[malluver1005]

So, Aspen is not limping anymore. But this on and off thing with him, could it be arthritis? Shoulder OCD? When he walks, sometimes his right shoulder makes a popping noise. Almost like cracking. Is there anything out there that has high amounts of glucosamine/chondroitin? Or is there something else I could give him?

 

[DaneMama]

My guess would be arthritis that he aggravates every once in a while. Since you feed raw he gets a lot of the joint health from his diet. You can supplement him with tablets if you want him to get extra. These help some dogs and doesn't with others, so if you don't notice an improvement I wouldn't continue to give them.

 

[CorgiPaws]

I'm not sure what exactly it would be, but I can say this:

Champ has awful hips, just terrible. He's been on glucosamine supplements since he was just a year old because they're that bad. I did notice a difference when I put him on the commercial supplements, he seems less stiff, doesnt' walk awkward, and in general seems a little more comfortable.
I did some reading in search of a more natural supplement, and read about chicken feet having really high glucosamine content, and have since quit with the commercial supplement and I give him a few chicken feet through the week... I can honestly say it's working for him. Dare I say he's doing better than on the commercial tablets.

ETA: chicken feet really gross me out, and I hate watching him eat them, but he loves them.. which is good because I was tired of shoving pills down his throat all the time.

 

[whiteleo]

You might also check out a tripe/trach (dare I bring it up) combination, the trachea is full of chondroitin and I feed it to my dogs on a regular basis, I also swim my female once a week in a therapy situation, I believe you have something in S.D. but not sure where in So.CA you are at. I've not had any more luxating patella problems after she had luxated twice and my vet wanted me to start thinking about surgery for her since I've started these course of treatments. Good Luck!

 

[wags]

Shark cartilage is another option! You can get that at any of the health stores in your area.
I give my labs glucosimine chondrotine with MSM. My one has mild arthritis well now its gotten mild I should say! Also the fish oil and vit. E.

 

[DaneMama]

Anything with joint material (cartilage) has "joint health" nutrients. That is why things like chicken feet and trachea (lots of joints) are good for dogs with bad hips/elbows/shoulders. Chicken backs and turkey necks also have lots of cartilage on them (think of all the vertebrae and what they are padded with). If you feed a well balanced raw diet in essence you really don't need to supplement with glucosamine/chondroitin since they get the natural source of those in their food.

 

[wags]

This has some nice info on it~

DogAware.com Health: Arthritis in Dogs

 

[g00dgirl]

Glad you posted this, I was just going to ask the same thing.
Delilah is getting stiff in her old age and the vet said Felix looks like he has a touch of arthritis on his back end- at only 3 :frown:

I need to pick up more chicken feet. Today I gave them a combination of
1 raw egg
1 Glucosamine/chondroitin supplement tablet, broken open with powder mixed in egg
1 fish oil gel
1 Vit. E gel
and a drop of coconut oil because they can still taste the powder without it

Now, i might notice some difference if I did this with any regularity- but it's probably every couple weeks when I think of it.

 

[malluver1005]

I'm not sure what exactly it would be, but I can say this:

Champ has awful hips, just terrible. He's been on glucosamine supplements since he was just a year old because they're that bad. I did notice a difference when I put him on the commercial supplements, he seems less stiff, doesnt' walk awkward, and in general seems a little more comfortable.
I did some reading in search of a more natural supplement, and read about chicken feet having really high glucosamine content, and have since quit with the commercial supplement and I give him a few chicken feet through the week... I can honestly say it's working for him. Dare I say he's doing better than on the commercial tablets.

ETA: chicken feet really gross me out, and I hate watching him eat them, but he loves them.. which is good because I was tired of shoving pills down his throat all the time.

Yeah, I was researching too for something natural. I've never given him chicken feet, but he will love them!!

Another question for everyone, is there such a thing as too much glucosamine?

 

[RawFedDogs]

Another question for everyone, is there such a thing as too much glucosamine?

I'm 99% sure the answer to that question is "no". I guess in reality you can give too much of anything. But any amount within reason would be ok. My Abby gets 3,000mg/day.

 

[wags]

My vet said to make sure that my one chocolate lab gets 1000 mg of gluchosime/chondrotine (sp?) a day mine has MSM in it also! I have at one point like I said before used shark cartilage. I have gotten the GC pills at walmart, samsclub walgreens just wherever. My vet said human grade is great for dogs and thank goodness! My one yellow lab, wont take the pills so I buy powdered for her. The Recover SA and that is expensive! This is also a great article!

Nutritional Supplementation for Pets