How to Diagnose Arthritis in Rottweilers
To find out if your rottweiler may have arthritis, look for limping, which can signal pain and inflammation in your dog's joints. Your dog may also avoid activities it normally enjoys, since they can cause pain and discomfort. Another sign to look out for is whimpering or whining when the dog walks, or nipping and aggression when you try to touch the affected limb. Stiffness is another common symptom, so watch for your dog stretching frequently or moving stiffly. You should also make note of changes in mood, such as increased irritability or aggression. If you see any of these symptoms, take your dog to the vet for an evaluation.
Take notice of any limping. Most signs of arthritis are related to mobility. Often one particular joint is affected more than the others, and this can lead to your dog limping or standing with less weight on the sore leg than his other legs. However, in the early stages, your dog can often run freely and forget about the discomfort when he sees something to chase after. Therefore, it can appear that the lameness comes and goes and is worse before a walk than during the walk. A dog with arthritis has a tendency to be worse the day after vigorous exercise. He may chase happily after a ball one day, but the next day when the joint is still inflamed, he will often limp more than before. Watch for avoidance of activities. Arthritis can cause your dog to avoid activities she once enjoyed. Your dog may be reluctant to go for her favorite walk or refuse to jump into your vehicle or on furniture. Look for signs of pain. Arthritis causes pain for your dog. Look for whining when he walks. Your dog may also nip at you or seem upset when you touch the affected area. Watch for stiffness. If your dog has an early stage of arthritis, she will often be stiff when she has been resting for a while, such as first thing in the morning or after sleeping. She may spend time stretching and padding around in a stilted way before her joints and muscles warm up and she can move more freely. Watch for mood changes. Pain and discomfort can also affect your dog's mood. Pain can make an animal withdrawn or depressed and change his habits. Pain can also make your dog short-tempered and prone to snapping or aggressive behavior, so a change in his behavior should trigger you to look for an underlying problem, like arthritis. Take your Rottweiler to the vet. If your dog shows signs of arthritis, take her to the vet. The vet will watch how the dog stands up from lying down, copes with stairs, and walks to get an idea of how mobile she is and which leg or legs are affected. The vet will also feel the joints for heat and swelling, and then bend and extend each joint to see if it moves freely or movement is restricted. X-ray the joints. X-rays are common diagnostic tools for arthritis. However, in the early stages of osteoarthritis, which is before the joint swells and the bone is remodeled, it is possible to miss arthritis purely because the change hasn't happened yet. X-rays can also help the vet troubleshoot for other causes of lameness, such as sprains, infection, fractures, rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer. Get your dog other types of scans. Depending on the clinic, your vet may suggest giving your dog a CT scan or an MRI. These methods are very expensive, however, and not available everywhere. Get a sample of the joint fluid. If a joint is swollen, the vet may decide to tap the joint with a needle and syringe to draw off a small sample of joint fluid for analysis. This can help eliminate joint infections, and confirm the swelling is down to inflammation. Understand the genetic tendency. Arthritis is common in Rottweilers because of their genetic tendency to hip dysplasia, which causes poorly formed hips in young animals. The poor shape of the hip joint means the wear and tear is greater, leading to inflammation and arthritis. In addition, osteochondrosis dissecans (OCD) can lead to damaged joint surfaces in a young, growing dog, leading to premature arthritis. Buy your Rottweiler from a reputable breeder. You can help decrease the chances of getting a dog with arthritis by buying a dog from a breeder who screens his breeding stock for hip dysplasia and can provide certification to prove the dogs have good hips. Limit physical exertion when she's young. Another way to help prevent arthritis is to not overexert the puppy or make the puppy take part in exercise, such as agility, until she is old enough. This places stress on the joints. Avoid these activities until she is 18 months old, because hip dysplasia will have presented by this age. This doesn't mean you can't play with her or she shouldn't exercise. Just take it easy on her joints. Avoid letting your Rottweiler get overweight. Carrying extra weight places added strain on the joints and should be avoided. Thus it is best to keep the Rottweiler in slim body condition for a long and active life. Know where arthritis usually occurs. Arthritis can affect any joint in the body. However, most often the shoulders, hips, elbows, knees, and ankles are affected. 
Take notice of any limping. Watch for avoidance of activities. Look for signs of pain. Watch for stiffness. Watch for mood changes. Take your Rottweiler to the vet. X-ray the joints. Get your dog other types of scans. Get a sample of the joint fluid. Understand the genetic tendency. Buy your Rottweiler from a reputable breeder. Limit physical exertion when she's young. Avoid letting your Rottweiler get overweight. Know where arthritis usually occurs. 