fergmatt Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 Jax was recently diagnosed with HD after we heard some "popping" from his joints. Xrays confirmed HD. Its very mild as the ball of both hips had flat spots and did not for in a perfect circle. He has great flexibility but needless to say he wont be the amazing frisbee dog or agility freak we once wanted. Oh well, as long as he live a healthy happy life I am good. The vet suggested many things however fish oil was one. He suggest regular human does is fine. Does anyone have a suggestion on what to buy? Are the regular health store bought capsules what we should consider? The vet suggested once a day. Thoughts, suggestions??? Thanks Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaderBug Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 I just got this same diagnosis for my dog, Jade, except just in the right hip... I know what you're going through. I was suggested to get glucosamine for her and be sure she stays at a healthy weight or just slightly under and plenty of exercise. Jade doesn't show any signs of discomfort or anything that would suggest that her hip bothers her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieDog Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 Our vet recommends a dosage of 1000mg for all of my dogs (all between 23 and 36lbs). You will want to stay away from cod liver oil, but otherwise we just buy regular fish oil capsules from Costco or WholeFoods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fergmatt Posted June 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 Jax is 39 lbs and the vet said to keep him at that weight or less and EXERCISE EXERCISE EXERCISE! No jumping but a lot of exercise which is fine as we love to through that ball and frisbee (low so he doesnt jump) He also shows no signs of discomfort. It was the clicking sound that made us bring him to the vet and down this path! We already give him glucosamine so all we need is the fish oil. So regular capsules of fish oil from the store is what is best? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnewe2 Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 I think fish oil can't hurt but really help??? I think keeping him in perfect shape with exercise is the best. Mick doesn't have much hip left on one side. Vets tell me there's a surgery he can have but for now because he's in such great shape he's fine. I keep him as fit as I can and we work to the point I think it might be stressful. It's working for us. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 There are hundreds of excellent studies in humans showing clear benefits of adding fish oil to the diet. Each year there are more and more veterinary studies confirming this is true in animals as well. The dose is 100mg per lb (1000mg per 10 lbs, rounded up) per day. It's fine given all at once. This is the dose worked out by a team of board certified veterinary specialists. Buy fish BODY oil, not liver oil. Liver oil has toxic levels of fat soluble vitamins when fed on a daily basis. Make sure it has added vitamin E to scavenge free radicals. CVS brand is the one I recommend because it has undergone voluntary testing for quality and purity (FDA does not regulate supplements). Check ConsumerLab.com to find other brands. The purpose of the fish oil is to reduce the formation of inflammatory mediators (chemical signals). Inflammation leads to pain and eventually arthritis. Our modern grain based diet is far too high in omega 6 fatty acids, which are used by the body to make chemical signals that lead to allergic reactions, pain, inflammation, etc. To tip the balance in favor of omega 3 FAs I give all my dogs fish oil. *Cattle, sheep, pigs, etc will have an unnaturally high level of omega 6 FAs if raised on grain as opposed to 100% pasture raised. Therefor, feeding a diet free of grains to your dog does not always give you the right balance of fatty acids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushdoggie Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 Has anyone used Dausequan? I was looking at it for a supplement for my small dog who has an arthritic back...its kind of expensive but I have heard good things... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maralynn Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 Has anyone used Dausequan? I was looking at it for a supplement for my small dog who has an arthritic back...its kind of expensive but I have heard good things... I used to use "Joint Strong" which worked really well for my dog. Then I started looking around for a more economical alternative. Right now she is on Natrol glucosamine omega-3 that I got on clearance at Wal-mart for $5/90. I got a bottle of MSM caps at the same time and she gets one of each/day. She seems to do just as well on this combination as she did on the Joint Strong. It's a significant cost savings for me - less than $5/month compared to almost $20/month with the Joint Strong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushdoggie Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 I used to use "Joint Strong" which worked really well for my dog. Then I started looking around for a more economical alternative. Right now she is on Natrol glucosamine omega-3 that I got on clearance at Wal-mart for $5/90. I got a bottle of MSM caps at the same time and she gets one of each/day. She seems to do just as well on this combination as she did on the Joint Strong. It's a significant cost savings for me - less than $5/month compared to almost $20/month with the Joint Strong. Hm, I'll have to look at that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fergmatt Posted June 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 I use Dausequan. Jax has been on it for about 2 weeks now. Havent really seen a difference but i was told its in the long term that I will see it. Kristen, what do you do to keep your dog in shape so well? Jax and I love playing fetch and thats typically what we do other then his daily walks that my wife takes him on. Do you have any other suggestions for building muscle mass? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fergmatt Posted June 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 Is 1000 mg per 10lbs really accurate. that seems like a ton! