Glucosamine & Arthritis

JaMarcus Hustle

Hey guys, quick question for those of you who've used this before.

Our 13 year old lab has arthritis that's gotten a bit worse lately. We took her to the vet and we got some Metacam. We've also picked up some Glucosamine tablets (500mg each), and special joint care dentastix that also have 500mg of Glucosamine in them. We also got some Cod Liver Oil.

Firstly, is the Metacam a pain reliever, i.e. something we should give her when she looks sore/stiff or is it something you would give her daily?

And also, how much Glucosamine should we give her daily, i.e. is there such a thing as too much? Or should we avoid it altogether given that her kidneys also aren't in the best condition. She's a large dog.

Any info appreciated, we just want her to be as comfortable and pain free as possible from here on. Thanks.

tk123

Metacam is an pain killer and anti inflammatory. You can give it daily or as needed - it really depends on how well your dog's pain is being managed. For the glucosamine again it depends - it's approx 750mg for a 30kg dog (this is going by the dosage on one of the supplements I give my dog) but again it can be doubled until you see an improvement and then reduced - most supplements you get will tell you to do that. What did your vet tell you to do? Mine would tell me to give the metacam for a week or two to get the pain/stiffness under control and then reduce the amount/give as needed. My dog as some joint issues which are managed with just glucoasmine/joint supplements but I have painkillers to use as needed.
Just on the pedigree sticks - they made my dog very sick so be careful especially with a sore/stiff do who may not make it out to the loo in time!

aonb

Might be a good idea to phone your vet back to just get reaffirmation from him what your dogs metcam dosage should be. Also ask if theres any reason why you shouldnt start Glucosamine (highly unlikely I would have said)
My elderly dog has arthritis in his shoulder, Ive been giving him Glucosamine/Chrondroitin mix for the past year or so - it DEFINATELY helps (in that hes limping less) (My husband and I take it too )

Tranceypoo

aonb wrote: »

Might be a good idea to phone your vet back to just get reaffirmation from him what your dogs metcam dosage should be. Also ask if theres any reason why you shouldnt start Glucosamine (highly unlikely I would have said)
My elderly dog has arthritis in his shoulder, Ive been giving him Glucosamine/Chrondroitin mix for the past year or so - it DEFINATELY helps (in that hes limping less) (My husband and I take it too )

Do you give your dog the same ones you take, ie human ones?

aonb

Tranceypoo wrote: »

Do you give your dog the same ones you take, ie human ones?

we give our horse Glucosamine/Chrondroiton too, so the old dogs get a tiny bit of that too - its in powder form so easier to sprinkle on food. If we run out of the powder one, I will grind up one of our human tablets for him.
Im not sure of the quality/contents of the LIDL glucosamine, but it might be an option; they're really cheap!

Just realized, our old dog hasnt been eating too well for the past few days (he's got an ongoing gastric issue) so Ive been leaving out his glucosamine and feeding him 'tummy minding food' - he was limping on his arthritic shoulder quite badly by the time we got back from our walk this morning... but maybe he's like humans - arthritis is worse when its damp and its not the glucosamine helping - dont know?

Hellrazer

My Lab changed completely on Glucosamine and Chondroitin.
A different dog altogether.

boomerang

This info will help:

http://www.dogaware.com/health/arthritis.html

Also, if you are giving a glucosamine/chondroitin supplement already, I wouldn't bother with the joint-aid Dentastix - they are expensive and as a treat, they're muck, ingredients-wise. They don't even do much for dental health.

Try and use the Metacam as little as possible - it does have side-effects. In an older lady like her, I'd be thinking about its effect on her kidneys. And it can also ulcerate the stomach. Our vet gives dogs Losec to take with the Metacam for this reason. These aren't reasons not to give it at all, but to show that it should be given in moderation and only as needed. Please read the information leaflet carefully.

You may find once your dog has been on the glucosamine/chondroitin a few weeks that she doesn't need the Metacam daily, unless she over-does it. But you have to give the glucosamine/chondroitin a few weeks for maximum effect.

A fish oil capsule would be better than cod liver oil, as cod liver oil is rich in vitamin A and D and can cause problems if given to excess. You can buy human fish oil capsules in the health shop. The Holland & Barrett ones are grand, and often on sale. Also if you are giving fish oil, you should also be giving Vitamin E, which you can get in Tesco. Please follow the link to DogAware above, to check the right dosages of these supplements for your dog. Don't give supplements if you don't know how much you should be giving. That's very important.

