Pain, mobility & a comfortable home

Signs of pain are easy to miss

Owners often read changes as “just getting older” when they are actually chronic pain.¹ A dog in pain can still wag and greet you at the door.² Watch for:

• Favoring a leg, walking stiffly, or trouble sitting down and standing up³
• Avoiding stairs, jumping, or getting into the car³
• Sleeping more, playing less, or not wanting to be touched³
• Restlessness, trouble getting comfortable, licking one spot, or eating less²
• Circling a long time before lying down, or scuffing the back feet⁴
• Grumpiness or snapping that’s new^3,4

A short phone video of the stiffness or limp helps the vet a lot.¹ You can attach one to an observation.

Make home easier

• Traction. Cover slick floors with secure rugs, runners, yoga mats or foam tiles.^4,5
• Nails short. Long nails change how they stand; check they aren’t curling toward the pads.^5,4
• Supportive beds. Memory foam or orthopedic bedding. Don’t use heating pads made for people, and never leave a dog alone on heated bedding.^5,4
• Ramps and steps for the sofa and bed, so nobody jumps down.^1,6
• Raised bowls put less strain on sore necks and backs, and — as the exercise guide explains — shift weight onto the hind legs.^5,1 One caution: a large study linked raised bowls to bloat (GDV) in large and giant breeds, and surgeons list elevated feeding as a possible risk factor.^7,8 That study only looked at big dogs, where bloat is most common, but it’s still worth a quick question to the vet.

Weight is the most powerful joint medicine

In Purina’s lifetime study of Labradors, the leaner-fed dogs lived a median of 1.8 years longer, and arthritis and other late-life diseases arrived later.⁹ In overweight dogs with arthritis, losing about 6% of body weight measurably improved lameness.¹⁰ On a Chihuahua, a few ounces is a meaningful amount — which is why the weight log is on every profile.