Treat a dog’s arthritis, don’t let him suffer. He may be old or had a bad injury and now he can barely move. It is known that our conventional treatment (which is not treatment, only relief for the pain) are mainly non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, made of synthetic chemicals, which carry worrisome side effects like liver and kidney damage.
If you choose to treat him naturally, there are some options you really should take into consideration. Some of them are quite cheap and include honey, as the main ingredient.
Honey is known to be good anti-inflammatory. It has amazing benefits both externally, for a pet’s wound, and internally, helping with digestive, respiratory and nervous systems.
Working very well for allergies, too.
It was proved that honey increases the absorption of calcium, when consumed at the same time, helps in treating or preventing anemia and reduces the inflammation of the joints. Taken on a daily basis it prevents and delays the onset of arthritis.
Arthritis symptoms:
If you notice these symptoms, your dog may be suffering from arthritis. Tell your vet about them. He’ll know what it is and from this point you’ll know what to do for your dog.
• Limping
• Favouring other limbs
• Difficulty moving
• Stiffness of movement
• Swollen joint
• Hunched back
• Increased sleep
• Reluctance to be petted
• Reluctance to jump or climb stairs
• Difficulty standing up or laying down
All these symptoms may come and go. They can be mild, moderate or severe. They may stay the same for years and then get worse. Severe arthritis can result in chronic pain, inability to do daily activities and make it difficult to walk or climb stairs. Arthritis can cause permanent joint changes.
What are the causes of dog’s arthritis?
The main cause is old age. It’s a disease of us all, humans and animals. And though it is very common, it is not well understood. A healthy joint has enough cartilage to facilitate movement, so that bones do not grind against each other.
But with age (and not only) these cartilages become thinner and with movement the joint becomes inflamed, causing lots of pain. We can only understand the pain associated with this condition only if we are old ourselves and in the same situation.
But sometimes it doesn’t come with age, but more earlier. It may be due to overweight, or some other causes like trauma from injury or problems with the immune system.
What’s very important is that: Slim dogs are less likely to get arthritis than fat ones.
Types of arthritis in dogs:
There are different types of arthritis: Degenerative Arthritis, Inflammatory Arthritis, Infectious Arthritis, Metabolic Arthritis.
The two major categories of joint problems are developmental and degenerative problems.
– With developmental problems, there are elbow dysplasia, where the joint does not develop correctly in a number of different ways.
– Degenerative problems give cruciate ligament problems, where the ligament is degenerating over time and causing instability and secondary osteoarthritis.
There are ways of preventing or delaying the onset of arthritis in dogs
1. Keep your dog in good shape. Remember that treats are good for them just as sugar is good for you! Which is, not good at all! Remember that a dog is considered to be fat the moment you cannot feel his ribs.
2. Give him healthy supplements.
Honey and bee venom to treat dogs’ arthritis?
No, you are not supposed to sting your dogs with dozens of bees for this! Dried bee venom is added to manuka New Zealand honeys and topical creams, to provide the benefits of apitherapy without the pain. At least in theory, venom that is ingested or applied externally has the same health benefits as venom that’s injected.
New Zealand is perhaps the most interested country in honey in the whole world. It has manuka honey, which is like the queen of all honeys, and from here it has developed a whole profitable industry based on honey. Research is very important in this country, but so are the experience of their elders.
And starting from them, New Zealand is helping today the whole world with valuable products made with honey.
ApiHealth has created this mixture of manuka honey and bee venom. The testimonials the company received after selling it are all describing dogs whose arthritis, hind end weakness, torn ligaments, and even hip dysplasia improved as a result of using bee venom honey.
Because with more than 30 biologically active compounds, some of them being practically impossible to get synthesized by chemical methods, bee venom has multiple effects on the body: keeps the blood circulation in normal, supports physical strength and well being, supports joint mobility, has anti-oxidant effects, supports the immune system (by increasing the production of cortisol).
The main components are peptides: melittin, apamin, peptide 401, adolapin, and protease inhibitors. See here a more detailed description of bee venom: Bee venom.
Lots of studies have been made that showed its efficiency in treating arthritis, Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and HIV. Even allergic reactions to bee stings. (You’ll find links to the studies in every article.)
In is considered that melittin, the principal peptide in bee venom, blocks the expression of inflammatory genes that can cause painful tissue swelling in rheumatoid arthritis patients. In the studies, melittin worked in a similar way to a class of drugs called cox-2 inhibitors, which are now used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and reduce inflammation, the scientists wrote. It blocked the expression of the genes that cause the inflammation and pain.
