Arthritis
Natural Remedies

  1. Home
  2. Pets
  3. Arthritis

12 Effective Natural Arthritis Remedies for Dogs

The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Sort by Default New Loved
Eggshells
Posted by Ron (USA) on 12/12/2022 29 posts
 ★★★★★

A general cure-all for joint issues & bone weakness / aiding broken ligaments & bones to heal in all animals (incl. humans). Eggshells can be used to treat the following:

  • Joint repair after accidents.
  • Muscle soreness, aches, charlie-horses
  • Hip displaysia
  • Arthritis
  • Damaged discs and joints
  • Skin irritation & itching (yes calcium deficiency can cause this)
  • Patchy hair

Eggshells - Brown ones. Why? Eggshells contain chondroitin, glucosamine, collagen, & world's most highly bioavailable calcium. Did you know the body (humans too) lose about 1-2% COLLAGEN PER YEAR IF NOT MAINTAINED THROUGH DIET? There goes your skin & hair & joint cushions! Take eggshells instead. Only thing missing in eggshells is MSM, and eggs themselves contain natural sulfur agents, so literally you have everything you need for joints in a whole egg. Shells also contain over a dozen trace minerals like boron. Stop buying expensive joint supplements. Guess what? Most of them; they're made from leftover eggshells & egg products!

NOTE: Calcium / eggshells powder MUST be dosed with vitamin C, and magnesium, and optionally a few other things - see DOSE METHOD below.

Preperation

  • Save & Rinse used eggshells as you cook your breakfasts daily.
  • Use warm water, and air dry them on a dish towel.
  • Be sure not to discard the inner shell skins
  • I have never gotten sick this way. I and my pets take them daily.
  • Bake in over @ 250 for 20 minutes if paranoid about bacteria.
  • Grind them in an electric coffee/ spice grinder for 60 seconds.

Alternatively; you can soak the shells in apple cider vinegar for a few weeks until they're completely dissolved and dose the eggshell-vinegar decoction. I don't do this. Do your own research on that method.

Dose Amount

On average: 1 tsp of powdered eggshells contains 900mg calcium

  • Check how much calcium is already in your dog's food
  • Calculate your dog's daily recommended allowance of calcium
  • According to the NRC, healthy adult dogs generally require 50 mg of calcium per kilogram of body weight. In pounds; it's ~ 22.5 mg per 1 lb of body weight. For example, a 5 kg dog (about 11 lbs.) needs 250 mg of calcium per day, a 25 kg (about 55 lbs.) dog needs 1250 mg per day, and a 50 kg (about 110 lbs.) dog needs 2500 mg per day.
  • I generally disagree with that much calcium. Too much can cause calcium deposits, and displaysia of the hips.
  • As dogs age, they need less calcium or you cause arthritis, adjust down 25-50%
  • Considering all the above, you should get a rough idea of how much eggshells to add to your dog's food. Watch over the coming weeks, and adjust.
  • A good rule of thumb is you want to see the dog's front ankle & shin areas where paws bend to meet the legs be closer to stiff & straight, while standing up on all fours. You don't want there to be too much of a bend or bow here, between the ankle and the paw. If the dog is a healthy weight and you see a pronounced bend, they are calcium deficient. See youtube videos or search images for reference.

DOSE METHOD

  • Eggshells are great, but they need extra things to help the body absorb, or else the dog's joints will just get calcified and stiff, and you can actually CAUSE HIP DISPLAYSIA & ARTHRITIS this way, by having too much calcium and too little calcium absorbing nutrients in the diet.
  • Dump eggshells in feedings, preferably spread over the dog's meals evenly throughout the day.
  • Add Magnesium. A good rule of thumb is a 2:1 calcium-to-magnesium ratio. (Need 500mg magnesium crystal-powder for around 1000mg calcium. Note; 1/8 tsp or 500 mg powdered magnesium chloride generally contains about 50-60 mg of actual magnesium. If you gave 500mg of actual magnesium, that would be too much and cause profuse diarrhea)
  • Magnesium Oxide will be very similar dosing
  • Add Vitamin C (Sodium Ascorbate form ONLY)-A good rule of thumb is a 2:1 calcium-to-Vitamin C ratio - About 500 mg, or 1/4 tsp Vit C per 1000 mg Calcium
  • Vitamin C given regularly during the first 2 years of life are critical in preventing hip displaysia later on in life. But it's never too late.

