Dog arthritis is very common in senior dogs. With as many as nine
million dogs affected in the U.S.A. to date, there are plenty of
companies looking to snatch share of the money that’s spent every year
on dog arthritis treatment.
One industry that’s really
trying to enhance its market share is the Pet Foods industry. In order
to attract dog arthritis business and customers, some pet food companies
are selling products that contain glucosamine, chondroitin and Omega 3
fatty acids as a benefit (amongst other additives). But are the
supplements present in sufficient quantities to help relieve the pain
and swelling associated with dog arthritis?
Although
glucosamine has been successfully used to treat dog arthritis, there are
three key questions you must ask yourself when it comes to buying
supplemented dog food.
1. Does the quantity of food that your dog eats each and everyday supply a beneficial amount of glucosamine?
2. Is it the glucosamine supplement provided the correct type for your dogs needs?
3. Are the other supplements the food is fortified with beneficial and provided in the correct dosages?
The
answers are not always what you expect, so before you run to buy that
dog food fortified with glucosamine to help treat dog arthritis
conditions; consider these facts and the benefits:
The
amount of glucosamine is not enough in any of these foods. This is not
the fault of the pet food manufacturers but a restriction placed upon
them. They are only allowed to fortify foods to a certain point with
glucosamine before the food is considered medicated. They are not
allowed to medicate food.
Glucosamine supplemented dog
food is great for weight control. Most dog foods containing glucosamine
are generally low in calories and keeping your dog’s weight under
control is such a significant part of dog arthritis treatment. It may
very well be an excellent idea to feed dogs these
glucosamine-supplemented products for weight control, alone.
Don’t
just choose any brand. Because the supplement industry is not
regulated, some dog food manufacturers make big promises, but fail to
deliver, the goods.
Omega 3 fatty acid derived from fish
oils (not flax seed) is the secret ingredient to most of these foods. It
is a mild but helpful anti-inflammatory and is also great for their
skin. This is actually a very cost-effective way of supplementing omega
3’s.
Read the labels for total percentage of supplements added to the feed, and then compare the benefits and cost.
From
reading this you will know that you still need to supplement your dog
with glucosamine and chondroitin. So why use the arthritis foods at all?
Because if they provide a high level of Omega 3 and are also a weight
control food you are a long way to controlling your dogs arthritis.