I was pretty devastated when I found out my diminutive springer Evie aka the pocket rocket had bad arthritis - not that it stops her but being only 8 it suddenly hit me that she was getting old. Like any springer she is so full of oomph and we have shared many a cani-cross adventure together fast, reliable and gentle on me when racing downhill (unlike her brother Rowan who thinks screaming steady means go faster) she is an amazing dog.
I suspect she was doing so well as I already had her on Frankincense and Copaiba essential oils for their benefits for other things but as they are amazing multipurpose oils they also worked beautifully on the musculoskeletal system but as always I constantly investigated what else I could do..
What to do when your dog gets diagnosed with arthritis can be confusing so this is my approach for prevention and management.
The start of course as the basis of everything or rather should be and that is diet. Diet plays a massive role and is under utilised in human medicine and the same in veterinary too which is slowly changing albeit slow. I feed my gang a bones and raw food diet which is naturally rich in glucosamine and chondroitin which has shown to be of great benefit in providing extra support to the musculoskeletal system and assisting in modifying the disease process of osteoarthritis plus added bone broth another rich source (humans take note…. Interestingly the same benefit has not been found for us and so a whole food plant based diet for us homo sapiens is the best diet to confer benefits for our mobility). Glucosamine is poorly absorbed as a supplement so taking it in a more natural form such as bone broth is more beneficial and preferable for me as as I do not like the way G&C supplements are sourced (shark cartilage for example) and as I like my food and my dogs food to be unprocessed this is definitely something I wanted to steer clear of! And it was a no brainer for me to look at other avenues - hence essential oils and their properties on a cellular level.
But before I look at essential oils don’t forget good old omega 3 this essential fatty acid is great for so much in the body and not least the musculoskeletal system - the best sources are fish but there are so many problems with pollution that this was a concern for me but Norwegian sourced Krill oil certainly seems to be the best bet, however, I use the IQ Mega Children’s omega 3 oil from doTerra as with their attention to purity I know it is fine. There are some seemingly great plant based options on the market too based on flaxseed however, back to that little issue bioavailability again they are just not well absorbed by our pooches and I did not want to take any chances. Dose wise 1000mg per 10kg of body weight.
So because Evie’s arthritis and spondylosis was so bad I started to look at what else I could add in to support her. Turmeric oil was my next one - this is rich in turmerones, whereas the powder is rich in curcumin but the powder is poorly absorbed, hence the popular golden paste which is made to improve the bioavailability, however, turmeric essential oil increases the absorption of the powder as none of my dogs were keen on the paste and it is a powerful essential oil in its own right too with a similar myriad of benefits.
Next up was DDR Prime this proprietary blend is a little bit special and contains essential oils Frankincense, Wild Orange, lemongrass, Thyme, Summer Savory, Niaouli and clove which combine to support cell health, function and renewal with their powerful anti-oxidant properties Anti-oxidants are what scoop up free radicals which cause inflammation - remember us doctors always go on about plenty of fruit and veg well anti-oxidants are part of the reason in order to create an anti-inflammatory diet, so this blend is a little treasure trove of benefits.
There 4 oils are given in her food twice a day - 1 drop of each and the proof is in the pudding!
But don’t forget each dog is different and although this can give you some pointers it is important to adopt a stepwise approach with your dog and treat them as an individual.
Using essential oils topically for Evie has also been a huge winner. Physical discomfort can affect us in so many ways, impact on what we are doing and cause us emotional pain too and I am sure the same is true for our faithful canine pals and for me the ability to grab an oil and apply it for targeted relief as well is so incredible and the day I first did this I really became aware of the power in these little drops. Evie was tripping up the stairs, clearly stiff and uncomfortable - before reaching for the pain killers I decided to try something else so grabbing a few suitable oils I offered her a choice and the results were lavender, frankincense, clary sage, marjoram, thyme and helichrysum all with a variety of benefits that would support her mobility. I made up an appropriate blend for her and the results were incredible - within 20 mins she was springing up the stairs and she was back to normal. So this is now added on to our daily routine and she really is a pocket rocket.
For further validation of the power in a little drop I share this - we recently got back from seeing a regenerative specialist as her arthritis is so bad, not that you would know on the surface, she is a candidate for stem cell therapy, the veterinary surgeon could not believe she was not on meds given her activity levels and active force plate analysis showed a fantastic result too. It was only through xrays and ultrasound that the true picture emerged but how astounding that she is doing so well but I want to optimise her as much as I can. And so stem cell therapy is the next step not painkillers as I've done analgesia trials with her but there has been no change to what I am seeing with essential oils so I know the oils are providing her with the relief she needs and because they work on a cellular level it really is getting to the heart of the problem! It has only been in recent weeks that I detected some changes out on walks after about 40 or 50mins and so the time to do further intervention is now.
But she still competed in TriDog above and we both had an awesome time. And we will carry on with keeping her moving (vet ok'd it too) and doing what she enjoys until she says it is time to retire
As for my other dog Rowan who also has arthritis? Well we are getting parkrun PBs every week so I think he is good with just the power of a drop or two.
There are many approaches to suit individual dogs so do get in touch if you would like a personalised approach for your dog or join my Keeping Your Dog Active With Essential Oils Webinar see events for more info
Watch my YouTube Video talking about this in more detail.