Preventative Joint Supplement For Large Dogs

[OSoSwift]

I have recently acquired a foster failure Great Dane/Ridgy/Goodness knows dog.

She is now fit and lean at 48kgs. I am looking for a supplement of some sort to give her to try and keep her joints as healthy as I can for as long as I can. She is 3 in December and prior to that had been in a back yard with no exercise for at least 18months. Not sure prior to that. She has had 3 other owners that we know of.

So what suggestions and if a product like Glucosamine, dose rates, would you recommend.

Edited October 9, 2015 by OSoSwift

[bianca.a]

I give my two GSDs Seaflex, Osteocare and VANS joint support plus Golden Paste (Tumeric). Maybe a bit overkill but my male has had bilateral THR and my female is on her way to one.

[OSoSwift]

She has no pain or issues andgood muscle - now she is getting exercise. So I guess I am looking for something to help the integrity of her joints. Not painkiller or anti inflams needed at this point

[denali]

She has no pain or issues andgood muscle - now she is getting exercise. So I guess I am looking for something to help the integrity of her joints. Not painkiller or anti inflams needed at this point

A Glucosamine, chondroitin mix. I have started using this one for Henry and Kokoda, and Deniki as a preventative, and its quite good :)

My vet was really happy with its ingredients too.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Canine-MSM-Chondroitin-Glucosamine-Powder-400gm-Dog-Joint-Arthritis-Dysplasia-/151171227517?hash=item233281df7d

A fish oil supplement would be good as a preventative type thing too as well as green lipped muscle (either whole as treats, or powdered/capsule forms.)

And i have had many people who have had great success with the rosehip vital, but i have never used it on my own dogs and i am not sure if it works as a preventative or not?

[trifecta]

Personally, I question giving supplements to young, healthy dogs. If the dog is on a good, balanced diet, it should get all it its requirements from its food, particularly if you are feeding raw meaty bones with lots of cartilage. In younger dogs I feel the benefits of building core muscles, proper exercise and regular chiro / Bowen visits go much further in prolonging a healthy life and soundness into old age than do supplements.

However, with increasing age, I feel judicious supplement use is warranted in dogs. I have just started my Belgian Shepherd on green lipped muscle, but she is 11 and is just starting to have some issues with stiffness after laying down for a while. She has been and still is a very active dog.

If you decide to supplement with glucosamine, make sure that it is glucosamine sulphate, this has shown to be the most effective form in clinical trials and also the safest for long term use.

I often wonder if by using supplements from an early age, it affects the 'memory' of the body, for want of a better word, and if those supplements are as efficacious when they are really needed in later life?

[OSoSwift]

Personally, I question giving supplements to young, healthy dogs. If the dog is on a good, balanced diet, it should get all it its requirements from its food, particularly if you are feeding raw meaty bones with lots of cartilage. In younger dogs I feel the benefits of building core muscles, proper exercise and regular chiro / Bowen visits go much further in prolonging a healthy life and soundness into old age than do supplements.

However, with increasing age, I feel judicious supplement use is warranted in dogs. I have just started my Belgian Shepherd on green lipped muscle, but she is 11 and is just starting to have some issues with stiffness after laying down for a while. She has been and still is a very active dog.

If you decide to supplement with glucosamine, make sure that it is glucosamine sulphate, this has shown to be the most effective form in clinical trials and also the safest for long term use.

I often wonder if by using supplements from an early age, it affects the 'memory' of the body, for want of a better word, and if those supplements are as efficacious when they are really needed in later life?

Yes I can fully understand what you are saying and it is something I think/am thinking.

She is 3 in December and is a lean 47kgs. We have had her 5 months and before we got her we know a bit about her past, but not huge amounts.

She was locked in a small back yard as a lawn ornament for 18mths plus. No exercise, hardly any attention and fed Chum.

She had crap itchy black skin and was a little over weight with no muscle tone or fitness when we got her. She didn't know how to run. She did this funny puppy bouncy un-co thing.

I am considering it as the chances are her formative years may ot have been very good.

