By Gabbie Bird & Dr. Teri Sue
This December we are honoring National Senior Pet Month by focusing on the needs of our older pets and offering advice for helping them age with grace and vitality. When our pets start to grey, we often assume their reduced energy levels and stiff joints are a symptom of old age - that such symptoms are to be expected and there is not much we can do to change it.
At Balance, we feel that age is not a dis-ease as much as a deficiency of nutrients and / or a build-up of toxins and imbalance over time, whether it’s from behaviors, chronic stress, trauma, dietary deficiency or build up of inflammation from any number of causes (processed diets, organ system dysfunction, toxins, etc). These factors are a key reason the average lifespan of our pets continues to decline.
Our ambitious goal is for our dogs to live to 20 rather than 13, and for our cats to live to 30 rather than 15 - with vitality well into their older years. The key to improving our pets’ quality of life as they age is by addressing imbalances as early as possible or as best you can. This includes adding any amount of nutrient dense foods that are anti-inflammatory, well sourced and species appropriate to help offset deficiency, support natural detox, and help reduce inflammation; reducing exposure to toxins; providing support for the body’s alignment; and offering tons of love (including you as your pet’s purpose) to ultimately strengthen the resilience of our pets’s bodies, so they are able to heal and live a long healthy life.
A major symptom we often notice in our older pets, especially in the colder months, is arthritis, or inflammation within the joints. We think of it as reduced activity - our older dogs and cats have difficulty getting up, especially first thing in the morning. Dogs don't play like they did as youngsters, they walk a little more slowly on the leash and seem more “creaky” or stiff. Older kitties won't jump up onto furniture or play with house mates like they used to.
In a healthy body, building blocks through natural diets (meat, organ meat and especially bones) are provided for joint repair. Joints last a lifetime quite remarkably with little pain if we can provide as much of an anti-inflammatory (raw) diet as possible, if not fully. As our pet’s age, there is an increased breakdown of the body’s tissues and a reduced ability to heal - food, correct exercise, addressing symptoms early and lots of love can help slow this process dramatically.
This often occurs due to the accumulation of toxins and deficiencies of necessary building blocks for tissue repair (vitamins and minerals) over time; joints wear down naturally when used for work or play in every day life. This accelerates with injury. The body will lay down bone to “repair” or try to stabilize an area that is unstable - for a variety of reasons, not just injury (like dietary deficiency or body shape for instance). This repair leads to bony changes in the joints that cause pain and stiffness - the symptoms of arthritis we see in our older pets.
This is why we recommend manual therapy and supplements, mineral testing and other diagnostics if appropriate (radiographs, blood work) to alleviate “arthritis” from many angles.
There is no shortage of supplements marketed toward improving mobility and reducing joint pain in our older pets - this common symptom of “aging” is targeted by companies for profit, many of which are less than beneficial. Supplements may contain minerals in forms that are poorly absorbed by our pets, as well as other inflammatory ingredients that do more harm than good. Please read the ingredients, and ask if you don’t know.
For example, glucosamine HCl is not as available as glucosamine Sulfate - always choose the latter. Chondroitin is rarely bioavailable, it is a very large molecule.
Did you know that homemade bone broth from healthy meat animals contains all of these building blocks for healthy joints? We recommend it to reduce inflammation.
The important missing piece in this approach to joint pain and arthritis in our aging pets is the interplay of nutrients in the body - supplementing just calcium will not reduce the breakdown of joints or improve the body’s ability to heal. For example, magnesium must be balanced with calcium within the cells to prevent calcium deposits from building up in the tissue, and vitamin D3 (or all the isomers from a whole food supplement like cod liver oil) is necessary for calcium absorption in the first place.
A balanced, anti-inflammatory fresh food diet (raw or lightly cooked), provides an abundance of nutrients in bio-available forms, providing our pets with the correct balance of vitamins and minerals they need to prevent breakdown and heal tissues.
Pets that transition from processed food diets to raw or lightly cooked whole food diets often show 50 to 70% increased mobility! Pet parents comment how much younger they seem, more playful, and even doing zoomies again! Annie, a diabetic patient was a particular testimony to this fact. Initially, she had difficulty getting up, and was hardly mobile. Even since losing her sight to diabetic cataracts, she was able to run for extended periods of time on a long line after transitioning her diet!
Adding any amount of fresh food - balanced, nutrient dense lightly cooked or raw food can be used as treats or toppers, and make a big difference in preventing breakdown of our pets’ bodies as they age, improving their quality of life.
Don’t forget to top with warm, homemade or well-sourced bone broth simmered for a long time and made from pastured animal’s bones. Simmer along with fresh, organic veggies like celery, carrots and parsley for added minerals.
Treats such as smaller raw bones to chew and eat, or larger ones just for chewing provide minerals, including calcium (and magnesium and many others!), that the body needs for tissue repair.
