I made burgers on Saturday and gave my dog Bronx scraps. Now there is recent news about a possible outbreak of Mad Cow Disease in the US. My dear husband immediately bans beef in the house and the kids are worked up about no more burgers and will Bronx have Mad Dog Disease?

Short answer is no. But in the face of no real studies being done, I tend to tread cautiously.

Here’s the scoop. Make your own call.

• Mad Cow Disease is a contagious disease also called BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy). It basically causes lots of tiny holes in the brain and spinal column, making it ‘spongy’. The cow then loses motor skills until it dies.

So far this family of disease has only been found so far in hooved animals (cows, CWD in deer and elk, scrapie in sheep) and in humans (vCJD or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.).

• There’s never been a reported case of a dog getting it. Additionally, the US FDA reports that there is no scientific evidence to date that dogs can or ever have contracted Mad Cow Disease at all.

• Meat from contaminated cows could be used the making of food for poultry and house pets. According to some, like specialists for infectious diseases at the University of California at Davis, it would be highly unlikely that nervous tissue would end up even in pet food.

Pet food is supposedly vigorously inspected and processed in such a way that they are deemed safe for the pets included heat-treated to destroy any pathogens. As we’ve seen in the last year there are lapses in the inspection process. However, by the same token, because of the pet food scare in the last year, we can hope there is more attention on inspecting pet food, especially with two Chinese businesses and a U.S. company indicted in connection with tainted pet food which killed and sickened thousands of pets last year.

Besides, dogs potentially had more exposure anyway. Meat prepared for pet food is almost always from sick or injured livestock. In other words, the stuff that cannot be sold for human consumption. I didn’t realize.

After at least a 100 years of more glamorous showy dogs like Poodles and Pomeranian taking the show, a Beagle won the Westminster Kennel Club world-famous dog show. This is the first Beagle to win the competition and I think people love that. I don’t remember seeing so much press about the Kennel Show. Poodles and Pomeranians are wonderful dogs, but I think a lot of people are comfortable with the down-to-Earth image of a Beagle. (They are loving, but very dogged.) And Uno is just a beautiful thing.

Uno the Beagle’s Groundbreaking Westminster Win

If you have a dog with arthritis, it can be heartbreaking to see him or her limp in pain. This is not an uncommon condition either. But there are ways to help your pal live a quality life with this condition.

Does My Dog Have Arthritis?
Only a vet can diagnose if a dog has arthritis. You may suspect your dog may have this condition if she has difficulty getting up or walking. Click to read more on canine arthritis.

Once diagnosed, your vet tell you what the best course of action is for the type and progress of arthritis. Whether surgery or medication is used, if your dog has arthritis, he or she needs a lifestyle that helps bring relief including regular exercise.

Exercise For Arthritis?
What?, you may be saying. My dog has arthritis—he’s joints hurt. Taking him walk is the opposite of what I should do. Maybe it will cause even more damage. Actually, moving around a bit can have the opposite effect. Vet and animal specialists recommend exercise for dogs with arthritis for several reasons.

• To manage weight.
  • If you dog is overweight, losing some pounds will provide relief. Excess weight serves to stress the already painful joints causing even more pain and swelling.
  • If you dog is at a healthy weight, continuing to exercise will help maintain the weight and as we said, too much weight adds to joint strain and pain of arthritis.

• The more they lie there, the stiffer they become. Exercise helps increase flexibility and endurance and strengthens muscle around the joints.

• Regular exercise use energy and helps your dog sleep better.

• Exercise helps stave off other health problems such heart disease.

• Exercise likewise helps your dog in dealing with the physical pain. It is an activity that is occupying their mind. It’s something to think about other than discomfort.

• Exercise is still fun. And dogs like to have fun, and fun always improves the quality of life.

How to Exercise With Arthritis
A little bit more often is better than a lot once in a while. For instance, two 10-15 minute daily walks are better than one long walk. A short daily walk is much better than a weekly hike. Joints can eventually be aggravated by excessive activity, but there are definite benefits of some activity. Of course, take cues from your dog. If he wants to run a bit, let him run. If he’s ready to rest, stop and rest. Moderation is the goal: not too much, not too little.

