Dog Joint Pain & Arthritis

Bernie’s Perfect Poop may help joint pain & arthritis

When your dog suffers from joint pain or arthritis, it’s hard to watch. They’re not able to enjoy all the doggie things they love to do. Bernie’s Perfect Poop may help your dog battle joint pain and arthritis by reducing inflammation in their bodies. Photo of Bernie's Perfect Poop grass bits up close.

Good dog gut health is critical for your dog’s overall health. When your dog’s gut is healthy, your dog is healthier. Research continues to show a connection between inflammation that may cause joint and arthritis pain in dogs and the health of their gut. A healthier gut may help them battle arthritis and joint pain.
Food and diet impact your dog’s weight and this impacts their joint and arthritis pain. When your dog benefits from the high-quality fiber in Bernie’s Perfect Poop, they may more easily maintain a healthy weight that doesn’t put undue pressure on your dog’s joints and hips. The fiber in Bernie’s keeps your dog’s gut healthy by improving nutrient absorption, and this can help keep inflammation that affects their joints and arthritis to a minimum.
Bernie’s Perfect Poop combines prebiotics and probiotics to help create the perfectly balanced gut microbiome. When your dog’s microbiome is in shape, the right balance of good bacteria exists and keeps harmful, pathogenic bacteria out. This harmful bacteria is what your dog’s immune system responds to in defense, and what can cause chronic inflammation that can exacerbate joint pain and arthritis. The prebiotic that Bernie’s uses is Inulin. In several studies, Inulin has been found to improve metabolic inflammation that may cause more problems for your dog’s joints and arthritis.
Each cell in your dog’s body needs nourishment and nutrients. Without proper nutrient absorption, your dog’s body can’t keep a strong immune system. Research shows that proper nutrient absorption can positively affect the inflammation in your dog’s body, and that can minimize the effects of joint pain and canine arthritis.
Bernie’s Perfect Poop is a 4-in-1 combination of fiber, prebiotics, probiotics, and enzymes. Good dog gut health is the key to a happier, healthier life for your dog, and that is especially important when your dog suffers from joint pain or arthritis. The less inflammation they suffer due an unhealthy gut, the better their joint health is and the happier they are.

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Great Product so Far! Product seems to work well! My dog loves it and it got his system back to normal! – EA

What is dog joint pain & arthritis and what are the symptoms/signs?

In a simple form, joint pain is just that—pain in the joints of your dog’s body. Basically, anywhere your dog is capable of bending naturally is a joint and joint pain is often caused by inflammation of the joint. As dogs age, of course, wear and tear on their joints and bones can also bring on joint pain and arthritis. Their cartilage between their joints wears down and bones rub together. This is called osteoarthritis and makes it hard for your dog to walk or exercise.

Immune-mediated polyarthritis (IMPA) in dogs is what occurs when the tissue and cartilage around your dog’s joints get inflamed. Painful swelling and inflammation not only makes it hard for them to walk and exercise but it can damage bone too. When your dog’s body sees inflammation, it gets concerned and feels like it needs to ramp up its immune system to fight intruders. This is called rheumatoid arthritis in humans. In dogs, IMPA can be erosive or non-erosive. The erosive kind is rare, only 1% of dogs get it, but it can damage both bone and cartilage. While this is often genetic in both humans and dogs, research finds that bacteria in our (and your dog’s) gut may play a factor. This is all the more reason your dog needs to have a healthy microbiome to have healthy joints.

Symptoms of canine joint pain and arthritis:

Stiffness
Limping
Favoring a leg
Fever
Appetite loss
Fear of touch
Swelling or tenderness
Lethargy
Limited mobility
Difficulty getting up and down
Reluctance to climb, jump, and play
Licking of affected area

In IMPA/ Rheumatoid arthritis in dogs, symptoms also include:

Kidney disease
Urinary tract infections
Pneumonia
Decreased appetite
Unwillingness or inability to walk
Limb or muscle atrophy
Tonsillitis
Enlarged lymph nodes
Lameness in one or more limbs

Causes of dog joint pain & canine arthritis

The causes of dog joint pain and dog arthritis are continually studied. It used to be thought that arthritis or joint pain in the absence of another condition was simply wear-and-tear on your dog’s body. Still, puppies are born with joint pain and arthritis, and research continues to show that chronic inflammation can cause degeneration –which causes joint pain and arthritis in your dog’s body. Dogs can inherit risk factors and have genetic predispositions to joint pains and arthritis, and there may be metabolic causes as well. Lifestyle choices with regard to food and exercise can affect your dog’s tendency to have joint pain or arthritis, as can lack of proper nutrition.

