The best joint supplement for a dog with a heart condition

The best joint supplement for a dog with a heart condition is one your vet has seen and agreed to, that gives your dog broad joint support in a single daily chew, and that fits within the diet and treat plan your vet has set for their heart. Heart disease does not mean a dog has to give up on mobility, but it does change how you think about exercise, weight, muscle and anything extra that goes in the bowl.

Heart conditions and stiff joints often arrive together because both become more common with age. Mitral valve disease is most often seen in smaller breeds such as the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, while dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is more typical of larger breeds, which are also prone to arthritis.

Choosing Joint Support for a Dog with a Heart Condition

A dog with heart disease may already be on several medicines and a carefully chosen diet, so it pays to keep any joint product simple, well labelled and easy for your vet to check.

We make MedPaw, so to keep things fair the table below uses each manufacturer's own published ingredient list. You can print it or show it to your vet at your dog's next heart check.

For a heart patient, one product that covers the main joint actives is far easier to manage than a shelf of separate tubs. MedPaw is the only supplement in the table with all six key joint actives in a single soft chew, so your vet has one clear label to review instead of several.

It also provides omega-3 from green-lipped mussel and flax seed, and the soft chew format is easy to give with a meal, which helps when appetite is not what it was.

See MedPaw Hip & Joint Chews Max, and take the label along to your vet before you start. It comes with a 60-day money-back guarantee.

Which Heart Conditions Affect Mobility?

The two conditions owners most often meet are myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) and DCM. Davies Veterinary Specialists lists Dobermanns, Great Danes, Boxers, Wolfhounds and Cocker Spaniels among the breeds predisposed to DCM, and CVS notes that mitral valve disease is very common in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. A heart murmur is often the first sign your vet picks up, sometimes years before your dog shows any change at home.

Vets stage MMVD using the ACVIM (American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine) system. Stage B1 and B2 dogs have a heart murmur but no signs of heart failure, with B2 meaning the heart has enlarged. Stage C means the dog has had signs of heart failure, and stage D means those signs no longer respond well to standard treatment. Your dog's stage shapes almost every decision below, so ask your vet where your dog sits if you are not sure.

Exercise and Keeping Your Dog Moving

Joints stay healthier when dogs keep moving, and the heart does not change that principle so much as change the dose. CVS advises that most dogs with early heart disease can carry on with regular exercise at their own pace with frequent breaks, and suggests splitting one long walk into several shorter walks with plenty of time to recover. Davies notes that before signs of heart failure appear, most dogs with DCM can live normally with no restrictions. Once a dog is in heart failure, exercise may need to be restricted or kept very gentle, and that is a decision for your vet.

Practical ways to protect both heart and joints:

• Little and often. Two or three short, steady walks are kinder to stiff joints and a working heart than one long outing.
• Let your dog set the pace. Stop for sniffing, and turn for home before they tire, not after.
• Avoid heat and hard bursts. Skip walks in the heat of the day, steep hills and repetitive ball chasing.
• Choose gentle activities. Lead walks on level ground and calm sniffing games suit most dogs. Our guide to low-impact exercise for stiff dogs has more ideas.

Weight, Muscle and Cardiac Cachexia

Body weight matters twice over for a dog with a heart condition. Extra weight puts more load on sore joints, and Vet Times notes that obesity in cardiac patients can contribute to problems such as circulatory congestion and fluid build-up. CVS adds that weight loss in an overweight dog can reduce pressure on the heart. Our guide to canine obesity and joint health explains how to tackle extra weight safely, but always agree a weight loss plan with your vet first when the heart is involved.

At the other end of the scale is cardiac cachexia, the loss of muscle that can come with heart failure. The ACVIM guidelines state that cachexia has substantial negative prognostic implications and is much easier to prevent than to treat. Vet Times reports that between 34% and 75% of dogs with heart disease suffer from poor appetite, and points out that excess fat can hide underlying muscle loss. That is why vets increasingly record a muscle condition score alongside weight.

Muscle is also what holds joints steady. A dog losing muscle over the back and thighs will often look stiffer and more wobbly, even if their joints have not changed. Our article on muscle atrophy in dogs shows what to look for. The ACVIM guidelines advise ensuring adequate protein and avoiding low-protein diets in dogs with heart failure, so do not cut back on protein to "go easy" on the heart unless your vet tells you to.

Omega-3 and Heart Disease

Omega-3 fatty acids are one of the few nutrients with a recognised place in canine heart care. Improve Veterinary Education notes that omega-3 supplementation is recommended in the ACVIM guidelines from stage C, and that long-chain omega-3s help reduce inflammatory mediators and oxidative stress, stabilise cardiac arrhythmias in dogs, and reduce cardiac remodelling. The guidelines themselves suggest considering omega-3, especially in dogs with a reduced appetite, and Vet Times reports that EPA and DHA supplementation has been shown to improve cachexia scores.

There are two things to keep in mind. The heart research is based on long-chain EPA and DHA, mostly from fish oil, and many cardiac diets already contain added omega-3. Green-lipped mussel supplies marine omega-3, while the omega-3 in flax seed is a plant form that dogs convert less efficiently. So the omega-3 in a joint chew is a useful extra for the joints, not a replacement for any fish oil your vet recommends for the heart. Tell your vet about every source so they can judge the total. Our guide to omega-3 for dogs' joints explains the different forms.

Sodium, Treats and Chews

Salt is the area where joint care and heart care most often collide. The ACVIM guidelines recommend mild sodium restriction from stage B2 and modest restriction in heart failure, taking into account sodium from all dietary sources. Vet Times warns that treats, cheese and processed meats tend to be high in salt, and that these are often the very foods used to hide tablets.

• Count every treat, chew, pill wrapper and supplement as part of the daily diet.
• Ask your vet for low-salt ways to give medicines, rather than cheese or ham.
• Avoid processed and salted human foods entirely.
• Keep your dog on the diet your vet recommends. Both CVS and Davies advise caution with grain-free diets in dogs at risk of heart disease.

Medicines and Supplements: Check with Your Vet

Dogs with heart disease are often on several medicines, which may include pimobendan and drugs to control fluid build-up or heart rhythm. Every dog's combination is different, so do not add any supplement without telling the vet who manages their heart. Take the full label with you.

If you get the go-ahead, MedPaw Hip & Joint Chews Max is a soft chew complementary feed with glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM, green-lipped mussel, hyaluronic acid and Boswellia serrata, plus omega-3 from green-lipped mussel and flax seed, and vitamins C and E and zinc. The feeding guide is 1 chew a day up to 4kg, 2 for 5 to 17kg, and 2 to 3 for 18kg and over, doubled for the first three weeks. Ask your vet whether to use the loading amount for a heart patient, give it with a meal, and allow 2 to 3 months for optimal results. If your dog's arthritis also needs pain relief, our guide to joint supplements alongside medication explains how they fit together.

When to See Your Vet

Your vet may ask you to count your dog's breathing while they sleep. VCA Hospitals describes 15 to 30 breaths per minute as normal for resting dogs, including those with well-controlled heart disease, and CVS advises contacting your vet if counts repeatedly go over 40 or rise steadily over several days. Your vet may give you a personal target for your dog.

• Stop exercise and call your vet if your dog tires suddenly, lags behind, pants heavily, coughs or breathes with effort on a walk
• Before starting any supplement, treat or diet change
• If sleeping breathing rate stays above the figure your vet has given you
• If your dog loses appetite, loses weight or you notice muscle wasting
• If stiffness, limping or reluctance to walk gets worse
• Urgently for fainting, collapse, blue or pale gums, or laboured breathing at rest