Me, I always got my supplements for my elderly dogs from www.iherb.com in the states - cheapest prices and delivery with DHL to Ireland was never more than a fiver.

Hope that helps.

boomerang

PS, if she is any way over-weight, getting the pounds off will make a huge difference to her - as much as giving her the supplements and the pain-relief will! A dog with arthritis should be on the lean-side, even slightly underweight for their breed and size. It takes the weight off the joints and allieviates pain and further damage.

Your vet might recommend Hills r/d or Hills Metabolic for weight loss. Personally I would cut out all treats and little bits she gets from the table, and go with Burns High Oats - cheaper than Hills' and the ingredients are way better. With a Lab, I'd be going for a light food, more so than simply reducing her food intake, because they love their food so much!

boomerang

Both my dogs were somewhat arthritic aonb. I'm a believer in giving dogs a resting-period from supplements at times. (They were both on various things.)

Amber had arthritis in her knee (old cruciate ligament rupture that was repaired) and had mild hip dysplasia. When I took her off Arthri-Aid for a bit, she started limping and hopping. I think it certainly makes a difference but in dogs with severe arthritis, they probably do need pain-relief too.

Boo was diagnosed with spondylosis when she was seven. At that time the vet was cautiously advising me to restrict her from jumping up and down and to use a ramp to get her in and out of the car. Well from that day to this she was on Arthri-Aid or Stride, with fish oil. Even on her most strenuously active days, she never needed pain-relief.

aonb

boomerang wrote: »

Both my dogs were somewhat arthritic aonb. I'm a believer in giving dogs a resting-period from supplements at times. (They were both on various things.)

Amber had arthritis in her knee (old cruciate ligament rupture that was repaired) and had mild hip dysplasia. When I took her off Arthri-Aid for a bit, she started limping and hopping. I think it certainly makes a difference but in dogs with severe arthritis, they probably do need pain-relief too.

Boo was diagnosed with spondylosis when she was seven. At that time the vet was cautiously advising me to restrict her from jumping up and down and to use a ramp to get her in and out of the car. Well from that day to this she was on Arthri-Aid or Stride, with fish oil. Even on her most strenuously active days, she never needed pain-relief.

Thanks for that Boomerang - he's on Arthri-Aid, and a couple other things (an allergy, also a gastric prob) - is fish oil high in fat/calories?? Hes a very short-legged hairy JRT, and at 15 isnt doing much jumping up/down - has to be 'lifted' these days, his walks are suited to his age/size/arthritis, so I dont feel there is any pain. (Super intelligent dog, comes to tell me when theres something stuck in his teeth (gristle) or when he has a thorn in his paw, or if his itch/allergy is bothering him and wants his cream put on - I swear!! I really am here only to serve him!!)

boomerang

Not at all, aonb. A dog his size would be on about one 1000mg capsule a day, which is twenty calories.

aonb

Thanks again Boomerang - for some reason I had the idea that fish oils would also be a bit taxing on his liver and were high in fats - am giving him organic coconut oil for his skin allergy - will talk to the vet when next in there, but a combo of coconut oil/fish oil sound ok to you? He used to be on Cod Liver Oil for years before the fish oils became popular. Anything that helps the little fatty without being too 'medicinal' is good.

PinkLady44

Hi,
My 1 year labrador has recently been diagnosed with Arthritis in her elbows- she had a procedure done last week to help the problem and my main concern is can she live a normal and full life with arthritis?
Would you have any tips for exercise, diet & supplements that may help?
Thanks,

tk123

PinkLady44 wrote: »

Hi,
My 1 year labrador has recently been diagnosed with Arthritis in her elbows- she had a procedure done last week to help the problem and my main concern is can she live a normal and full life with arthritis?
Would you have any tips for exercise, diet & supplements that may help?
Thanks,

For starters you need to get her skinny if she's carrying any extra weight to minimise impact on her joints. What are you feeding her atm - the wrong food could make cutting back on exercise difficult if it's got fillers in that might make her too active/hyper. Has the vet given any pain killers? I'd recommend hydrotherapy too - my dog goes every week and helps to keep his weight down and keep him well toned. My dog get's Flexicose and Luposan Pellets

Pretzill

Hydrotherapy yes and it's amazing how they learn to cope with an ailment when they are diagnosed so young. Our oldest bc was born with hip problems - we didn't want him to be taking anti inflammatories so young or for what could be a prolonged time. We were reccommended a halti front type collar for walking him because it took the pressure off his back legs - and he was never a dog to run miles anyway so his exercise level was never very high. TBH we took it at his pace. He started taking joint supplements from about aged 8 - but prior to that he loved a swim and the stiffness, limpy joints never totally slowed him down

Happy to say he's 15 and still with us but now more than ever he does things on his terms. But the number one thing that helped him was keeping at a fit weight because he would easily put weight on because he doesn't take as much exercise.

tk123

I forgot to ask if you have insurance? My dog's issues started when he was around 9 months old - because of his age we went for the surgery option and it worked wonders for him. He's not restricted at all.

