joint stiffness in my dog...

She's 9 years old, a medium sized (about 50 lbs.) mixed breed. She's part beagle and part border collie. She's been a really healthy girl ever since we got her, but we noticed in the last few days that she seems a bit "quiet", and when we feed her, she'll eat a few mounthfulls, stop, shift, eat a bit more, stop, shift, etc.. she used to hoover her food in 20 seconds, now, she's much slower. I raised her food dish about 6 inches off the floor, hoping it'll help. Could it be arthritis? Is there anything I can do at home to help her. I've heard that glucosamine is good to help stiffness and arthritis... is this something that works? How about something like cod liver oil or some other type of fish oil?

She's my first dog, and my first experience with caring for a senior pet... I worry about her...

try giving her Glucosamine it's a supliment that is used to help joints move more fluidly. Our 14 year old lab took it from the time she was about 9 to the day she passed away to help with arthritis and hip displaysia. it works wonders.

I feed my dog a senior dog food with joint supplements (glucosamine and chondroitin) added.
It's done wonders for his movement.

I know that my glucosamine and chondroitin pills help me a lot

I also have given my elder dogs this and it does work..

Tristans old dog Rhani has had arthritis in her back legs for years. His mum gives her glucosamine tablets with her food. On bad days she would sometimes fall over, and as she wanders around the laundry/dining/kitchen area, that whole area is tiled and she doesn't have very good balance. The tablets help her move around better. I also don't know if she is still getting them, but steroid injections really made her bouncy as well.

The Glucosamine should help Sounds like you're doing everything right to help her! She's lucky to have such a lovely owner! I would consult your vet about some shots as well that could help the stiffness/arthritis if that's what it is. My 12 year old wolf mix has hip dysplasia and arthritious - we give her glucosamine and she also gets injections once in a while when her joints start to act up very badly. So far we've been lucky and haven't had to have surgery on her. Sometimes though they do need surgery and the latest procedures and innovations REALLY seem to help! So that might also be something to think about in the near future if need be. There are many new wonderful options out there nowdays. Also- there are some doggy "physical therapy" exercises that your vet should be able to show you to really help strengthen the joints and help build up those muscles that can help her too! Good luck!

If it came on suddenly over the past couple days, it could be lyme disease. Try bending her knee's. Does she yelp? If so thats a good sign that it's lyme disease. And if it were Lyme it'll get much worse over the next few days until you treat it.

I give my young dog Glucosamine/Chondrotin/MSM as a preventative. Her breed is prone to joint issues. She's around 120 lbs and gets 1500 mg Glucosamine, 1200 mg chondrotin, and 250 mg MSM. I give her regular human supplements. I have also heard that fatty acid supplements can help lubricate joints. And I have heard that Vitamin C more specifically Ester C will help the dog's system absorb the glu/chon/msm better. I have never researched the fatty acids or Vit. C, but it maybe something you can look into.

Good luck! I hope you can find something to put the spring back in her step!

Glucocimine
chondrotin
msm
boswalia
hyloronic acid... this stuff works ( it is what glucomine and chondrotin break down into in the body)
mussels
tumeric