A home can become a painful place for a dog suffering from osteoarthritis and joint pain.

How To Make Your Home More Comfortable

Even fully fit dogs struggle to get traction on wooden, tiled and vinyl floors. With weak, stiff joints every slip is painful and you may notice they become reluctant to enter a room with a slippery floor. The answer may be to create a walkway with a slip-proof rug or carpet.

Stairs become a painful challenge. Climbing stairs puts most of a dogs weight on their back legs, and when they come down, it’s their front legs that take the strain. This puts extra pressure on their joints and some dogs will become hesitant to use stairs, or simply refuse to. Jumping in and out of vehicles causes the same problem and they may no longer leap with enthusiasm onto a favorite chair.

Warmth

You may notice that your pet finds getting up from rest harder on cold, damp mornings. Drafts can cause problems too. If this is a problem for your dog, can you relocate their bed to a warmer position?

Elevated and Orthopedic Beds

Sleeping on a cold floor is no fun for a senior dog and neither is overheating in the summer. When lying down and getting up from beds on the floor becomes more difficult, you should raise their bed.

Consider a firm, orthopedic foam bed that will properly supports their joints.

Elevated Bowls

Eating and drinking from bowls on the floor can be painful. Raise them into a more comfortable position, or buy elevated feeding bowls.

Vehicle Ramps

Getting in and out of vehicles becomes much easier with a ramp.

Pet Stairs

Pet stairs might help them get up and down from their favorite napping place.

Hind Limb Harness

These provide rear support and stability for dogs with weak hind legs. They can be used to help them up and down stairs too.

Dog Boots

These look a bit weird and they don’t work for every dog, but they’ve helped a lot of dogs to keep active in winter.

Share the Products That Have Helped Your Pet

Have you made your home more comfortable for your dog? Can you recommend any products that have helped your dog? Please share with a comment below.