Best joint supplement for older dogs?

[dalpal]

[QUOTE=pAin’t_Misbehavin’;3737208]
My vet told me the latest research has shown no difference between glucosamine/chondroitin supplements and placebo at relieving or preventing joint pain. He’s of the opinion that if the dog’s in pain, you treat it with NSAIDs.

I’ve tried glucosamine/chondrotin/MSM supplements with both dogs and horses and haven’t seen a particle of difference.

For my critters who weren’t at the stage to need pharmaceutical help, gentle consistent exercise and getting rid of any excess weight benefitted them more than anything else.[/QUOTE]

I call BS on that one. It does infact work for some…and I would give adequan over NSAIDS anyday…but then again, Dermaxx cost me 3000.00 at the vet school saving my dog’s life…so, I am a bit biased on the NSAIDS.

Adequan would be my first line of defense
I use MSM here for one dog who has a bit of a limp (xrays clean)…she is much sounder on the MSM
Fish Oil is another great line of defense (Omegas)
Could also try Lubrisyn for dogs (Hylaurnic Acid)

Also, what are you feeding…if the food is full of byproducts and or sugar…could also cause issues.

[TransitionsGalore]

I’m a vet tech who also rescues Large & Giant breed dogs, and have a soft spot for the oldies, so I have a lot of experience with this.

Hands down, the best joint supplement I’ve ever used is called Flexicose. It’s a liquid supplement that was first developed for marathon runners. It’s labeled for humans, dogs, cats and horses now. Their website is www.flexicose.com

A little goes a long way. I use 1/8oz a day for my Doberman/Rottweiler cross who has arthritis in his neck and hips, and one bottle lasts 64 days for him, and he’s about 96 pounds.

[Seven-up]

Wow, popular topic! Thanks for all the suggestions. And thanks to whoever said she was pretty…we agree. We just adore her. And would you believe she just showed up one day, stuck her flag down and said this was where she was living. We think someone dumped her, as we live on a dead-end road. She already knew how to sit and shake. :sadsmile: We called AC to check report of missing dogs, placed a free ad in the newspaper. Nuthin’.

I’ll have to check what food she eats as far as the diet stuff; I don’t know offhand. We mix in a can of Alpo–about 1/3 the recommended amount for her weight–with the diet stuff because she hates it by itself. I had to laugh about the horror of carrots as treats. I can’t leave the horse carrots out where Chewy can reach them because she steals them. :lol: I’m pretty lucky that she’ll eat almost anything, especially if you refer to it as a “treat.”

I heard once from the best leg/soundness horse vet in the area that glucosamine supps are more or less worthless if there’s no vitamin C. Something about the vitamin C makes it possible for the glucosamine to be absorbed. ?? So I think I’m going for a supp that has C in it.

We have had the vet examine her hips and say that they were bothering her, but we haven’t done x-rays.

Anyway, thanks for all the good suggestions. I’m reseaching everything now. The cutest dog in the world says thank you!

[Weighaton]

We are having the same problem with our old girl. She is a 110lbs lab mix, 9 years old. She has been the best smartest dog we have ever had. I hate to see her laboring to get up and out of her bed but once she is up and moving she works out the stiffness and runs with the kids. I called the vet today about what to do for her and she is scheduled to go in for adequan injections tomorrow. I will see how it goes.

If I can bore you all with a story about how “Virginia” came to be - it is kind of bitter sweet.

When I met my husband I owned a black lab named Virgil. He was my best friend and very important to me. When the time came to put him down I left it to my husband (which I regret) because I thought he would be stronger than me. When the deed was done he told me that the song playing on the radio the whole time was “Meet Virginia” by some band I forget the name.

Several months later in the dead of winter my husband calls from the farm and says that he found a puppy out in the cold. He said that the neighbors wouldn’t take her and were going to take her to the pound. He said that she was just a hideous thing and had been hit by a car but was fine just some hair missing. Still reeling from the loss of Virgil I told him the following: “Honey, look if the dog is that ugly it is best for the neighbors just to let her be put down. She is probably going to have a horrible life with people abusing her. At least she can be humanely put to sleep.” And that was that.

My husband got home late that night and asked me to come out to the truck. As we walked out I immediately said, “You better not have that ugly dog in the truck!!”. He reached in the front seat and turned and put the most adorable fat, gooey, warm, sweet black lab puppy in my arms. She nuzzled her head in my neck and I burst out crying. My husband said, “So you think we should just put her to sleep or do you think we could find her a home?”. Through my tears and sobs I said, “Yes, meet Virginia.”

And so Virginia became our first “baby”.

Ok why am I crying? My children are looking at me funny.

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2580753140082183223WmNeXj

[jetsmom]

Glucosamine/Chondroitin/MSM supp.
Also Flax oil capsules (per my vet) who says it can boost immune sys, and provide help for arthritis.

Previcox (an NSAID) if it gets worse. Safer than Rimadyl.

[MunchkinsMom]

I use Conquer Canine Mature years for my 10 year old dog, and I feel that it works. If she starts to get worse, I will go to the vet for Adequan injections, which did wonders for my other dogs.

I have also used Rimadyl with some success on some dogs (but not all), and Metacam also worked well for the dog that Rimadyl didn’t work on. Those are both prescription drugs.