Other foods and supplements that can be added as toppers, or to the broth - to help improve joint function and health include turmeric (with black pepper – we have the recipe below), green lipped mussels, and digestive enzymes. Our seniors often don’t digest their food as well, so we especially suggest adding sauerkraut to their food, pork jiggles (with added kraut juice), or a basic digestive enzyme like Inflaquell by Researched Nutritionals or Healthy Gut by Adored Beast. Also consider Green Mins from Dr. Peter Dobias, or Super Essentials for intermittent superfoods that provide whole food mineral support.
Lastly, for pain relief before and after a long walk or romp in the snow, we recommend adding Boswellia – also known as Frankincense, and yes, glucosamine sulfate with MSM. For cats, hyaluronic acid supplements (Trixsyn) can improve joint function and reduce pain, as well as New Zealand deer velvet supplements, or Ripcord by VenJenz.
For the body - warm compresses followed by cold packing and massage also help improve affected joints by increasing circulation and allowing the body to remove inflammation. We have a scalar wave laser to rent by the week - for immediate or even chronic joint pain to improve mobility especially around manual therapy appointments.
Manual therapy should also be part of your senior pet’s care in their later years. Ideally, manual therapy would be consistent throughout their life, several sessions per year, to keep joints and bones aligned along with nerves, vessels and organs. That way compensation from minor traumas throughout the years don’t create major problems during old age. Manual therapy includes chiropractic, cranial-sacral, osteopathic and manual energy therapy. There are several practitioners in our area that we recommend - the results are always worth the investment.
We look forward to continuing to provide your fuzzy friends with great care this coming new year as part of your team.
We wish you all a warm and safe Happy Holiday Season – we are so grateful for each and every one of you, we have been amazingly blessed over this last year.
May you receive the abundance of Life in learning, growing and healing through 2025. Peace to you All and thank you!
Resources:
Golden Paste Recipe (Turmeric & Black Pepper) https://www.balancevc.com/articles/joint-pain-relief-recipe
Supplements (Request through clinic) -
Osteo TruBenefits by VRS- Green-lipped mussel extract with Bioactive Glycoprolex;
This helps activate MMP’s (material between cells), which help reduce the progression of arthritis, along with wound healing and tissue repair.
Boswellia Complex (Standard Process) - to reduce pain and inflammation
MSM (Biotics Research) - to reduce pain and inflammation, support healthy joints
Glucosamine Sulfate (Buck Mountain Botanicals) - well sourced, high quality, bio-available.
InflaQuell (Researched Nutritionals) - To reduce inflammation and improve digestion and absorption of minerals (digestive enzymes)
Healthy Gut (Adored Beast) - To reduce inflammation and improve digestion and absorption of minerals (digestive enzymes)
Can request from clinic or order online - https://adoredbeast.com/products/healthy-gut?srsltid=AfmBOor1OkSbag7n5bECPNn7ehRVrSYknSpA8ZiVYjpkif0FzHm_-Ru0
For intermittent mineral superfoods -
Green Mins - https://peterdobias.com/products/greenmin-for-dogs?srsltid=AfmBOop-UOmNoJ-zNfxhLcFYOgZ13d_qE2PBbKYbjyzegjYBxsJe7upt
Super Essentials (greens) - SuperEssentials™ Store - SuperEssentials for Pets
For cats (order online) -
HA - Hyaluronic Acid - Especially useful for joint pain and osteoarthritis in cats.
Hya-Flex - https://hyalogic.com/product/hyaflex-for-cats/
Or -
Trixsyn - https://biozymeproducts.com/products/vitalize%C2%AE-trixsyn%C2%AE-feline
New Zealand Deer Velvet Feline -
https://nzdeervelvetproducts.co.nz/vet-feline/
Venjenz RIPCORD (Anti-inflammatory and Joint Support) - https://venjenz.com/products/ripcord-for-pets?_pos=3&_sid=c13374a75&_ss=r&variant=44275368034522
Local Manual Therapy/Acupuncture Practitioners (referral required):
Erik Verdouw - To give musculoskeletal support and improve alignment which improves function, reduces restrictions, and avoids or decreases pain and discomfort.
Call to schedule an appointment (541) 431-3850.
Marci Cody - 541-484-7000 (long-distance energy work), and Physical Therapy
https://codyclarityconsults.com/
www.inbalancetherapies.com
Dr. Emily Mangan - Pleasant Hill, does acupuncture and TCM. Mobile. https://www.wisewoodvet.com/
Dr. Arnold Wittstein, DVM acupuncturist in Corvallis 1322 Main St, Philomath, OR 97370 Phone: (541) 250-1302
Christopher Hayes - Energy work
(541) 505-2957
Patricia M. Kortekaas
South Hills PT Clinic | South Hills PT Clinic
(541) 686-0101
This December we are honoring National Senior Pet Month by focusing on the needs of our older pets and offering advice for helping them age with grace and vitality. When our pets start to grey, we often assume their reduced energy levels and stiff joints are a symptom of old age - that such symptoms are to be expected and there is not much we can do to change it.
