Just as humans suffer from problems with their joints, dog's can to. The most common and severe of joint conditions that dogs suffer from is arthritis, and it is estimated that at any one time 12 million dogs will be suffering from the condition in the U.S.

Arthritis in canines joints is caused by the breakdown of the cartilage in the joint of your dog, so if you look in the picture below it illustrates the difference between a normal healthy joint and a joint with arthritis.

As you can see by the picture on the right, the cartilage in the joint has worn down and parts of the ends of the bones have been exposed as well. This is turn has caused the fluid around the joint to become inflamed which is caused by an immune system response.

So what a good canine joint supplement should be doing is a number of things which include, helping to stop the breakdown of cartilage, helping to regenerate the cartilage as well as helping to moderate the immune system to reduce the inflammation. So there are 3 naturally occuring substances that are found in healthy joints that each have these functions.

Glucosamine - Glucosamine is one of the major building blocks in the formulation of cartilage in the joints. So a lack of glucosamine, can slow down regeneration of enough cartilage, and lead to a thinning of the essential part of the joint.

Chondroitin - Chondroitin can be thought of as the scaffolding within the cartilage. It provides a rigid structure and stops the cartilage from being compressed. So if there is a lack of this substance the cartilage gets compressed very easily and wears down a lot quicker.

Cetyl Myristoleate - Cetyl Myristoleate was only discovered in the 1960's by a chemist working for the National Institute of Health. It was isolated after the chemist was studying the immunity of mice to arthritis. So its functions are it is a natural pain reliever, immune system modulator, and it stops inflammation.

So with each of their individual functions, any canine joint supplement you give your dog should include the substances above. I have included a video below of a vet talking about a supplement that he gives his clients dogs that contains all the substances above.

If you still want more information on the different canine joint pain relief method's and supplements that are available on the market then I suggest visiting Oliver Gillies website. The website http://Dog-Pain-Relief.org is dedicated to providing dog owners with the resources to find the best and cheapest pain relief methods and supplements available for their dogs. Just click the link below.