Natural Animal Arthritis Remedies
One of the simplest and cheapest natural animal arthritis remedies is unrefined Sea Salt. Unlike demineralised table salt it contains 80 minerals and it requires only a quarter of a teaspoon added daily to your pet's water bowl to see the benefits. You may find that your pet starts to drink more water as a result of the added salt.
Powdered Vitamin C mixed into your pet's daily meal will help keep tissue healthy and slow up further joint damage from arthritis. The daily dosage needs to be substantial (Small dogs 500mg-1,000mg, Medium-Large dogs 1,000mg-2,000mg, Giant dogs 2,000mg-4,000mg) and it is recommended that you start your pet off at the lowest dosage and increase it slowly once or twice a year. If you dog produces loose stools reduce the dosage down slightly for a time.
During the process of turning raw cane sugar into table sugar a by-product is produced called Blackstrap Molasses. This thick, bitter, mineral rich syrup can be used as an effective natural animal arthritis remedy. Obtainable from most health food suppliers it can be diluted by adding it to a little warm water which will dissolve the molasses. A tablespoon in the morning and a further one in the evening added to your pet's food is ideal to get your pet up and moving again.
Just like humans pets can enjoy a good massage. An animal that shows signs of arthritis can be massaged gently even by the untrained hand. A massage of no more than 5 minutes daily which covers every area of the body can really free up those achy and stiff joints. If you are unsure of the technique then ask your veterinarian to show you.
Heat treatments can help ease stiffness and free up your pet's arthritic joints. Encourage your dog or cat to spend time lying in the sun but beware of over-heating in the height of the summer months. A heating pad or hot water bottle wrapped in a towel and placed in your pet's bed can really help soothe those aches and pains away. Also, you could try applying a microwavable heat pack to your pet's problem area. When out walking in the winter months consider keeping your dog warm by purchasing a cosy dog coat, jumper or hoodie.
Moving over to giving your pet Home-Cooked Meals will increase their intake of high-quality and chemical-free food. Dogs and cats can eat most vegetables but it is advisable to avoid tomates, potatoes, peppers and eggplant as these can aggravate arthritis. All other vegetables can be mixed with cooked meats and fish along with grains such as white rice, oats, millet and barley to make a tasty meal. Offal (organ meat) is very nutritional and should be offered once or twice a week. The ideal way to prepare your pet's food is to use a large non-aluminium cooking pot to cook a large quantity of food at a time. Cook the meat with the grain first then add the vegetables last. Afterwards, allow the food to cool to room temperature and then bag up into portions which you can either freeze or keep in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. A balanced dog's diet should consist of Protein 10-30%, Grain 20-30%, and Vegetables 20-40% and a cat's of Protein 60%, Grain and Cooked Vegetables 20-30% and Raw Vegetables 10%.