[Seven-up]

[QUOTE=Weighaton;3737943]
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2580753140082183223WmNeXj[/QUOTE]

Well, any dog that will wear a wig is a 10 in my book! :lol:

[Simkie]

@jetsmom;3737985

Previcox (an NSAID) if it gets worse. Safer than Rimadyl.

Interestingly, my small animal vet is NOT a fan of Previcox. He said he used it and it caused horrible stomach ulcers in the dog he was treating, and gave me several of the samples he had (for my HORSE! :lol:)

He prefers deramaxx for dogs.

[Weighaton]

[QUOTE=Seven-up;3738364]
Well, any dog that will wear a wig is a 10 in my book! :lol:[/QUOTE]

That poor dog is a saint. Our older girls pretty much ignore her until I took them to see “Bolt” the movie. As soon as we returned home they had poor Virginia outside playing superdog. She didn’t care she was just happy for the attention.

[T.G.I.F]

My young border collie had a bone chip removed from her elbow and the next year became lame on the same leg. Xrays showed she now had arthritis in the same joint. She is a young energetic flyball dog that was told to retire. She is back playing again with supplements. With talking with a bunch of vets around flyball I have a diet regime for her. I was told it was important for it to be glucosamine hydrochloride. Webber’s makes a liquid one so she is on glucosamine hydrochloride/ chondroitin and msn twice daily and an Omega 3-6-9 capsule twice daily. In talking receintly to a food rep he also recommended I add Ester-C to this.

[Weighaton]

Virginia received her first Adequan shot this morning and will have one every week for a month. She is also going to take Metacam for about 10 days and see how well she is doing at the end of the bottle. Metacam is an oral supplement that controls pain and inflammation. In addition, the vet had a special chew formulated that we are going to give her once a day forever.

The vet showed me where to give her the adequan shot in her leg and avoid the nerve or I can give it in her back about an inch over from the spine. She seems to be doing good this evening.

[Simkie]

@Weighaton;3740270

Metacam is an oral supplement that controls pain and inflammation. In addition, the vet had a special chew formulated that we are going to give her once a day forever.

Metacam is definitely not a “supplement”–it’s a potent NSAID.

[Weighaton]

I didn’t mean supplement. My mistake. I meant oral suspension. I was trying to type what was on the box and apparently am going blind.

Non-steriodal anti-imflammatory drug.

[Aussie_Dog]

I just call it a painkiller, lol. One of my cats, Willow, had to have some twice, once for a bladder infection and another time recently when she sprained her foot. First time was in pill form and I just crushed it up into some food, but I much preferred this recent time, since it came in liquid form already served up in teeny little syringes. It tastes really sweet, apparantly, so cats love it, and my little sweet-tooth Willow went bananas for it.

One thing to keep watch for with Metacam is that prolonged use can cause some problems, like liver damage and, in cats anyway, blindness. I wouldn’t use it long-term. The stuff works great, but it’s too scary using it for a prolonged period of time.

[dalpal]

Double check…I was told by both the equine and small animal vets (for dog) that the loading dose is TWICE per week for 4 weeks.

[Weighaton]

I will call and double check but could she be getting twice the amount in one shot? I didn’t see the initial syringe other than him sticking her. I am supposed to go and pick up the shot each Friday.

[chaltagor]

It depends on what works for your dog. I’ve used SynoviCre, Dasuquin, Glycoflex, Osteo3 and some freebie I got at a vet conference for my dog with arthritis. The only thing that works well for her is the Osteo3. She has had hemolytic anemia twice and can’t have any NSAIDs. I know immediately how well each one works by her pain level.

Feeding food with these ingredients in it won’t do much, as the levels of the ingredients aren’t anywhere near the levels you get with the actual stand alone supplements. It’s just another thing to get you to buy the food.

[Countryclips]

My 10 year old mixed breed dog Oreo started showing signs of hip and back arthritis this summer. She seemed to get so painful she didn’t even want to go with me to the barn. My equine vet is also a small animal vet and examined her and recomended trying Glucosamine first and if that didn’t work go to something stronger. But within 3 weeks she was moving much better. Then my neighbor told me a story about their dog getting acupuncture treatments for a degenerate back problem that saved her life because it got so bad she couldn’t walk. I decided to give it a try on my dog and see if it would help her. She has had 2 treatments so far a week apart and she is playing like a pup again. I am also giving her some chinese herb that has ginseng and other herbs in it and that may be also helping her.

[system]

Conquer K9 HA good supplement for dogs

Hello. I have german shepherds and they are notorious for joint issues. I would suggest a supplement called Conquer K9 HA. It’s a chewable tablet containing 10mg of hyaluronic acid, which is naturally found in the joints. The tablets help to replenish this which will help maintain joint health and help the dogs feel better. If interested, their website is www.kinetictech.net.

[MajesticDynasty]

Well I have a 80lb shep/chow mix that’s 8. She started slowing down a year or so ago. It’s gotten to the point I had to do something now and the vet says she has poor hips. I was looking at supplements and getting new food. I figured out my girl is allergic to both corn and wheat/gluten. In my search for a dog food that didn’t contain those I stumbled across Breeder’s Choice Active Care Healthy Joint Formula. To me it’s perfect. My dog loves it and it makes buying a supplement unneeded. All the reviews and the bag said they usually saw a difference within 2 months. It’s only been two weeks for me.
Waggin Tails is the cheapest place to buy it that I’ve found.
http://www.waggintails.com/store/DisplayProduct.php?sku=BCDK-009&name=Avo+Active+Care+Canine+Dry