Getting up, taking a walk, finding a sunny spot. Help your pet keep doing the things they enjoy.
Maybe your dog takes longer to get up in the morning or stops halfway through a walk they used to love. Your cat still gets onto the couch, but hasn’t jumped onto the windowsill in months.
These are changes we want to hear about.
At Tamberly Animal Hospital, mobility care includes a hands-on examination, assessment of muscle strength, and stance analysis to measure how your pet distributes their weight. We use those findings, along with what you’re seeing at home, to choose treatment and follow their progress.
If your pet already takes arthritis medication but everyday movement is still difficult, we can take a fresh look. There may be other sources of pain, loss of strength, or additional treatment options worth considering.
What are you noticing at home?
Some pets limp. Others gradually do less, and the changes can be easy to miss:
- Stiffness after sleeping or difficulty getting up.
- Hesitating on stairs or before jumping.
- Shorter walks, slower movement, or less interest in play.
- Favoring a leg or standing differently.
- Weakness or unsteadiness in the back legs.
- Grooming less or objecting to being touched or picked up.
Tell us what you’re seeing, even if your pet walks into the appointment looking perfectly fine. Videos are particularly helpful. A few short clips of your pet getting up in the morning, using the stairs, going outside, and walking around the house can show us things we wouldn’t otherwise see.
Finding out what’s wrong
Arthritis may be part of the problem, but injuries, spinal disease, neurologic conditions, and other illnesses can also affect movement. Some pets have more than one problem contributing to their difficulty.
We start by talking with you and examining your pet. We watch how they move, feel for sore joints, check range of motion, and look for muscle loss or differences between the legs. We may recommend a neurologic assessment, X-rays, or other testing based on what we find.
If your pet is particularly sore, we may start pain medication after the initial exam and have them return several days later. Once they’re more comfortable, we can often get more information from a detailed examination.
We also use a stance analyzer, a platform that measures how much weight your pet puts on each leg while standing. It helps us identify uneven weight distribution and track changes during treatment. Those measurements add to what we learn from the exam and your observations at home.
Weak Back Legs or Trouble Walking
If your dog’s back legs give way, their feet slip out from under them, or they fall when turning, tell us what you’re seeing. These changes deserve a closer look, even if your dog still wants to walk and play.
Weakness can have several causes. Painful joints, loss of muscle, and spinal or neurologic problems may contribute, sometimes together. We examine how your dog moves and check their joints, spine, muscle condition, and neurologic function as needed to help sort out what’s happening.
What helps depends on the cause. Some dogs need better pain control, others need carefully chosen strengthening exercises or rehabilitation, and some need further testing or referral. We can also discuss traction, harnesses, and support at home so you can help your dog get around while we address the underlying problem.
If weakness starts suddenly, worsens quickly, or your dog cannot stand or walk, call right away rather than waiting for a routine appointment.
Hip dysplasia in dogs
Whether your dog was recently diagnosed with hip dysplasia or has been living with it for years, we can help assess how it’s affecting them now.
We consider their age, pain, muscle strength, other health problems, and difficulties at home. We’ll discuss medication, rehabilitation, and other treatment options, including whether a surgical consultation would be useful.
Why early care matters
Whenever possible, we want to start care when changes first appear. Treatment can still make a substantial difference for pets with advanced arthritis, but we would rather help before everyday movement becomes difficult. A slower rise from bed or a new hesitation on stairs is enough reason to take a closer look.
Our goals are to treat any pain your pet has now and preserve their mobility over time. That means paying attention to inflammation, weight, muscle strength, and the condition of their joints, even when the changes are mild.
When movement hurts, pets often do less. Over time, they lose muscle, and everyday activities become harder still. Starting care early gives us a chance to address that cycle before your pet has lost much strength.
Arthritis cannot be reversed, but we can work to limit its effects and slow progression where possible. The recommendations may be fairly simple at first, with regular checks to see whether anything needs to change.
Pain Relief & Mobility Treatment Options
We want to know which activities have become harder for your pet. Getting out of bed? Going outside? Reaching the litter box? Keeping up on a walk? Sometimes we’re seeing only subtle changes, before those activities have become a struggle.
Treatment depends on what we find and what your pet needs. We may recommend some of these things or a combination of them:
- Joint-support supplements, such as omega-3 fatty acids and selected nutraceuticals, chosen for their ingredients, quality, and evidence of benefit
- Medication to control pain and inflammation, chosen with your pet’s other medical conditions in mind.
- Laser therapy for painful joints and muscles.
- Weight management and nutritional support to reduce unnecessary strain on sore joints.
- Changes at home, such as rugs for traction, ramps, or more accessible beds and litter boxes.
- Controlled exercise and strengthening, with referral for more advanced rehabilitation when needed.
- Platelet-rich plasma or other joint injections when appropriate for the patient and the joint being treated.
We’ll talk through what we recommend, why, and what to expect.
Is treatment helping?
That’s something we keep checking.
Is your dog getting up more easily? Walking farther without becoming sore? Is your cat moving around the house more or returning to a favorite resting spot?
Your observations help us judge how treatment is working. Repeat exams and stance measurements give us additional information. If your pet is still struggling, we need to look again and decide what to change.
Pain may improve before muscle strength does. A pet who feels better may suddenly want to do more than their body is ready for, so we’ll also help you decide how to increase activity as they recover.
Arthritis is progressive, so what works well now may need adjusting later. Regular check-ins help us notice changes and decide whether your pet needs a different medication, more rehabilitation support, or another treatment.
Schedule a mobility evaluation
Whether you’re noticing the first changes or your pet is still struggling despite treatment, we’d be glad to see them and talk with you about what might help.
We’ll discuss what we find, what additional testing may be useful, and which treatments we recommend. We’ll also decide how to follow progress, so you know what to watch for at home and when your pet should return.
Bring any relevant previous records, a list of medications and supplements, and videos of the difficulties you’re seeing at home.