Glucosamine for Dogs

[whitefinger]

I took my dog to the vet today and I'm afraid he was diagnosed with a variety of joint-related ailments. The vet recommended providing him with glucosamine supplements (chews) as well as Metacam. The Metacam is prescription only, but I can buy the glucosamine pretty much anywhere. Does anyone have any recommended brands? Any place I'm likely to find a deal?

Thanks!

[jandumm]

Hey there, we've been doing liquid glucosamine for our dog rather than the pills. We purchase it from Greenhawk which is a horse place but they carry glucosamine supplements that can be used for horses and pets.

We've been using this one:

http://greenhawk.com/wdItemDesc.asp?strilhID=Web&strmdNumber=SUV0135&stricSKU=SUV0135

Add it to her food twice a day. They also carry a number of other supplements that are worth checking out. We have a 120 lb dog and it lasts out about 3 months.

If you'd rather do the "made for dogs" version, you can try this one:
http://greenhawk.com/wdItemDesc.asp?strilhID=Web&strmdNumber=DOG0050&stricSKU=DOG0050

You can order online or check it out next time you're in Calgary or Red Deer.

[CSK'sMom]

Metacam is actually Meloxicam and is far cheaper at a regular "people" pharmacy than through the vet. ;) Just get your vet to write the script and take it in as regular.

[cheaper_than_cheap]

I had an older Shepherd with osteoarthritis and we fed her glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM from Costco (http://www.costco.ca/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=10287663). We also used Sasha's Blend supplement, which is basically a natural source of glucosamine (green-lipped mussel powder).

I have heard that the glucosamine in people pills isn't as easily available to a dog's metabolism as the liquid horse stuff mentioned above, but all I can say is the combination of the Costco pills + Sasha's Blend did work well for our dog. We didn't have her on pain killers long term.

The other thing we did that may have made a bigger difference was Cartrophen injections. Please ask your vet about this. They were relatively cheap and really helped a lot.

[submalst]

I had an older Shepherd with osteoarthritis and we fed her glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM from Costco (http://www.costco.ca/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=10287663). We also used Sasha's Blend supplement, which is basically a natural source of glucosamine (green-lipped mussel powder).

I have heard that the glucosamine in people pills isn't as easily available to a dog's metabolism as the liquid horse stuff mentioned above, but all I can say is the combination of the Costco pills + Sasha's Blend did work well for our dog. We didn't have her on pain killers long term.

The other thing we did that may have made a bigger difference was Cartrophen injections. Please ask your vet about this. They were relatively cheap and really helped a lot.

Funny I was going to respond that human pills are cheaper than dogs pills and that I have read about quite a few folks use them as substitutes...that being said..i dont know how well their metabolism takes to it, but it would be interesting to compare ingredients to see if there a significant difference.

[whitefinger]

Thanks for everyone's advice - this helps a lot!

[whitefinger]

The other thing we did that may have made a bigger difference was Cartrophen injections. Please ask your vet about this. They were relatively cheap and really helped a lot.

I have a friend who used to be a vet assistant, and currently runs an animal shelter. She highly recommended this as well, so I think I will look into it.

[ChzPlz]

I have a friend who used to be a vet assistant, and currently runs an animal shelter. She highly recommended this as well, so I think I will look into it.

Did you end up trying cartrophen? Did it work for you? I'm at the end of the "loading" stage (once a week injection for 4 weeks) and haven't seen a dramatic improvement. :(