Bees are not killed after taking their venom!
Large-scale venom collection is made possible by a technology developed in Russia and New Zealand in which a bee venom frame is mounted on top of a hive’s honey frame. It’s a trick we play on the bees.
They receeive a mild shock from a frame’s electro-stimulator bees respond by stinging and do this on a special glass collection sheet. Venom dries on the glass and then gathered for processing. (at the end of this post you’ll see a more clarifying video)
The whole combination: bee venom – honey supports the body’s natural coritsol levels, increase blood flow through affected joints, and inhibit the production of prostaglandins, which are chemicals that increase inflammation.
Other products from ApiHealth indicated for arthritis, also available on Amazon, include propolis, bee pollen, ginseng or other substances that promote good heath like: Glucosamine.
Dogs with arthritis can live happy, high-quality lives!
Honey and cinnamon for dogs’ arthritis
On Labradorsite.com we find some interesting methods of approaching this disease, but also a lot of comments with the readers’ experiences. Here is what Wolfie Smith reports in
“My 12 year old lab was diagnosed with arthritis beginning of this year. The vet was not a lot of help just made recommendations re her exercise and no more stairs. After a lot of research I started her on honey and cinnamon !!! She was almost off her back legs and stumbled and fell as well as dragging her feet.
It was incredible ………… Within hours she was obviously more comfortable and after a couple of weeks she was back to her happy, pain free self. She is now off the mixture and no relapse as of yet. She is happy and comfortable and walks well, climbs stone walls on the fields etc. Yes she’s slower now but a very happy girl !!
You need to be careful with your mix, I did the following: 1 tablespoon honey, 1 small teaspoon of cinnamon mixed with 400 ml warm water. Pour half mixture over food in morning and half mixture over food in evening.
Only side effect was slight loose bowel movement, but this corrected in time.“
In a study done by researchers at Copenhagen University, arthritis patients were able to walk without pain after just a week of taking cinnamon with honey every day. They had half a teaspoon of cinnamon with a tablespoon of honey for a daily nutraceutical treat.
If you can find local raw honey, it’s easier for you, of course. If not you can buy them separately: buy some raw honey (here is a suggestion: YS Eco Bee Farms RAW HONEY – Raw, Unfiltered, Unpasteurized – Kosher 3lbs
Be careful with cinnamon, not all cinnamon is good for therapy. Read this article for a better understanding: Cinnamon warning.
For our commodity, we can buy the already made mixture, as you can see below.
Other supplements indicated for your dog’s arthritis?
Omega 3 fish oil
There are dogs supplements that promote healthy brain function, skin health, itchy skin defense, coat’s overall health, heart improvement, cardiovascular benefits, cognitive function and neurological health, as well as normal immune response, while helping to protect against the seasonal allergies.
Omega 3 from fish oil is one very important anti-imflammatory you surely know about.
Nordic Naturals offers Omega-3 Pet™ in three forms, derived exclusively from wild anchovies and sardines, sourced from the South Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. For Cats and Small Breed Dogs; for Medium to Large Breed Dogs, for Large to Very Large Breed Dogs & Multi-Dog Households. The bottles include a handy dosage guide by weight.
Glucosamine and chondroitin
There is one supplement FlexPet, that contains glucosamine, MSM (methylsulfonyl methane), and CM8 (cetyl myristoleate). They all help lubricate the joints and prevent bones from grinding against each other.
Turmeric
If you choose to give your dog honey and cinnamon, you can also sprinkle some turmeric over it. It is well-known for its incredible anti-inflammatory effect. Dogs loves the combination of the three.
Frozen, raw beef marrow bones to chew
The marrow naturally contains glucosamine and are also very good for their dental health.
An anti-inflammatory diet
The most important part in this diet is to not give your dog any dairy. At all. Ideally.
Hidrotherapy and regular walking
Other therapies known having very good results include stem cell regeneration therapy, collagen therapy and acupuncture. But these are much more expensive.
A dog’s festival. From the wise people of Nepal.
And something to remember how much we cherish, love and respect dogs, in fact, all animals. Here is a video about how wise people in Nepal celebrate the existence of dogs.
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References:
http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/10_9/features/Bee-Honey-Products-Help-Canines_15967-1.html
