If my dog has arthritis

[XemaSab]

should I take her to the dog park more or less?

I can come up with a perfectly rational argument on both sides.

What do y'all think?

[Chan790]

1. An active body will be less arthritic.

Lower impact exercise reduces inflammation.

Don't take her to the dog park...take her swimming.

[femmocrat]

2. You can get medicine from the vet.

It worked really well with our elderly Golden.

We give the corgis some kind of joint medicine from petmeds now. It works, too.

[Xyzse]

3. There was this video of some guy taking his arthritic dog to the beach.

So that the dog can swim, the owner helping the dog out. Less pain on the joints.

[Myrina]

4. Treat her the same as you would an arthritic human ...

... use moderation, according to the weather (heat/humidity) and how she seems to be feeling.

And a big YES to the beach. Swimming is great exercise for arthritic dogs, my old man Hank has always loved to swim - great way to get his exercise in summer and not overheat, and now that he's a senior, it's gentle on his old legs/hips.

[Brother Buzz]

5. More exercise but less strenuous

Perhaps long walks to the dog park and back might be more appropriate. Morale is important, is there an ice cream store and a butcher on the way?

[siligut]

6. I am a big proponent of fish oil

While our boy is of the feline persuasion, he is so much more comfortable in his skin since I started the supplement, plus it tastes yummy.

My father's BFF, a chow dog, developed arthritis late in life. The dog would walk the trail part way with the other dogs, then dad would carry his fat butt the rest of the way. But as the other posters have said, swimming would be real good exercise for your girl.

[RebelOne]

7. Glucosamine helps immensely.

I used to give to my Rottweiler and it helped her. There is glucosamine for dogs. Just Google it. But you can buy it anywhere--Walmart, Walgreen's, Cosco and others.

Whatever you do, don't let your vet give your dog Rimadyl. It has been known to kill dogs. My 12-year-old Rottie was taking it and she was like a young dog, but she started vomiting and had bloody stools, so I took her off it immediately.

[livetohike]

8. Definitely! I've been giving my dog Cindy glucosamin/chondroitin chewables for dogs for several

years now (also give her Fish Oil capsules). She has definitely improved. She is 10.5 now and I think she was just 7 years old when I started.