Help to maintain healthy joints in pets

The key to being able to maintain healthy joints for your pet is to be educated and aware

Being educated

By ‘educated’ we mean that you should read good quality information from reputable sources about the developments in knowledge and thinking that are ongoing in the veterinary arena. The veterinary schools around the world are acutely aware of the need to maintain joint health. At Nutravet we keep up to date with these developments, our in house vets speak to world key opinion leaders on the subject and keep abreast of developments in the field by attending conferences and reading the research output from the Universities.

Thus by buying Nutravet products you are buying into and being supported by this highly technical resource of ongoing and developing expert opinion. We will disseminate this information to you through regular updates and news bulletins in the ‘Latest news’ sections of this website.

Being aware

By being aware we mean that you should be receptive to the needs of your pet as he/she grows and develops with age.

Puppies and kittens

It is an absolute delight to see young puppies and kittens play fighting and gambolling around in the garden, park or in the house-despite the damage that can be done! In fact this ‘play’ is an important part of your pet’s development both mentally and personality-wise, in terms of strengthening and developing bones and other body tissues to be fit for purpose.

Working in partnership with your vet is a vital part of this process as the vet is able to cast his/her expert eye over your pet during your regular check-ups at the clinic.

All Nutravet products are developed by vets and we work closely with vets in practice and trust their expert opinion. Their high degree of technical training has given them the skills necessary to be able to fully assess your pet clinically.

At Nutravet we believe it’s vitally important that your vet is able to assess how your pet interacts with you as an owner, or as a family.

Your vet can give you appropriate, contextual, advice on joint health. For example, if you have a young family and a new medium or large breed puppy then it is important that during the developmental stage of your pup, when bones are developing and articular cartilage surfaces are fragile, that all members of the family are aware of the need not to over exercise your dog or play too boisterously with them, or encourage the dog to jump up at you on his/her hind legs as this can put uneven stress on both hind and front legs at a young age.

Equally, if you are a single person or couple with more time to exercise your dog, then long walks or runs should be avoided in the early stages. Mild exercise regimes together with a balanced healthy diet, vaccination, worming, micro-chipping and teeth and ear care are all part of a sensible and responsible way to care for your pet as they begin their lives with you. These are all issues that can be discussed with your vet at the surgery as he/she is best placed to understand your needs and the particular needs of your pet.

There is plenty of prophylactic treatment to think about when you first take a puppy or kitten to the vet for their check-ups.

If you wish to give your new pet extra building blocks to enable healthy joint function, by supplementing your puppy with Nutraquin or Nutraquin+ these products will help maintain healthy joint function.

Many people are aware of the opportunities to feed supplements for specific health support roles, for example with fish oils to support children’s brain development and cognitive function and joint support supplementation in pets is no exception to this.

If you have chosen a breed that is particularly prone needing joint aids and support in later life such as the medium and larger breeds of dogs; Labradors, Retrievers, German shepherds, Rottweiler’s, Mastiffs, St Bernards etc this is an opportunity to support your pet with joint support products from Nutravet. Unfortunately no breeds of medium and large dogs are protected. Your vet will be happy to discuss this issue with you at the surgery so that you can make an informed decision about whether Nutraquin or Nutraquin+ supplementation for your puppy is the right decision for you.

As your puppy grows, focus on maintaining your pets optimum weight, by not over exercising and feeding a balanced veterinary diet will all contribute to you doing your best for your pet at this early stage.

Ageing has an effect on all of us and our pets are not immune to these effects either.

See your vet

Your vet will decide with you what the best way forward is, according to your pet’s presenting signs. Just as working with your vet to do the best for a new puppy or kitten is a mark of responsible pet ownership, then so too is having regular veterinary advice as your pet ages.

Weight loss programme if your pet is overweight

Excess weight can have very damaging effects on joints. Enrolling the help of your veterinary and nursing team can help your pet by supporting you in the difficult job of reducing tit-bits and feeding only a balanced weight loss diet. Your veterinary surgery staff will support you with advice and encouragement to persevere and succeed in what is a difficult task and getting into the routine of regular ‘weigh ins’ at the surgery will help you to help your pet.

Controlled exercise

Often regular exercise will help control body weight and maintain joint health. However, the best regime to use will depend on your pet’s particular condition, body weight and any other problems. Speak to your vet about this.

Complementary therapies

Hydrotherapy (swimming) and physiotherapy are low impact methods that can, for example, help improve musculature if it has been wasting and help complement veterinary treatment.

Feed a nutritional joint support supplement such as Nutraquin or Nutraquin+

At nutravet we have formulated Nutraquin to deliver the optimum amounts of supplementary building blocks for your pets joint health needs. Note that the formula does not change according to the life stage or bodyweight of your pet.  Our vets and the  experts we consulted on this subject felt, as we do, that the formula should not change for use with growing animals or with mature animals according to their life stage because the nutritional needs of the joint are constant and so is the administration rate (which is the number of Nutraquin or Nutraquin+ capsules you give your pet).

With administration being based on the body weight of your pet, this allows a consistent supply of the naturally supplemented ingredients that are necessary to maintain joint health. This ‘administration based on bodyweight’ is the way vets are taught to, and used to administering agents to animals and is an important part of the nutravet approach that is not adopted by all manufacturers.

Ask your vet about nutravet products, your vet will help you decide whether your pet needs Nutraquin or Nutraquin+. The decision to use Nutraquin+ will depend on your vets wish to use the additional boswellia in Nutraquin+ that aids the body’s own natural anti-inflammatory processes. We have found that owners are reporting comfortable limb movement after only seven days of using Nutraquin+.