At Balance, we feel that age is not a dis-ease as much as a deficiency of nutrients and / or a build-up of toxins and imbalance over time, whether it’s from behaviors, chronic stress, trauma, dietary deficiency or build up of inflammation from any number of causes (processed diets, organ system dysfunction, toxins, etc). These factors are a key reason the average lifespan of our pets continues to decline.
Our ambitious goal is for our dogs to live to 20 rather than 13, and for our cats to live to 30 rather than 15 - with vitality well into their older years. The key to improving our pets’ quality of life as they age is by addressing imbalances as early as possible or as best you can. This includes adding any amount of nutrient dense foods that are anti-inflammatory, well sourced and species appropriate to help offset deficiency, support natural detox, and help reduce inflammation; reducing exposure to toxins; providing support for the body’s alignment; and offering tons of love (including you as your pet’s purpose) to ultimately strengthen the resilience of our pets’s bodies, so they are able to heal and live a long healthy life.
A major symptom we often notice in our older pets, especially in the colder months, is arthritis, or inflammation within the joints. We think of it as reduced activity - our older dogs and cats have difficulty getting up, especially first thing in the morning. Dogs don't play like they did as youngsters, they walk a little more slowly on the leash and seem more “creaky” or stiff. Older kitties won't jump up onto furniture or play with house mates like they used to.
In a healthy body, building blocks through natural diets (meat, organ meat and especially bones) are provided for joint repair. Joints last a lifetime quite remarkably with little pain if we can provide as much of an anti-inflammatory (raw) diet as possible, if not fully. As our pet’s age, there is an increased breakdown of the body’s tissues and a reduced ability to heal - food, correct exercise, addressing symptoms early and lots of love can help slow this process dramatically.
This often occurs due to the accumulation of toxins and deficiencies of necessary building blocks for tissue repair (vitamins and minerals) over time; joints wear down naturally when used for work or play in every day life. This accelerates with injury. The body will lay down bone to “repair” or try to stabilize an area that is unstable - for a variety of reasons, not just injury (like dietary deficiency or body shape for instance). This repair leads to bony changes in the joints that cause pain and stiffness - the symptoms of arthritis we see in our older pets.
This is why we recommend manual therapy and supplements, mineral testing and other diagnostics if appropriate (radiographs, blood work) to alleviate “arthritis” from many angles.
There is no shortage of supplements marketed toward improving mobility and reducing joint pain in our older pets - this common symptom of “aging” is targeted by companies for profit, many of which are less than beneficial. Supplements may contain minerals in forms that are poorly absorbed by our pets, as well as other inflammatory ingredients that do more harm than good. Please read the ingredients, and ask if you don’t know.
For example, glucosamine HCl is not as available as glucosamine Sulfate - always choose the latter. Chondroitin is rarely bioavailable, it is a very large molecule.
Did you know that homemade bone broth from healthy meat animals contains all of these building blocks for healthy joints? We recommend it to reduce inflammation.
The important missing piece in this approach to joint pain and arthritis in our aging pets is the interplay of nutrients in the body - supplementing just calcium will not reduce the breakdown of joints or improve the body’s ability to heal. For example, magnesium must be balanced with calcium within the cells to prevent calcium deposits from building up in the tissue, and vitamin D3 (or all the isomers from a whole food supplement like cod liver oil) is necessary for calcium absorption in the first place.
A balanced, anti-inflammatory fresh food diet (raw or lightly cooked), provides an abundance of nutrients in bio-available forms, providing our pets with the correct balance of vitamins and minerals they need to prevent breakdown and heal tissues.
Pets that transition from processed food diets to raw or lightly cooked whole food diets often show 50 to 70% increased mobility! Pet parents comment how much younger they seem, more playful, and even doing zoomies again! Annie, a diabetic patient was a particular testimony to this fact. Initially, she had difficulty getting up, and was hardly mobile. Even since losing her sight to diabetic cataracts, she was able to run for extended periods of time on a long line after transitioning her diet!
Adding any amount of fresh food - balanced, nutrient dense lightly cooked or raw food can be used as treats or toppers, and make a big difference in preventing breakdown of our pets’ bodies as they age, improving their quality of life.
Don’t forget to top with warm, homemade or well-sourced bone broth simmered for a long time and made from pastured animal’s bones. Simmer along with fresh, organic veggies like celery, carrots and parsley for added minerals.
Treats such as smaller raw bones to chew and eat, or larger ones just for chewing provide minerals, including calcium (and magnesium and many others!), that the body needs for tissue repair.
