of things you've done to help your old dogs.

Tootsie Roll as Escape Artist

When I watch Tootsie Roll hobble around on her 17½ year old legs, I try to remember the little dog that used to run so fast and jump so high. The gleam in her eye just before she would start doing laps around the family room. Or, the “happy feet dance” that would greet us when we returned home. Or, her escape artist act. Yes, escape artist act.

When Tootsie was young, we lived in a house with a narrow, fenced-in yard. Because we worked long hours, we had a doggie door that allowed our dogs access to the backyard. Our nice, quiet neighborhood allowed us to give the dogs that kind of freedom. Everything was working beautifully until one fall, when we started getting reports that Tootsie was escaping from our yard while we were gone. Fortunately, our neighbors all knew her and would just return her to the yard when they found her wandering around. But, we could not figure out how she was managing this feat.

A thorough examination of the fence showed no holes had been dug under the fence, and a few small gaps in the fence were promptly plugged. She still managed to get out. Some sections of the fence were a little shorter than the rest of the fence, and these were brought up to code. She was still getting out. Various theories were postulated by our neighbors. Maybe she was somehow climbing the fence. Maybe she was a much better jumper than we had imagined. Maybe she had magic powers.

One day while doing the dishes, I looked out the window to find our little Tootsie Roll walking around on the deck railing. Pretty as you please, she was 3 feet above the deck, walking the railing like it was a balance beam. Upon further examination, we discovered that our deck furniture had been stacked and pushed into a corner of the deck. Our little darling would climb up the deck furniture, walk along the railing until it met our neighbor’s fence, jump over the fence and she was gone. We moved the furniture toward the middle of the deck and never had the problem again.

Alas, we will never see Tootsie pull that kind of stunt again. Like many older dogs, she is afflicted with arthritis. In fact, arthritis affects one in every five adult dogs in the US, and is one of the most common sources of chronic pain that veterinarians treat. See my next post for more information about arthritis and mobility problems in dogs.

I welcome you to share memories of your old dog's glory days in the Comments section.

The Natural Alpha Dog

Much has been written about canine social structure and how it relates to dog behavior. The concept of alpha dominance originally came from studies of wolf packs in the 1940s. The findings of these studies trickled down to the domestic dog arena and found their way into dog training techniques. Dominance exercises, such as the alpha roll, were recommended to prevent aggression and other behavior problems.

People began to challenge the alpha dominance theory on a number of fronts. Is wolf behavior really indicative of that seen in domestic dogs? Were the alpha rolls initiated by the higher ranking wolf, or were they actually an appeasement ritual offered voluntarily by the subordinate wolf? Was the wolf behavior really exhibiting dominance, or does the wolf pack operate on something closer to a parent/child type of relationship?

The fact is that dogs are not wolves. Breeding of domestic dogs through time has generally increased their sociability and playfulness while decreasing fear and aggression, making them less and less like their wild cousins. Additionally, there is little evidence to suggest that dominance exercises did anything to stem the development of aggressive behavior.

More recent studies have shown that alpha behavior does not necessarily mean physically dominant behavior. True pack leaders do not need to rely on physical aggression to maintain their positions in the hierarchy. They have earned the respect of the lesser dogs and need only to exhibit their calm, confident behavior to keep order within the pack.

My old dog, Tootsie Roll, is one of those natural alpha dogs. In the 17½ years that she has been with our family, our little dog pack has included three other dogs. Through that entire 17½ year period, Tootsie Roll has always been recognized as the pack leader (after the humans, of course). It always amazed me that this sweet, loving dog would be the widely accepted leader of the pack. After reading more about pack cultures, I came to identify in Tootsie Roll, actions that others have attributed to the natural alpha dog; her confident stance, staring down of usurpers, an occasional soft growl.

There were sporadic challenges to Tootsie’s position. Most often these came from Valentine, our other beagle mutt. Even in old age, Tootsie’s calm assertiveness would prevail over Valentine’s feeble attempts to unseat her, and the social hierarchy never changed. Valentine is gone now, and Sosa, our little Jack Russell mix, is just happy to have a nice home and has no desire to be in the driver’s seat. So nice for Tootsie that she will be able to live out her life in that top dog position.