Pet Corner

Winter Joint Health in Pets

By Gary L. Ailes, DVM

The wonderful world of white surrounds us again creating a bit of a chill and causing our pets that are a little long in the tooth to move a bit slower.

What brings on this decrease in activity? The most common syndrome is osteoarthritis, which is not uncommon in the older dog and cat. The development can occur from trauma, which may be nothing more than playing extremely hard as a young dog or cat. It may also relate to congenital problems such as elbow or hip dysplasia. Some of the immune diseases attack the joints as well as the possibility of infectious diseases.

Our pets will slow down with the decrease in hormone function that occurs with age. Chronic insults to the liver that decrease its ability to break down waste products and help with elimination cause problems as well as a decrease in the ability of the liver to process foodstuffs and create energy.

As we notice our pets moving less, not feeling as good as in the past, we can bet that at least one of these things is happening if not several things at the same time. What can be done to help our friends move a little better?

Consider feeding a high quality food and perhaps some of the commercial raw diets. You may consider an organic food, which does not have any pesticides or fertilizers included. In addition, RejuvaPet is very helpful. This product contains Taurine, Creatine, Vitamin C, Ribose, L-Carnitine, Calcium Glucarate, Silymarin, RNA, Rhodiola, Red Wine Polyphenols, CoQ10, Green Tea, Pregnenolone, Vinpocetine and DHEA.

Taurine is essential for heart and skeletal muscle function. Cats fed taurine deficient diets develop dilated cardiomyopathy, which is reversible if supplementation is started. A consistent dose can keep that from being a problem. Central retinal degeneration is another problem with taurine deficiency.

Creatine has been shown to supply energy to the cells in the muscle and has been shown to have some positive effect on cognitive function in people. Vitamin C is an antioxidant and essential for many enzyme functions in the body. Guinea Pigs and humans are unable to make vitamin C within the body and need an outside source. The rest of our pets can make their own and supplementing may help with joint function and collagen regeneration.

Ribose is a monosaccharide and may increase energy, decrease pain, increase muscle output and recovery. L-Carnitine has a strong role in fat synthesis and is protective against lipid peroxidation. It has a positive effect on bone mass via increasing osteocalcin (osteoblast-modulating) and osteoblast (bone-building) activity. Dogs with a carnitine deficiency will have muscle pain and be reluctant to get up and move.

Calcium glucarate is a source of calcium to keep the bones strong and help maintain the acid base balance. Silymarin is an extract from milk thistle that has a strong protective effect on the liver. RNA supplementation may help repair damage that has been done to RNA and DNA strands from environmental factors. Rhodiola may increase energy and mental performance and is not a good idea to give if the pet is in an excited state. Red wine polyphenols include resveratrol, which may increase longevity and quality of life. While large amounts of grapes or raisins cause irreversible kidney damage, there is no indication of a problem with resveratrol or the antioxidant polyphenols.

CoQ10 is found primarily in the mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum (the energy factories) of the cells. It may reduce oxidation and decrease DNA strand breaks, which may make it helpful for longevity. It is reduced by the use of statin drugs.

Green tea has powerful antioxidants that may help with cellular protection and decrease the likelihood of cancer. Pregnenolone is a prohormone that can be converted to progesterone and is helpful in the older animal as their level tends to fall over time. Vinpocetine is a derivative of the Periwinkle plant and is thought to enhance cerebral blood flow and have neuroprotective effects, which may help with cognition. DHEA (dihydroepiandrosterone) is a prohormone that is produced naturally in the adrenals. As with most hormones in the body, the production decreases with age and supplementation may help the body age slower.

You can understand from the above descriptions of the ingredients why I like RejuvaPet so much. There is no need to megadose any of the ingredients and the mix seems to act synergistically. Having seen quite a number of geriatric animals respond incredibly well, I can’t help but strongly recommend this product.