Too much PLAY or early OA?

Take the OA risk quiz to see if your dog could be
showing the early signs of canine osteoarthritis (OA).

MANAGE OA: the earlier, the better.

WHAT IS OA

Canine osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease and the most common cause of chronic pain in dogs.1

Your Dog’s OA Risk

OA can affect dogs of all ages – from growing young adults to aging seniors. Catching it early can help decrease the effects.

Treating OA

Diet and exercise along with OA medications can help ease your dog’s pain and even treat the disease of OA.

OA-DOGS-1920

Dogs of OA.

Young dog disease

OA is most often associated with aging dogs and a disease of “wear and tear.” In reality, it’s genetic and developmental and usually starts within the first few months of a dog’s life – during the rapid growth that occurs in the first four to six months.

Denis Marcellin-Little,
DEDV, DACVS, DECVS, DACVSMR

Expert recommendation

 The earlier you can diagnose it or identify the dogs who are at risk of developing OA, the sooner you can start them on a complete OA treatment plan to help them stay active for longer.

—Kristin Kirkby Shaw,
DVM, MS, PhD, DACVS, DACVSMR

Veterinary support

As a profession, we can do a better job for our patients when it comes to canine OA. We can do better by being more proactive – look for and talk about OA before it becomes a crisis.

Denis Marcellin-Little,
DEDV, DACVS, DECVS, DACVSMR

  1. Esptein M, Kirkby Shaw K. Osteoarthritis in Dogs and Cats: Novel Therapeutic Advances. 2016 NAVC Proceedings, pp. 863-865.