EXTRAS - highly recommend the boron - these will help bone growth & marrow health & disc gel to recuperate

  • Hyalauronic Acid (dissolve 1/4 tsp + 1/4tsp sea salt in a 16 oz bottle of water & refrigerate; will take an hour to dissolve the gelatin) - take a big capful per day in the dog's food
  • Boron (dissolve 1 tsp in 16 oz bottle water or pint mason jar) - take 1 tsp of the water per day
  • Organic Sea Kelp Granules - They contain calcium, magnesium, iodine & many other micronutrients that help quite a bit with arthritis and hip displaysia. 1 tsp per day for big dogs.

I have a 70 lb (32kg) adult dog. So she needs approx 1500mg calcium daily.I give her approx 1000mg instead.

She gets 1/4 tsp eggshells 2x a day in her food, which is homemade so it has no calcium to begin with. So she gets about 450mg per day, but she gets 400 mg more calcium from 1/2 tsp Boswellia powder I give her, an Ayurvedic tree resin from the Frankincense tree.

So she gets approx. 60% her daily RDA of calcium and all the chondroitin, collagen, glucosamine her joints need.

Added in she gets 1/8 tsp or 250mg vitamin c powder per feed.

She also gets 4-5 drops magnesium oil I prepare myself.

  • It's just 50/50 water & magnesium chloride crystals. In 4-5 drops we have around 100mg magnesium powder, and around 10-12 mg of magnesium. I'm aware I should give more according to the above, but I had to adjust down because this particular magnesium is HIGHLY potent and will cause very loose stool if I go above this amount. Besides; the vitamin C helps absorb the leftover calcium that the lack of magnesium couldn't.

Do not skip vitamin C. If you skip vitamin C, the calcium will hinder Iron absorbtion and your pet will become anemic especially if no red meat is in the diet.

Do not give citric acid / citrate form of vitamin C. You will likely cause great GI discomfort to the dog, which will result in vomiting, pancreatitis and diarrhea.

Recommend also; to buy braces for any injuries your dog incurs. They make IVDD / disc pain full body braces, they make knee braces, hip braces, and hock(dog's ankle) braces. Could save a simple sprain or minor break from becoming a surgery.

Knee Brace
Posted by Lily (Colorado, Usa) on 06/02/2016
 ★★★★★

For arthritis, this is a remedy that isn't something you can "administer" your dog but in my case it has done an incredible job of keeping my pup relatively pain free and active despite her arthritic knees. I use a dog knee brace, by Ortocanis, one for each of her knees that's affected. This brace in particular is flexible enough so that I can keep it on her for extended periods of time, and allows for full range of motion. She never wears it to sleep and I take it off when we're lounging around at home. But on the days where I can tell she's in more pain, or her limp is back, the brace almost always reduces inflammation and creates a noticeable improvement in her mobility.

Chicken Cartilage
Posted by Tazzle (Anhedonia, Southwest Usa) on 02/08/2012
 ★★★★★

My story is about what cartilage did for my little arthritic dog. I hope it is useful.

Last Thanksgiving I removed cartilage and skin leftover from boiling our turkey carcass, and blended it up with some hot water in my Vitamix. It made a kind of meat Jello that I have been adding to my old terrier's grain-free food. She has become like a different dog!

Before I could only walk her about a mile or two because she would get sore and become very slow. But now she can easily walk twice that distance with plenty enough energy left to jump in the car all by herself afterwards. I always used to have to lift her in and out of the car, she couldn't do it on her own.

I just now made the dog another batch of blended up cartilage, this time from a goose. I also hear Vitamin C helps you assimilate collagen into your tissues, I might try giving her some of that, too.

Hyaluronic Acid
Posted by Dr. John (Royal Oak, Michigan, Usa) on 10/19/2011
 ★★★★★

Another holistic remedy I have found quite valuable in treating arthritis includes hylauronic acid which aids in supporting joint lubricaton. Acupuncture, chiropractic, and pulsed magnetic therapy are other effective alternative approachs to helping pets over come lameness. MSM, Celtic Sea Salt, and Vitamin E can be added to your pets food to reduce inflammation and free radicals both of which cause pain and lameness.

Dr. John Simon, Woodside Animal Clinic

T-Touch
Posted by Bonnie (Colts Neck, NJ) on 12/28/2008
 ★★★★★

Shakey dog legs: My 11 year old Jack Russell terrier is in good health walking at least a mile a day and running in a big yard. Over the past year he has developed a shakiness in his rear legs-like a nervous tremor. He is not in pain but I was hoping someone might have a supplement to suggest-He gets a dab of coconut oil daily and I have started ACV drops on his back and water. I was feeding antioxidant vitamins too. Any suggestions would be most helpful. Thanks!

EC: Our dog Max has had this issue for the past few years -- he's turning 15 in March! T-Touch (aka Tellington TTouch) has been very effective at stopping the tremors for a day or two.

