Senior Border Terrier joint health in a city flat

Joint health in older dogs is about more than just supplements — what works for a 10-year-old Labrador is quite different from what works for a 12-year-old Dachshund, and combining the right supplement with a good bed and a sensible routine usually does more than any single product on its own. What breed and age is your dog, what are they currently taking if anything, and what's the main thing you're noticing at the moment?

That morning stiffness after rest is really the classic early sign — joints stiffen up when they're not moving, and pavement walking on hard surfaces doesn't help. Before I suggest anything, a couple of quick questions: does she sleep on a raised bed or directly on the floor, and is the stiffness mostly in her back legs, front, or all over?

That detail — perking up once she's moving — tells me her joints are functional, this is early-stage stiffness rather than significant degeneration, which is actually good news. Sleeping on hard flooring is making things worse though; that's something worth fixing in parallel with a supplement. For a 9-year-old Border Terrier at this stage, I'd go with YuMOVE Joint Care for Adult Dogs. It's a well-evidenced supplement built around ActivEase green-lipped mussel, which delivers omega-3s directly targeted at joint tissue alongside glucosamine and hyaluronic acid. The Active formula is right for her because she's not severely arthritic — she just needs support. It comes in a tablet dogs usually eat willingly, and most owners see a difference in four to six weeks. I'd pair it with getting her off the hard floor — even an inexpensive memory foam dog mat makes a real difference to how stiff she is when she wakes up.

Good question. YuMOVE do an Advance Senior version, but that's really designed for dogs who already have notable mobility issues or are getting on in years — 11, 12 and above. At 9, with stiffness that clears once she's moving, the standard Adult formula is the right match. It still has everything she needs to slow progression without being heavier than necessary. If she's meaningfully stiffer by next winter, that's when I'd step her up to the Senior version.

You're doing the right thing catching it early — this kind of stiffness responds really well when you get on top of it before it becomes a bigger issue. Give it six weeks on the YuMOVE and you should notice her getting up more easily in the mornings. If you're not seeing improvement by then, it's worth a vet check to rule out anything structural in the hips.