Other foods and supplements that can be added as toppers, or to the broth - to help improve joint function and health include turmeric (with black pepper – we have the recipe below), green lipped mussels, and digestive enzymes. Our seniors often don’t digest their food as well, so we especially suggest adding sauerkraut to their food, pork jiggles (with added kraut juice), or a basic digestive enzyme like Inflaquell by Researched Nutritionals or Healthy Gut by Adored Beast. Also consider Green Mins from Dr. Peter Dobias, or Super Essentials for intermittent superfoods that provide whole food mineral support.
Lastly, for pain relief before and after a long walk or romp in the snow, we recommend adding Boswellia – also known as Frankincense, and yes, glucosamine sulfate with MSM. For cats, hyaluronic acid supplements (Trixsyn) can improve joint function and reduce pain, as well as New Zealand deer velvet supplements, or Ripcord by VenJenz.
For the body - warm compresses followed by cold packing and massage also help improve affected joints by increasing circulation and allowing the body to remove inflammation. We have a scalar wave laser to rent by the week - for immediate or even chronic joint pain to improve mobility especially around manual therapy appointments.
Manual therapy should also be part of your senior pet’s care in their later years. Ideally, manual therapy would be consistent throughout their life, several sessions per year, to keep joints and bones aligned along with nerves, vessels and organs. That way compensation from minor traumas throughout the years don’t create major problems during old age. Manual therapy includes chiropractic, cranial-sacral, osteopathic and manual energy therapy. There are several practitioners in our area that we recommend - the results are always worth the investment.
We look forward to continuing to provide your fuzzy friends with great care this coming new year as part of your team.
We wish you all a warm and safe Happy Holiday Season – we are so grateful for each and every one of you, we have been amazingly blessed over this last year.
May you receive the abundance of Life in learning, growing and healing through 2025. Peace to you All and thank you!
Resources:
Golden Paste Recipe (Turmeric & Black Pepper) https://www.balancevc.com/articles/joint-pain-relief-recipe
Supplements (Request through clinic) -
Osteo TruBenefits by VRS- Green-lipped mussel extract with Bioactive Glycoprolex;
This helps activate MMP’s (material between cells), which help reduce the progression of arthritis, along with wound healing and tissue repair.
Boswellia Complex (Standard Process) - to reduce pain and inflammation
MSM (Biotics Research) - to reduce pain and inflammation, support healthy joints
Glucosamine Sulfate (Buck Mountain Botanicals) - well sourced, high quality, bio-available.
InflaQuell (Researched Nutritionals) - To reduce inflammation and improve digestion and absorption of minerals (digestive enzymes)
Healthy Gut (Adored Beast) - To reduce inflammation and improve digestion and absorption of minerals (digestive enzymes)
Can request from clinic or order online - https://adoredbeast.com/products/healthy-gut?srsltid=AfmBOor1OkSbag7n5bECPNn7ehRVrSYknSpA8ZiVYjpkif0FzHm_-Ru0
For intermittent mineral superfoods -
Green Mins - https://peterdobias.com/products/greenmin-for-dogs?srsltid=AfmBOop-UOmNoJ-zNfxhLcFYOgZ13d_qE2PBbKYbjyzegjYBxsJe7upt
Super Essentials (greens) - SuperEssentials™ Store - SuperEssentials for Pets
For cats (order online) -
HA - Hyaluronic Acid - Especially useful for joint pain and osteoarthritis in cats.
Hya-Flex - https://hyalogic.com/product/hyaflex-for-cats/
Or -
Trixsyn - https://biozymeproducts.com/products/vitalize%C2%AE-trixsyn%C2%AE-feline
New Zealand Deer Velvet Feline -
https://nzdeervelvetproducts.co.nz/vet-feline/
Venjenz RIPCORD (Anti-inflammatory and Joint Support) - https://venjenz.com/products/ripcord-for-pets?_pos=3&_sid=c13374a75&_ss=r&variant=44275368034522
Local Manual Therapy/Acupuncture Practitioners (referral required):
Erik Verdouw - To give musculoskeletal support and improve alignment which improves function, reduces restrictions, and avoids or decreases pain and discomfort.
Call to schedule an appointment (541) 431-3850.
Marci Cody - 541-484-7000 (long-distance energy work), and Physical Therapy
https://codyclarityconsults.com/
www.inbalancetherapies.com
Dr. Emily Mangan - Pleasant Hill, does acupuncture and TCM. Mobile. https://www.wisewoodvet.com/
Dr. Arnold Wittstein, DVM acupuncturist in Corvallis 1322 Main St, Philomath, OR 97370 Phone: (541) 250-1302
Christopher Hayes - Energy work
(541) 505-2957
Patricia M. Kortekaas
South Hills PT Clinic | South Hills PT Clinic
(541) 686-0101