Exercise, Turmeric, Glucosamine, MSM
Posted by Scherri (Parker, Co, USA) on 08/14/2009
 ★★★★★

My 5-year-old Welsh Corgi has had a limp due to a hip problem. He loves to play fetch and would play until he was tired, but then he would limp much worse with exercise. I started him on Turmeric and Flax Seed Oil and he immediately started to put weight on his leg and walk normally. I have tried Glucosamine and pain pills (from the vet) and this has been the best (and fastest acting) "cure" for my little guy. Now I see him "smiling" more when he is out playing because he is not limping around afterward. Thanks to Earth Clinic.

Traumeel and Zeel
Posted by Katharine (Charleston, SC) on 08/07/2008
 ★★★★★

Traumeel and Zeel absolutely have been amazing for my animals! It was recommended by a holistic vet that I try the Traumeel and it has worked wonders on my rescue lab with torn ACLs (while waiting for surgery). I stopped for a bit and she began limping again. I definitely attribute her amazing progress to Traumeel. I own a small, natural pet store and was able to get both Traumeel and Zeel. Each product has produced great results in many customers' animals. Traumeel is for injuries or rheumatoid arthritis and Zeel is for osteoarthritis.

Hyaluronic Acid
Posted by Pegiot (Leavenworth, KS) on 12/01/2007
 ★★★★★

Our 11 year old dog was really slow getting up, and stopped running. A friend made some dog biscuits, adding a drop of hyaluronic acid to each biscuit. After 3 days our dog was running around like a puppy again.

Glucosamine
Posted by Leslie (Peterborough, England) on 05/12/2007
 ★★★★★

My 11 year old Golden Retriever dog and I have been taking Glucosamin with or without Chondritin for several years now and the difference has been great, particularly in the dog. She has serious problems with her rerg joints, but she is much more mobile whilst taking the tablets with her morning food. ACV has been reccomended by a friend at work, so I am about to start with the ACV (for me, not the dog) so I am hoping that what I have read on your site will work for me also. Very informative site. Thanks

DMSO
Posted by lynette (Falls Church Va) on 11/21/2025

Do you have to clean his skin first with alcohol? Or do you just apply it?

Ester C
Posted by Theresa (Mpls., Mn) on 01/26/2014

Thanks for this tip! I will be passing it on to a friend who has a dobie who is starting to feel his age - I am sure this will help!

:)

Neem, Graviola, Chapparal, Andrographis
Posted by Jackie (Melbourne FL) on 06/26/2024

I see the ratio you used for the herbs but how much..is it a teaspoon or less and how much water..is the mixture applied to the skin or do they drink it internally..ty very much

Yucca Extract
Posted by Kris (CT) on 07/16/2021

Looked at Kroeger Herbs and found no product called Rumafix with yucca as an ingredient. Can find no yucca related products on Kroeger sites. Are you sure you have the name correct? Only one thing called Rumafix on the internet which was a 'vibronics' product which seemed to be more hope than reality.

EC: That post is quite old. It looks like the company stopped selling it: https://www.kroegerherb.com/

Sea Mussels
Posted by Josie (Atlanta, Ga, Usa) on 03/22/2010
 ★★★★★

I give my severely arthritic pit bull New Zealand Green-lipped Sea Mussels (Perna canaliculus) and it works brilliantly. She weighs about 55 lbs and is on the lean side...if your arthritic dog is even slightly overweight the kindest thing you can do is get the weight off. I give 1000 mg two times daily on her food. She likes the taste. You'll find the capsules at your health food or supplement store. She's been on them for over six years without interruption until I ran out of them for two days last week. The difference was astounding, we won't run out again. Feedback I've had from other folks is that they either work spectacularly or not at all, but for my part I'm thrilled we tried them. Thanks!

Traumeel and Zeel
Posted by Gabbie (Austin, TX) on 01/04/2009

My 11 yr old lab/chow mix has arthritis in his back. Thanks to your helpful posts we're starting a treatment of 10 drops traumeel in 1 oz of Goji juice. He loves Goji juice and it's high in vitamin C and gives us the perfect delivery system for the traumeel. Will research a couple of other items listed and post again if they help.

Sea Salt Water Cure
Posted by Sam (Australia ) on 03/14/2021 18 posts
 ★☆☆☆☆

Hi,

I tried this with my dog last 2 days and no sign of improving unfortunately.


Previous Page 1 2 3 4

Please note that we use cookies necessary for the functioning of our website, cookies that optimize the performance. To learn more about our cookies, how we use them and their benefits, please read our Privacy Policy