Natural Remedies for Joint Pain in Dogs

About 2-3 years ago, I took my border collie cross to a vet with a joint specialism. He was pretty negative. He told us that our dog had an arthritic knee, possibly due to an old injury, and an arthritic hip. He said that our only option was daily pain killers (which, I found out later, can cause death and are extremely expensive.)

At that point, we were already about 6-12 months into trying natural remedies. We'd been using daily c*rtaflex, cod liver oil and green lipped mussel supplements, with a good diet and regular exercise. We'd also cut out tomatoes and potatoes (ie. no more plate clearing.) These had helped to keep him off daily pain killers but we were still seeing a progression in the disease and he was limping more and more, with a lot of stiffness in the evenings.

I left the vet determined to find a solution and went on to do quite a bit of research. Finally, I got our dog into a simple routine which he is still on today (note: he's about 25kg):

Breakfast: 1 tablespoon ACV (organic, raw, with the mother) mixed with quite a lot of water, in his meal (Burns) so the biscuits go soft. (I'm NOT recommending feeding a kibble diet but it's what he likes and it agrees with him.) Adding the water helps to prevent dehydration and dilutes the ACV so, hopefully, it won't damage his teeth.

Dinner: 1 teaspoon Turmeric (organic, ground - like you would cook with) stirred into water and mixed into his meat. (The turmeric makes him smell but he doesn't mind! )

I have discussed all this with my normal (non-joint specialist) vet and she is very positive about it as she can see how well he is.

My dog is now 11 and lives a full, active, happy life. He has not limped or needed any pain killers since he's been on this dietary routine.

He's not fully healed though - his back legs are clearly not full strength and he is sometimes stiff in the evenings after he's been lying down for a while.

Also, we are careful with his joints. Collies are notoriously 'busy' dogs and he would happily run and jump like a nutter if we encouraged him, but we don't anymore. (That was the one bit of useful advice from the 'joint' vet.) Still, he runs about by himself and is clearly very happy. Also, we are lucky enough to live by the sea so in the summer we get him swimming almost every day.

One point: I looked into using ACV with Sodium bicarbonate (which I take myself) but was advised against this by my vet who said that bicarb can cause kidney problems in dogs and cats. (I have read all sorts about this and decided not to take the risk.)

I give her a tablespoon in the morning and another tablespoon at night... and if I miss a dose, I can tell. So, I don't know if it's doggie crack or what, but she is very close to being back to her young self.

A general cure-all for joint issues & bone weakness / aiding broken ligaments & bones to heal in all animals (incl. humans). Eggshells can be used to treat the following:

• Joint repair after accidents.
• Muscle soreness, aches, charlie-horses
• Hip displaysia
• Arthritis
• Damaged discs and joints
• Skin irritation & itching (yes calcium deficiency can cause this)
• Patchy hair

Eggshells - Brown ones. Why? Eggshells contain chondroitin, glucosamine, collagen, & world's most highly bioavailable calcium. Did you know the body (humans too) lose about 1-2% COLLAGEN PER YEAR IF NOT MAINTAINED THROUGH DIET? There goes your skin & hair & joint cushions! Take eggshells instead. Only thing missing in eggshells is MSM, and eggs themselves contain natural sulfur agents, so literally you have everything you need for joints in a whole egg. Shells also contain over a dozen trace minerals like boron. Stop buying expensive joint supplements. Guess what? Most of them; they're made from leftover eggshells & egg products!

NOTE: Calcium / eggshells powder MUST be dosed with vitamin C, and magnesium, and optionally a few other things - see DOSE METHOD below.

Preparation

• Save & Rinse used eggshells as you cook your breakfasts daily.
• Use warm water, and air dry them on a dish towel.
• Be sure not to discard the inner shell skins
• I have never gotten sick this way. I and my pets take them daily.
• Bake in over @ 250 for 20 minutes if paranoid about bacteria.
• Grind them in an electric coffee/ spice grinder for 60 seconds.

Alternatively; you can soak the shells in apple cider vinegar for a few weeks until they're completely dissolved and dose the eggshell-vinegar decoction. I don't do this. Do your own research on that method.

Dose Amount

On average: 1 tsp of powdered eggshells contains 900mg calcium

• Check how much calcium is already in your dog's food
• Calculate your dog's daily recommended allowance of calcium
• According to the NRC, healthy adult dogs generally require 50 mg of calcium per kilogram of body weight. In pounds; it's ~ 22.5 mg per 1 lb of body weight. For example, a 5 kg dog (about 11 lbs.) needs 250 mg of calcium per day, a 25 kg (about 55 lbs.) dog needs 1250 mg per day, and a 50 kg (about 110 lbs.) dog needs 2500 mg per day.
• I generally disagree with that much calcium. Too much can cause calcium deposits, and displaysia of the hips.
• As dogs age, they need less calcium or you cause arthritis, adjust down 25-50
• Considering all the above, you should get a rough idea of how much eggshells to add to your dog's food. Watch over the coming weeks, and adjust.
• A good rule of thumb is you want to see the dog's front ankle & shin areas where paws bend to meet the legs be closer to stiff & straight, while standing up on all fours. You don't want there to be too much of a bend or bow here, between the ankle and the paw. If the dog is a healthy weight and you see a pronounced bend, they are calcium deficient. See youtube videos or search images for reference.

