My dog had bursitis surgery. What other treatments help joint health?

It depends on the type to hip surgery the dog had, but arthritis is a common occurrence later in life in animals with early joint problems. The arthritis can be treated with pain medications and joint supplements, and you may want to consider starting her on joint supplements such as glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate now. She can still have a full life. I have a Chow Chow who needed two surgeries on her knees before she was a year old due to rupturing her cranial cruciate ligaments, and she is now eight years old still running around. I've had her on those supplements I mentioned, but I haven't had any problems so far. You are never going to a dog that doesn't have some kind of medical problem at some point in their life, but you can take measures now with the supplements to see her healthy. It's also important to keep her at a good weight and prevent her from being obese. Regular exercise is important, and you can consider doing hydrotherapy with her (swimming). It's a great low impact way to build up muscles and keep a dog in shape. I hope this helps!

It is true that he will put more weight on his other limbs and that is why 40-% if dogs tear the other. I would also encourage you to start him on fish oils to reduce inflammation as well and a chondroprotectants such as dasequin. Surgery is the absolute best option to reduce the development of arthritis. Happy healing!

Where surgical treatment is not an option then the alternative options are: pain relief medications; joint care diets (hills); strict weight management; physiotherapy; acupuncture; chiropractic care and possibly steroid injections. It is important to assess her quality of life and comfort levels to ensure she is not suffering undue pain

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It sounds like you are doing everything you can right now in terms of supplements and joint support which is good. Since it is both her back legs, and she is a large dog, and she is young, getting surgery on at least one leg is a good idea for her quality of life long term. The alternative however is medical management which includes everything you are doing, PLUS weight loss to keep her on the skinny side PLUS getting that muscle mass up. Since her joints are unstable and cannot tolerate a lot of stress, running and walking may cause more damage, therefore swimming is the best option for her. If you can get her muscle mass up with lots of swimming, and keep her weight lean, you might be able to get her joints more support. As mentioned previously, think about getting surgery on at least one leg. Best of luck with Mania!

There are many complementary treatments which can be used alongside prescription pain relief - mobility diets such as hills j/d mobility (or metabolic mobility if need to prevent weight gain or lose weight) are extremely effective and are fully supplemented for healthy joint cartilage and also help to repair and protect the joint. Physiotherapy, acupuncture, laser/light therapy and chiropractic care can also help alongside regular exercise and weight control

Omega 3 fatty acids have been the only supplements actually proven to help with joint inflammation. Glucosamine and MSM don't have a ton of proof but are pretty benign and can be given any way. I personally like Dasaquin or Cosequin.

When I have patients with arthritis or starting arthritis I always recommend starting a glucosamine supplement. This can be bought over the counter or online. A great animal one is Cosequin. All the directions are on the bottle. This will help lubricate his joints. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.