arthritus

i appologise if i have asked this before...


2 outa 3 of our dogs have arthritus

sam has it in her spine and toe and also ahd a stroke so she needs a suppliment to help her be more mobile (shes in no pain) - shes regularly at the vets!!! we dont want her on metacam cos shes not in pain, she just gets stiff and walks it off

and nick has arthritus aswell and in his back legs when he get up he limps for a few strides and then walks it off also

we have had them on these chewy things which didnt agree with nick, and sam and they have had tablets which also didnt agree with them

im not clued up about supplements for arthritus in dogs (im ok with stuff for horses lol) so can anyone reccomend anything??? prerferably in their food??

thanks


ETA - sam is 9 and nick was 11 the other day

Have you tried Glucosamine (sp) I've never tried it but it's ment to be brilliant for dogs, my friend (human ) takes it for Arthritus and she swears by it, says it better than any painkiller and no side affects, I know that you can get it for pets, but shop around if you decide to get it the prices vary considerably hope this helps.
Christine

Glucosamine is fantastic stuff for arthritic animals. You can get it in a variety of forms so there is bound to be something that you can administer.

There are lots of different brands when it comes to glucosamine supplements, Synoquin, Synflex, Glycoflex etc etc so a chat with your vet would be worthwhile to find out which one is best suited to your dogs.

I lost my bitch a few years back but she had numerous problems. Main problems being she was hypothyroid, and as a result put on lots of weight, which in turn caused her to suffer terribly with arthritis. She was on Metacam for a while which she was doing well on but I was all for trying the glucosamine as an alternative. She was like a different dog, the stiffness was barely noticeable except for maybe first thing in the morning a couple of times a week.

We also have a practice cat at the vets I work at who had a major operation on her leg last year. She suffers severe stiffness in one of her back legs now, but we have had her on Synoquin for the past few months and you would not know that anything was wrong with her.

Good luck

1 of mine is on Cosequin DS, tried others such as Flexi vet and they didnt work for mine, he as ED. My vet recommended it and told me to buy from a VET Pharmacy as you dont need a script, cheapest price in the UK is £36 for 120 tabs from vetuk, I buy it from the US where its $70 for 250tabs.

We have just put Mo on Synflex and can see a massive difference in a matter of weeks.
My vet uses Synoquin on her dog, she said they are all just as good as each other.
Synflex is a liquid that goes on their food.

All good suggestions so far. Glucosamine has some excellent results. Glucosamine sulphate and chondroitin sulphate help the body repair damage and wear and tear to cartilage. Problems can be that glucosamine sulphate and chondroitin only work when they get absorbed into the body and glucosamine sulphate is a very large sized molecule.

If you prefer to try some natural remedies (especially if they are not in pain) apple cider vinegar given daily has very good results (it can be combined with centella if pain relief is also needed). Green lipped muscle extract has shown very good results. Herbal remedies include garlic and fenugreek followed by mixed vegetable tablets for a period of one to two months.

Hope that helps a little