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 Is 1000 mg per 10lbs really accurate. that seems like a ton! Yes. I am a vet and I studied under the vets who researched that dose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnewe2 Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 Swimming is the best thing we can do but here in CO we don't get to do that enough. So for now we hike off leash, so for every mile I do he does about 5. He works sheep everyday a wee bit. But he's not a crazy dog and we dont do big outwork. Really he keeps himself in that shape. We don't play ball that much, to many dogs to play that game. At the moment he's a bit soft and you can see it when he gets up. But winter was rough so we'll get it back this summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fergmatt Posted June 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 i wish Jax would like the water! I am in MA and we just dont get to any water on a consistant basis. otherwise he would probably be a duck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyleew Posted June 14, 2010 Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 I have had great results with Brew, who has HD, by giving fish oil, glucosamine and ester-c. I give him 2000 mg fish oil daily. He weighs 33 lbs. He is 6 years old now and I have been giving this to him since I got him when he was 11 months old. We live on the lake and he also swims a lot in the warmer weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcv-border Posted June 14, 2010 Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 Has anyone used Dausequan? I was looking at it for a supplement for my small dog who has an arthritic back...its kind of expensive but I have heard good things... ___________________________________ Yes, I use Dasuquin on the advice of my rehab vet. She believes it is the best in its class (she does not sell it either so she is not making money with her recommendation). I am using it as a preventive before symptoms appear so I can not speak to whether or not it is helping my dog. You can buy it from a vet (expensive), but I buy it online using what I believe/hope is a reputable seller. I also save a bit by buying the large tablets and cutting them in half to get the correct dosage for my dog. Jovi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arf2184 Posted June 14, 2010 Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 My lab mix has HD. He had quite a bit of popping sounds initially and for a while was in pain towards the end of our walks. After a few months on Glucosamine and Chondroitin (Kirkland brand) and Fish Oil (Nature Made 1200mg from Costco), the popping stopped and he's able to walk and run for hours. He's been taking these every night for several years. He's 9 1/2 yrs old, doesn't need any pain meds, and he's been able to keep up with Meg so I think we're doing pretty good. I am probably going to add MSM to his nightly supplements though, as he's been looking a bit stiff when he sits or stands up. The vet was very pleased that I've been keeping his weight down. That can help quite a bit with joint issues. He currently weighs in at 72 lbs and most people say he looks underweight, but for him it works. In his prime, he was 88 lbs of muscle and looked a bit more like a Rottweiler. Now he looks like a tall and slender lab. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alchemist Posted June 20, 2010 Report Share Posted June 20, 2010 Has anyone used Dausequan? I was looking at it for a supplement for my small dog who has an arthritic back...its kind of expensive but I have heard good things... We use Dasuquin with MSM. Our ortho vet called it the "gold standard" of joint supplements. Cheapest price I've found is on Amazon: $80.54 for 150 tablets for dogs under 60 lb. (Prices vary widely from place to place; the same thing is $101.99 from 1800PetMeds. It pays to shop around....). Let me know if anyone finds a better price! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alchemist Posted June 20, 2010 Report Share Posted June 20, 2010 There are hundreds of excellent studies in humans showing clear benefits of adding fish oil to the diet. Each year there are more and more veterinary studies confirming this is true in animals as well. The dose is 100mg per lb (1000mg per 10 lbs, rounded up) per day. It's fine given all at once. This is the dose worked out by a team of board certified veterinary specialists. Buy fish BODY oil, not liver oil. Liver oil has toxic levels of fat soluble vitamins when fed on a daily basis. Make sure it has added vitamin E to scavenge free radicals. CVS brand is the one I recommend because it has undergone voluntary testing for quality and purity (FDA does not regulate supplements). Check ConsumerLab.com to find other brands. The purpose of the fish oil is to reduce the formation of inflammatory mediators (chemical signals). Inflammation leads to pain and eventually arthritis. Our modern grain based diet is far too high in omega 6 fatty acids, which are used by the body to make chemical signals that lead to allergic reactions, pain, inflammation, etc. To tip the balance in favor of omega 3 FAs I give all my dogs fish oil. *Cattle, sheep, pigs, etc will have an unnaturally high level of omega 6 FAs if raised on grain as opposed to 100% pasture raised. Therefor, feeding a diet free of grains to your dog does not always give you the right balance of fatty acids. Wow, Liz, thanks for the info! I'll definitely check into the CVS fish oil capsules. From your info I should be upping Duncan's dosage. I've been giving him two (and occasionally three) Welactin Canine omega-3 fatty acid supplements each day (according to package directions), but each one only has 270 mg of total omega-3 fatty acids, so for a 45-lb dog that's way less than the dosage you cite above (he's getting 540 mg/d instead of the 4500 mg/day he should be getting). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
workindogs Posted June 20, 2010 Report Share Posted June 20, 2010 We use Dasuquin with MSM. Our ortho vet called it the "gold standard" of joint supplements. Cheapest price I've found is on Amazon: $80.54 for 150 tablets for dogs under 60 lb. (Prices vary widely from place to place; the same thing is $101.99 from 1800PetMeds. It pays to shop around....). Let me know if anyone finds a better price! www.allivet.com Dasuquin with MSM 150 tabs for large dogs at $74.99, or small/med dogs $69.99 I've ordered from allivet before and so far have found it to have the cheapest med prices. They also regularly send me coupons for discounts on refills. EDIT: There is a $2 coupon available for Dasuquin on the coupon page (see bottom of the homepage for coupon offers). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
workindogs Posted June 20, 2010 Report Share Posted June 20, 2010 You might also look into Adequan....it's been used for many many years in horses. I've had good results with it for arthritis in my dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alchemist Posted June 20, 2010 Report Share Posted June 20, 2010 Another vote for Adequan. And thanks, Workindogs, for the info on Dasuquin! Wow, prices sure do vary.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sluj Posted June 20, 2010 Report Share Posted June 20, 2010 Vitacost.com also has pretty good deals on fish oil. My doctor recommended this version (for me, not my dog but she gets them too). 180 1200mg capsules for $15 at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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