Pumpkinseeds

Does anyone know the exact dosage of glucosamine for cats? Felix is limping a bit on one of his front paws for a while now, he's a very heavy lad and has lost half a kilo, still several kilos to go though. He's 8.4 kilos. Poppy has pillow pads, I think that's the common name for it, it isn't a problem for her and isn't acute, but sometimes when she jumps down she'll hold one of her front paws for a couple of minutes. I don't know if it's related to the pad problem or if is something related to how she lost her tail. She weighs 4 kilos.

I've been giving them the tip of a teaspoon each every day for about a week.

PinkLady44

Thats a great help thank you, we have started her on JD food which was recommended by the vet in UCD, I will look into getting Luposan Pellets ( where is the best place to get this & do u just add a cup into her food daily? ) We give her treats of Broccolli or green veg- she is currently around 30kgs and we need to get her down to 25kgs as per the vets instructions.
She still has the cone on her head as she is not getting her stitches out until Saturday- so currently I am bringing her on 15min walks each evening which I will increase to twice a day, we live quite close to the beach aswel so I plan to bring her to see if she will swim once the stitches are out. I will also bring her to hydro therapy once a mth
She is quite hyper at the moment and pulls very strongly on the lead. ( she has always been like that )
I just want her to live a normal / long life and hopefully not to be in any pain. Is there any other supplements that I should give her-fish oils? The vet gave us pain killers for after the operation and to be given once daily until gone, so she has finished her course of painkillers and not on anything at the moment.

tk123

For the Luposan go to zooplus.ie - I give one scoop a day. If she's hyper then I personally wouldn't be feeding Hills because it's full of fillers that make dogs hyper - a good quality food will cost the same if not less than Hills because you'll feed less and will calm her down. If you do a search there's loads of threads on dry foods - there's one on zooplus called Markus Muhle that's been recommended a lot here. Be careful with swimming her in cold water because it'll make her muscles contract and may do more harm than good.

boomerang

For cats and small dogs it's between 100-500mg per day. But contra-indicated if the animal is diabetic.

I can't imagine Poppy is suffering arthritis - the most likely cause of pain is the pillow foot. If she were my cat I would definitely test her for FIV.

Pumpkinseeds

boomerang wrote: »

For cats and small dogs it's between 100-500mg per day. But contra-indicated if the animal is diabetic.

I can't imagine Poppy is suffering arthritis - the most likely cause of pain is the pillow foot. If she were my cat I would definitely test her for FIV.

Neither of them is diabetic. The pillow foot seems under control, her paws are always puffy but not like when we brought her home, then her pads were very cracked and rough and red. She dashes around like a lunatic and her little stumpy tail makes her move like a Rottie:)

I'm always in 2 minds about the fiv test. In herself she seems fine. Given that we'd never seen her before the day she ran up to me and that she wouldn't budge past the apartment block, I think she was an indoor only cat. The only other cats I ever saw around there belonged to someone in a downstairs flat.

I don't really know what we could do if she is positive. She's been with us for just over 6 months now and has constant contact with the other 3 cats. She only goes outdoors for a few minutes at a time.

boomerang

I just think it's important to know if she is FIV+ because then you can stay ahead of the curve and be watching for any developing problems. It's recommended FIV+ cats have health checks twice a year. If she lives harmoniously with your other cats the risk of them contracting FIV from her are truly miniscule.

Pumpkinseeds

boomerang wrote: »

I just think it's important to know if she is FIV+ because then you can stay ahead of the curve and be watching for any developing problems. It's recommended FIV+ cats have health checks twice a year. If she lives harmoniously with your other cats the risk of them contracting FIV from her are truly miniscule.

Good advice thanks, we're useless at trimming her nails so she's at the vets every 3 months or so to have them trimmed so we'll get her the once over when we're in:) And she is the boss, the boys just back off when she gives them a look. Jazzy just runs.