# Glucosamine?



## Gryff'sMom (Aug 5, 2008)

Forgive me if this has been covered a million times (I looked, but...)

I know glucosamiine/chondroitin is great for joints, husband and I both take it. Does anyone give it to their dogs as a preventative measure? My 6 month old wonderpup obviously doesn't have any problems yet, but I was wondering what supplements most use. He is eating Natural Balance kibble mixed with a little Natural Balance canned.

Thanks!


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## c-parrish (Jun 4, 2008)

Glucosamine and chondroitin is one of those difficult supplements. It's hard to know when would be beneficial to start it and what kind to use. There are different sources of the supplement that have different efficacies. Most pet grade sources have Vitamin C added to improve absorption as well.

Shellfish sources aren't very good. Raw fed dogs are usually supplemented with animal cartilage (chicken, beef, pork, lamb) which is very usable to dogs. A dog under a year old doesn't truly need gluc/chon unless they are a large or giant breed. I started supplementing my dog at 8 months though because she gets athletic joint/ligament injuries and such supplementation speeds up recovery of sprains and strains.

I have heard excellent things about a supplement called NUPRO. It's liver based, highly palateable, no wheat or corn, and has a full vitamin/omega3&6 composition. Speaking of, Fish Oil is also beneficial to joint health. Do NOT use MSM in a young dog (I've heard that it can possibly interfere with growth, but the effects aren't fully known). That's about all I know.


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## Gryff'sMom (Aug 5, 2008)

He's a golden/lab cross,so he will be a large adult. I would love himm to go on runs with me, so maybe at a year I should start givig it to him?


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## Jen D (Apr 23, 2007)

I have always use Glucosamine and fish oil for their coat. I give it to all my dogs and they all do well on it but I did pass it by the vet.


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## Gryff'sMom (Aug 5, 2008)

Jen D said:


> I have always use Glucosamine and fish oil for their coat. I give it to all my dogs and they all do well on it but I did pass it by the vet.




So your vet recommends it?


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## Jen D (Apr 23, 2007)

Years ago the vet recommended it for one of the rescues I had with bad hips and it helped out a great deal. I then asked about the other dogs and that I wanted to get the one that had fish oil in it for their coat. It made it nice and shinny and seeing most of the dogs I had were large boned it helped them out a great deal. Asking the vet was a good idea because he was able to tell me how many tabs to give each dog.


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## Gryff'sMom (Aug 5, 2008)

I will call her on Monday. Thanks for the great advice!!!!


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## Jen D (Apr 23, 2007)

Your welcome and good luck!


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## reynosa_k9's (Dec 14, 2007)

Just an FYI here on glucosamine;
All my dogs get chicken feet as snacks (found at the local HEB & somtimes Walmart) and it's a natural source of glucosamine. Once you get past the 'yuck factor' chicken feet are a great substitute for dog biscuits if you're trying to avoid filling up your dogs with preservatives and non-nutritional fillers. Just in case you're interested. 

Jihad
and the pound puppy crew.


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## Libbii (Nov 10, 2008)

I give my dog Nupro Joint Supplements daily to help improve his joints. He is a Boerboel and so is a very large breed of dog. I bought in online from the Pet Wellbeing company and it contains Glucosamine Complex, MSM and Ester-C and a bunch of other natural herbs. 

I tried giving him the chicken feet but he just looked at me as if I was insane! One of my cats actually stole it from my dog's food dish and ran away with it! lol


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## StarfishSaving (Nov 7, 2008)

I would caution against running a lot with your dog at 1 year. Maybe some breeders who do hip checks and stuff can weigh in but my vets have always told me to wait a full two years before strenuous exercise like running or agility so that the growth plates are fully formed and the dog is protected, to help avoid joint problems later in life.

Glucosamine is more of a treatment than a preventative from what I've read, but still won't hurt to give to your dog.

Like one other person said, use fish oil too- not only is it good for the skin and coat, it lubricates the joints AND fish oil has natural anti-inflammatory properties. We had a dog in our rescue whose badly broken leg needed to be removed, and two vets told us that fish oil was a must to help her other joints since they were compensating for the loss of her leg.


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## John Lee (Dec 28, 2008)

c-parrish said:


> *Shellfish sources aren't very good. *Raw fed dogs are usually supplemented with animal cartilage (chicken, beef, pork, lamb) which is very usable to dogs.


Why are shellfish sources not very good?

I've read the benefits of green-lipped mussels to combat arthritis in dogs, and so... if that is the case, how can a supplement (of GLM) be better than the real thing (actual shelled mussel)?

There are many markets here locally that carry GLM's. I want to start using them whole, rather than a pill.


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