Causes of joint pain may include:	Can Perfect Poop help?
Bacterial infections	Yes
Autoimmune disorders	Yes
Immune system irregularities	Yes
Obesity	Yes
Dietary lacking	Yes
Diabetes	Yes
Ligament injury
Joint instability
Cartilage issues
Lyme disease
Gout

Illustration of Bernie sitting and smiling.

If you believe your dog’s joint pains and symptoms are consistent despite diet and lifestyle changes, you should check with your vet because ongoing joint and arthritis pain can be painful for them both physically and mentally.

More information about joint pain

What joints most commonly hurt in dogs?

The hips, elbows, lower back, knees, and wrists are the most common joint areas affected by arthritis in dogs.

Inflammation is a key contributor to joint pain

Joint pain is often caused by inflammation. Inflammation believe it or not can be helped by balancing the microbiome in the digestive tract. When the gut is in balance it may work together with the immune system to reduce chronic inflammation. If the Immune system (controlled by a balanced gut) is out of balance, either over-reactive or under-reactive, it may lead to chronic inflammation or higher risk of disease.

Fiber may help with inflammation (a cause of joint pain)

With diets being mostly high fat, high sugar, low fiber this can lead to a growth of inflammatory microbes in the Gut. It throws the gut out of balance. This unbalance in turn can change the immune system’s job to move away from the act of repairing and toward chronic inflammation causing joint pain.
Introduction of Fiber into the dog’s diet may aid in controlling diabetes and obesity, and controlling both of these may lead to reduction of inflammation and joint pain.

Prebiotics and probiotics may help with canine joint pain and canine arthritis

Prebiotics and probiotics are key supplements to helping your dog’s gut health be at its best. Prebiotics and Probiotics balance out your dog’s digestive tract bacteria and microbiome. More and more research supports that reducing inflammation in both a human’s and a dog’s gut can directly impact the severity of joint pain and arthritis in your dog. The prebiotic in Bernie’s is Inulin, which acts as a fertilizer to feed the good bacteria in your dog’s lower digestive tract. When the good bacteria in your dog’s digestive tract gets the right nutrition, they thrive and keep any additional harmful bacteria at bay. That means that your dog is less prone to inflammation from harmful bacteria, and less likely to overreact from his immune system looking to protect him. A healthy gut balanced with pre and probiotics is good for joint pain, osteo and rheumatoid arthritis, inflammation and overall health. A healthy immune system also can keep your dog more energized to exercise which helps keep weight off and disease risk down. The optimal balance of pre- and probiotics in your dog’s gut also means they’re able to produce the right levels of hormones and neurotransmitters that make them feel good, and they’re able to be more motivated to get moving.

Enzymes may help with dog arthritis and joint pain

When it comes to managing joint pain in dogs, nutrient absorption is important. Enzymes like the ones found in Bernie’s will help your dog’s digestive tract break food down better. If he’s able to break food down more, he can fuel his body and absorb nutrients better. Digestive enzymes are microscopic molecules of protein that are found all over your dog’s body. Each enzyme has an active site that helps break down food molecules into usable parts, if you will, that can be easily absorbed through your dog’s bloodstream and gut for the best health and regeneration. This is how your dog is better able to metabolize the nutrients of his food. Enzymes can also aid in helping dogs who have inflammation.

Other ways to help

Change diet
Add exercise to a sedentary lifestyle
Battle obesity (if overweight)
Add other supplements to help (glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, MSM)
Feed smaller, consistent meals
Strictly manage weight
Massage therapy
Acupuncture
Change bedding to be posturepedic

Additional reading

Related terms

Arthritis
Canine arthritis
Canine joint pain
Dog arthritis
Dog joint pain
Rheumatoid arthritis
Inflammatory arthritis
Immune-mediated polyarthritis
IMPA