Two people back picked her up off a FB page from a couple who were "going through a messy divorce" I guess at around 10 to 12 months of age. Someone has put some effort into training her at some stage so I am guessing itvwas them.

I know the the neighbour to her second last home and her life there wasn't good. Her last home she was only in for a month before coming here.

[sandgrubber]

Vets I trust have told me something like: "Go ahead and use glucosamine + whatever. It's not expensive and there is no evidence it does harm and some (small) possibility it will help."

Here's an attempt to review the veterinary and human medicine literature on glucosamine. Of course, make your own decisions, but I find it worth checking the evidence-based care literature

http://skeptvet.com/Blog/2014/03/legs-glucosamine-study-sows-little-evidence-of-real-benefit/

Edited October 9, 2015 by sandgrubber

[trifecta]

Personally, I question giving supplements to young, healthy dogs. If the dog is on a good, balanced diet, it should get all it its requirements from its food, particularly if you are feeding raw meaty bones with lots of cartilage. In younger dogs I feel the benefits of building core muscles, proper exercise and regular chiro / Bowen visits go much further in prolonging a healthy life and soundness into old age than do supplements.

However, with increasing age, I feel judicious supplement use is warranted in dogs. I have just started my Belgian Shepherd on green lipped muscle, but she is 11 and is just starting to have some issues with stiffness after laying down for a while. She has been and still is a very active dog.

If you decide to supplement with glucosamine, make sure that it is glucosamine sulphate, this has shown to be the most effective form in clinical trials and also the safest for long term use.

I often wonder if by using supplements from an early age, it affects the 'memory' of the body, for want of a better word, and if those supplements are as efficacious when they are really needed in later life?

Yes I can fully understand what you are saying and it is something I think/am thinking.

She is 3 in December and is a lean 47kgs. We have had her 5 months and before we got her we know a bit about her past, but not huge amounts.

She was locked in a small back yard as a lawn ornament for 18mths plus. No exercise, hardly any attention and fed Chum.

She had crap itchy black skin and was a little over weight with no muscle tone or fitness when we got her. She didn't know how to run. She did this funny puppy bouncy un-co thing.

I am considering it as the chances are her formative years may ot have been very good.

Two people back picked her up off a FB page from a couple who were "going through a messy divorce" I guess at around 10 to 12 months of age. Someone has put some effort into training her at some stage so I am guessing itvwas them.

I know the the neighbour to her second last home and her life there wasn't good. Her last home she was only in for a month before coming here.

Sounds like you have done a really good job with her, OSo, considering the short time you have had her and the poor start she had

Forgot to mention, well remind people really, that chicken feet are a good source of glucosamine and chondroitin. My guys get two or three each a few times per week. Beef trachea are also good - just about pure cartilage, although I have struggled to source them fresh.

[OSoSwift]

She is the most awesome dog. Loves the cats, is great with our other dogs and livestock. She never goes far, we are on a farm and she hangs wherever we are, never goes more than around the corner to toilet.

She does have some separation anxiety which manifests as escaping or barking if escaping isn't possible. This of course does not surprise me in the slightest. She gets attached to people over places or the other dogs, and in our family it's me she is most keen to find.

She comes immediately when called, is the quietest dog to have around, just flops on her bed or the floor and you don't hear from her. She is great with our kids. The second previous owners "had to get rid of her" as she was "too big and their children were at risk" from a good face cleaning I think would have been the worst of it.

My youngest has taken it upon himself to be the Big Red Dog feeder. She sits quietly while he dishes up her food, he places the bowl at her feet and she sits perfectly still until told okay, often twice as she double checks before eating. You are in danger of a tail lashing from a happy dog but yeh other than that is a cruisy dog. She plays with our working dog and runs and twists and bounces with pure abandon. I love to watch them, then tries to race the Whippets. She hasn't won yet but keeps trying.

I really cannot get how such a nice dog has ended up with a series of such shitty owners.

[OSoSwift]

I haven't ever seen chicken feet for sale here - we are a small rural town.