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After struggling with painful osteoarthritis (OA) for many years, Airedale Terrier Lady is feeling much better, after her owner discovered an innovative, all-natural solution to ease her suffering.

A very high number of dogs suffer from osteoarthritis (OA), which is a chronic progressive and painful disease with a prevalence up to 80% in older dogs ⁽¹⁾. One of them is Lady, a ten-year-old famous breeding Airedale Terrier.

OA is usually diagnosed by veterinarians when it reaches a more advanced stage with increasingly obvious clinical signs such as stiffness, lameness and unwillingness to exercise, jump or climb ⁽²⁾. The disease is characterized by loss of articular cartilage within the synovial joints, subchondral sclerosis, synovitis and thickening of the capsule ⁽³⁾.

Non-surgical management options in canine OA are limited mostly to pain management, which can ease the symptoms but not treat the cause. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are frequently used for their anti-inflammatory and analgesic actions, despite the incidence of adverse events including gastro-intestinal and renal problems, lethargy and even death ⁽⁴⁾.

Lady was treated with NSAIDs for several years but her owner was concerned about their long-term safety and possible side-effects. Therefore, he decided to seek alternative treatment options, and discovered PETAGILE^® - a safe, innovative, natural ingredient designed to stimulate the joint cartilage metabolism, which naturally degenerates with age.

Safe, natural and effective

The specially optimised Bioactive Collagen Peptides (BCP^®) of PETAGILE^® promote joint cartilage growth and thereby counteract wear on joints caused by ageing. This specific collagen peptide for pets is a natural and effective solution to OA, and also declared safe by the European Food Safety Authority (5). Besides it’s proven functional health benefits, it is also perfect for protein enrichment in pet food applications such as treats or complete foods (wet and dry) and provides excellent solubility without interacting with other ingredients.

Lady consumed PETAGILE^® - which has a neutral taste and odour - with her regular food on a daily basis for three months. Yet after just six weeks, not only could her NSAID medication be reduced, but she also became more active and willing to run. After three months, Lady was pain-free and the use of NSAIDs was deemed no longer necessary. These incredible results were also confirmed by gait analysis on a certified treadmill at the veterinary university in Germany.

Dr. Jutta Hugenberg, Senior Life Science Manager at GELITA, reveals: “Since starting daily supplementation with specific collagen peptides, we have seen a significant improvement in Lady’s joint health, mobility and quality of life. Her owner is very happy and satisfied with PETAGILE^® as safe nutraceutical and high-quality ingredient in her daily food.“

Keen to find out more? Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team of experts today.

References

⁽¹⁾ Johnson, K.A., Lee, A.H. and Swanson, K.S. (2020) Nutrition and nutraceuticals in the changing management of osteoarthritis for dogs and cats. JAVMA, VOL 256, NO. 12, 1335-1341

⁽²⁾ Pettitt, R.A. and German, A.J. (2015) Investigation and management of canine osteoarthritis. In Practice, 37,1-8. https://doi.org/10.1136/inp.h5763

⁽³⁾ Martinek, V. (2003) Anatomie und Physiologie des hyalinen Knorpels. Deutsche Zeitschrift für Sportmedizin 54(6), 166-170.

⁽⁴⁾ Belshaw, Z., Asher, L. and Dean, R.S. (2016) The Attitudes of Owners and Veterinary Professionals in the United Kingdom to the Risk of Adverse Events Associated with Using Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) to Treat Dogs with Osteoarthritis. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 131,121-126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2016.07.017

⁽⁵⁾ EFSA (2005). Opinion on safety of collagen and a processing method for the production of collagen. EFSA Journal, 174, 1–9.