Good Exercises for Arthritic Dogs

• Walking – always a favorite. Choose low-intensity, easy routes. No hills, no rough surfaces, no uphill marches.
• Hiking – like walking, make sure you choose easy smooth trails and go for short hikes.
• Swimming – a great sport that is easy on the joints. Warm water, swimming in cold water will just be uncomfortable later.
• Running games – if your dog is fine with it, some low-key running is OK. For instance, you could have a 10-minute game of hide and seek or fetch. Either one involves a lot of breaks and the “running” can be anything from a fast walk to a trot. Some running games include:
  • Hide and See
  • Fetch
  • Keep-away
  • Soccer
• Agility games – this if fun and challenging if you train just for fun, competition is too intense training for competition. Do the games that are less impact like balance beam, chutes and tunnels, and running around obstacles.

If the weather is cold, keep your dog in. It is not known for sure if cold weather actually makes arthritis worse, but it can make the joints feel worse.

Arthritis does not have to be the end of your dog’s world. Always check with a vet first, but with care and some changes in lifestyle, both you and your pup can get relief.

What it is and What Causes It

Canine arthritis is a disease of the joints causing pain, gradual loss of cartilage and lameness. This condition happens when the shock absorber between then bones, called cartilage, swells then breaks down. As the cartilage gets thinner, the bones actually rub against each other causing pain and damaging joints. This leads to stiffness, pain, and swelling in the joints.

When it develops in dogs, it often occurs in the hips and elbows. As is gets worse, it just makes walking or moving difficult.

There are different types of arthritis and different causes. This is why medical expertise is important in diagnosis and treatment.

The most common type is osteoarthritis. This is degenerative-it develops over time and starts to show up most often in older dogs. Osteoarthritis is a genetic condition for some dogs-it’s just one of those things that happen over time. It is also a much more common occurrence with some breeds, especially those prone to hip dysplasia. However, osteoarthritis often occurs as the result from some previous, physical stress on the joint such as the trauma of a fall of repetitive contact like jumping on hard surfaces.

• Acute, traumatic arthritis: occurs very quickly (not over time like osteoarthritis) when an out-of-place joint-perhaps from an accident or improper exercises-is eroded and becomes inflamed.

• Infective arthritis: contracted through a bite, cut or infection. There are varied organisms that can cause this including Staphylococci, E.coli, and Lyme’s disease.

How Do I Know If My Dog Has Arthritis?

Unfortunately arthritis goes undiagnosed since owners attribute the subtle changes in their dogs to old age or slowing down. How do you know whether to get your vet involved? Possible signs of arthritis include

• Difficulty rising from a resting position
• Limping
• Lagging behind on walks
• Yelping in pain when touched
• Reluctance to walk, climb stairs, jump, or play
• A personality change resisting touch

But don’t assume arthritis that because Fido is stiff-legged after exercise, has trouble getting up in the morning, or is reluctant to go down stairs. It could be, but there are actually other causes for this behavior also.

Relief for Your Dog’s Arthritis
First you need a diagnosis from a veterinarian. She or he is the best person to determine which treatment is best for each dog.

Whether surgery or medication is used, you dog needs a lifestyle that helps bring relief.

Sometimes surgery is advised if it can provide relief. Outside of surgery, various medication are commonly used. Over-the-counter painkillers should never be used without the advice of a veterinarian. Dogs with arthritis should be under veterinary care.

Common remedies include carprofen for pain and glucosamine for pain and anti-inflammation. Whatever is prescribed, make sure you strictly follow the administering procedures of the drug.

Excess weight causes more stress on the joints and exacerbates existing arthritis pain. Diet also plays an important part in arthritis treatment, especially to control the dog’s weight. So does exercise. It may seem counterintuitive, but moving around a bit almost everyday will help your dog and veterinarians and animal specialists recommend exercise for dogs with arthritis.