Australian vets say they are having great success treating arthritic dogs with stem cells and researchers developing arthritis treatments for humans are taking a keen interest in the technique.

The trouble is that some dog owners feel their four-legged friends are getting better treatment than they are.

Melbourne vet Ray Ferguson has had a particular interest in treating arthritic dogs for about 30 years.

At first he was sceptical of the benefits of canine stem cell treatment, but he has now treated about 40 dogs.

“For individual joints where a dog has one bad knee or one bad elbow, the treatments are very simple,” he said.

“A very, very light anaesthetic and we pop an injection of the stem cells straight into the joint and it’s all over in about five minutes.”

Dr Ferguson says the…