DOSE METHOD

• Eggshells are great, but they need extra things to help the body absorb, or else the dog's joints will just get calcified and stiff, and you can actually CAUSE HIP DISPLAYSIA & ARTHRITIS this way, by having too much calcium and too little calcium absorbing nutrients in the diet.
• Dump eggshells in feedings, preferably spread over the dog's meals evenly throughout the day.
• Add Magnesium Chloride. A good rule of thumb is a 2:1 calcium-to-magnesium ratio. (Need 500mg magnesium crystal-powder for around 1000mg calcium. Note; 1/8 tsp or 500 mg powdered magnesium chloride generally contains about 50-60 mg of actual magnesium. If you gave 500mg of actual magnesium, that would be too much and cause profuse diarrhea)
• Magnesium Oxide will be very similar dosing
• Add Vitamin C- Ascorbic acid may cause GI upset in dogs. It may not if dosed along with calcium however. Sodium ascorbate form of Vitamin C is generally recommended for dogs instead . A good rule of thumb is a 2:1 calcium-to-Vitamin C ratio - About 500 mg, or 1/8 tsp Vit C per 1000 mg Calcium
• Vitamin C given regularly during the first 2 years of life are critical in preventing hip displaysia later on in life. But it's never too late.
• Sodium Ascorbate contains buffers that make it neutral so it wouldnt cause GI upset, but those same buffers could lead to accumulation of stones in the kidneys / galbladder with extended use. Since writing this article over a year ago, I have since switched to citric acid for my dog in small amounts with no gi upset observed.

EXTRAS - highly recommend the boron - these will help bone growth & marrow health & disc gel to recuperate

• Hyalauronic Acid (dissolve 1/4 tsp + 1/4tsp sea salt in a 16 oz bottle of water & refrigerate; will take an hour to dissolve the gelatin) - take a big capful per day in the dog's food
• Boron (dissolve 1 tsp in 16 oz bottle water or pint mason jar) - take 1 tsp of the water per day
• Organic Sea Kelp Granules - They contain calcium, magnesium, iodine & many other micronutrients that help quite a bit with arthritis and hip displaysia. 1 tsp per day for big dogs.

I have a 70 lb (32kg) adult dog. So she needs approx 1500mg calcium daily.I give her approx 1000mg instead.

She gets 1/4 tsp eggshells 2x a day in her food, which is homemade so it has no calcium to begin with. So she gets about 450mg per day, but she gets 400 mg more calcium from 1/2 tsp Boswellia powder I give her, an Ayurvedic tree resin from the Frankincense tree.

So she gets approx. 60% her daily RDA of calcium and all the chondroitin, collagen, glucosamine her joints need.

Added in she gets 1/8 tsp or 500mg vitamin c powder per feed.

She also gets 200mg magnesium chlloride powder / 20-24mg actual magnesium

Do not skip vitamin C. If you skip vitamin C, the calcium will hinder Iron absorbtion and your pet will become anemic especially if no red meat is in the diet.

Recommend also; to buy braces for any injuries your dog incurs. They make IVDD / disc pain full body braces, they make knee braces, hip braces, and hock(dog's ankle) braces. Could save a simple sprain or minor break from becoming a surgery.

You guys he was cryin through nite, called back she couldnt see him for 2 weeks. I called another vet that day took him in, they showed me his x-ray, advised me he was in so much pain, his back end and leg was full cancer, the guilty I had for letting him suffer so much pain for so long, trusting are vet. Never ever do that again, I heal them. If I only would have taken him somewhere else.

I give my 14 yr old german shepperd a "full" body massage every day - and I believe that probably has a lot to do with the fact that he shows no noticeable signs of Arthritis. I massage him for about 2-3 minutes every night at bedtime - covering every area of his body. His muscles will twitch as tension is relieved and he will moan as it relieves tension throughout his body. I also make sure I get his neck, head and muzzle area. I'm not a vet, but it seems obvious that daily massages will greatly improve the quality of a dog's life. I am sure that the massaging also keeps blood flowing deeply through the joints - preventing the buildup of substances in the joints that cause inflamation.

I also feed my dog "Ezekial 4.9 Bread" and sprouted wheat bread. I would like to see what vets think about that.

His basic daily mix is: 1/4 tsp. msm, 1/4 tsp. glucosamine, 1 tbsp. spirulina or chlorella - all dissolved in 1/4 cup olive oil. I then mix in his usual raw food (google 'The BARF Diet'). Good luck! Your dog deserves it!