Don’t forget feeding stations when modifying your home!
Raising your dog’s food and water bowl off the ground can help with arthritis pain. When eating from a bowl on the floor, dogs have to shift more weight to their front limbs. Dogs with carpal, elbow, shoulder and neck arthritis may have a more difficult time reaching down to eat or dri
nk.
Dogs with pelvic limb OA already shift more weight to their front limbs. That means when they’re eating, they would further strain their front legs. This could potentially lead to your dog instinctively
compensating by using muscles in their shoulder and neck.
Raising the bowl to the level that allows a neutral spine and minimal neck flexion will shift weight back on the pelvic limbs, which is actually a good form of exercise for dogs with pelvic limb arthritis (isometric strengthening).
TIP: The ideal level of the food bowl is typically at about the dog’s shoulders. There are many commercially available elevated feeders.