glucosamine supplements

[fergmatt]

Jax is on glucosamine supplements for his mild HD. His hips continue to crack and pop while he walks but my vet seems not to be concerned. My question is to you all....what type of glucosamine supplements do you all use? Have you found any to be better then the others? Any and all opinions would be great! thanks

[PSmitty]

I use Glyco-flex II. It's a preventative, though, since none of mine have problems that I know of. I also don't have anything to compare it to, since it's the only one I've ever used. That said, I've been happy with it, but can't say how helpful it's been, either. How's that for a useful answer?

[Sue R]

Now that SynoviG3 is back on the market, I am using it again. I can't say whether it's done anything positive for my dogs, but the ortho vet who looked at Celt's lameness last summer (turned out to apparently be a soft tissue injury), read the label and felt I was wise in using it.

 

I chose this because of several Open handlers I admire who used this product.

[gcv-border]

I use Dasuquin on the advice of two ortho vets. It supports cartilage production and inhibits production of enzymes that break down cartilage within the joint. It is the only veterinary joint supplement with clinical studies to support its efficacy. In addition to glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, Dasuquin also contains avocado and soy and antioxidants. I buy the Dasuquin supplement that also contains MSM. To save money, I purchase it in the large-dog size and split in two for my medium-size dog.

 

Having said that, I give my 11.5 year old Sheltie rescue Glyco-Flex 3. She refuses to take the "chewable" Dasuquin tablets - even when I disguise them in PB or a spoonful of canned dog food. She also will not eat SynoviG3. Since I don't want to force it down her throat every day, I switched to Glyco-Flex. She won that battle. :^)

 

Jovi

[WildFlower]

I use Glyco-flex II. It's a preventative, though, since none of mine have problems that I know of. I also don't have anything to compare it to, since it's the only one I've ever used. That said, I've been happy with it, but can't say how helpful it's been, either. How's that for a useful answer?

 

LOL!

 

I also use Glyco-Flex II as a preventative with both my dogs.

 

I started using it because I am suspicious of Devon's hips. I am planning on having x-rays this winter when he is 1.5 years old. I think that I hear a crack or pop every once and a while..? He has been to our regular vet (who specializes in canine sports medicine) for a thorough check up (since I inquired about something going on with his hips). He did not think that anything was wrong. He has a normal gate, good even muscle developement, and never appears to be in pain after a lesson, etc. But, I would rather just know - to put my mind at ease.

[Lewis Moon]

I saw this study and thought I'd throw it in here:

 

Study in the British Journal of Medicine

 

 

"Conclusions Compared with placebo, glucosamine, chondroitin, and their combination do not reduce joint pain or have an impact on narrowing of joint space. Health authorities and health insurers should not cover the costs of these preparations, and new prescriptions to patients who have not received treatment should be discouraged. "

 

Just food for thought.

[Maralynn]

I saw this study and thought I'd throw it in here:

 

Study in the British Journal of Medicine

"Conclusions Compared with placebo, glucosamine, chondroitin, and their combination do not reduce joint pain or have an impact on narrowing of joint space. Health authorities and health insurers should not cover the costs of these preparations, and new prescriptions to patients who have not received treatment should be discouraged. "

 

Just food for thought.

 

Well, I'm no scientist, but I don't buy it. If I keep Missy on a good glucosamine supplement she can still run, play and almost keep up with my two younger dogs - all without residual stiffness/soreness. If she is off of it for a couple weeks she moves like an old dog. Put her back on and it all goes away within 10-14 day.

 

To the OP, right now I've got Missy on a human grade supplement - Natrol Glucosamine/omega 3 caps

[Rave]

Synovi is back?!?! YAAAAAY!!! Love that stuff. Where did you find it?

 

As for the study, which I didn't read, I don't believe it either. The proof is in the pudding as they say. My old arthritic dog shows a noticeable difference when on a good supplement. When I tried some different ones when Synovi stopped production, she turned into a grumpy old dog (which is what she does when she's sore).

[sandyleew]

I buy mine from Sam's Club. It is their brand. I also give him Ester-C and fish oil. He has hip dysplasia and it has been wonderful for him.

[grenzehund]

I saw this study and thought I'd throw it in here:

 

Study in the British Journal of Medicine

"Conclusions Compared with placebo, glucosamine, chondroitin, and their combination do not reduce joint pain or have an impact on narrowing of joint space. Health authorities and health insurers should not cover the costs of these preparations, and new prescriptions to patients who have not received treatment should be discouraged. "

 

Just food for thought.

 

Can one extend results from studies on humans to dogs? If so, that's going to make my late-night anxious internet research even worse!

[Alchemist]

My mother swears that her glucosamine/chondroitin supplements gave her ten more years use of the knees she was born with. Perhaps it was a placebo effect, but she insists she could feel the difference if she missed some.

 

As I seem to be following in her footsteps as far as physical maladies are concerned, I reckon I'll get a chance to assess this myself not too far down the line (depressing as that thought is).... Suppose my DH will decide to replace some of the pills by placebos to see whether I become perceptibly grumpier?

 

We give our dog Dasuquin with MSM. I haven't been tempted to try them myself. "Now liver flavored" just doesn't appeal to me, somehow.

[DeltaBluez Tess]

Tess and I use Dynamite Free and Easy and Total Joint Care (another company).

 

I ran out for two weeks and both Tess and I could barely hobble around. My knees hurt/stiff and don't bend. Tess has one stiff shoulder, arthritis and one hip is off. On the supplements, she will leap a four foot fence if she thinks I need help in the pasture wiht a young dog.

 

I recently added Dynamire Yucca (as of Monday) to help and will add fish oil to help with inflammation.

 

We also get massages and go to the chiro.

 

We tried Synovi and it didn't to seem as effective as what we use now.

 

 

Diane

[bc4ever]

Scooter uses PhyCox chews from the vet and OTC fish oil caps. We see a big difference when he's taking them. Humans may be able to convince themselves that what they're taking is really working, but I don't think dogs have that ability. And probably as with humans, not everything works for every dog. You have to find what does and stick with it.

[in2adventure]

My guys get Joint Strong and human fish oil tabs. I also thinks it makes a difference. I use them as preventatives, but think in the future it will pay off.

[wgg]

I saw this study and thought I'd throw it in here:

 

Study in the British Journal of Medicine

"Conclusions Compared with placebo, glucosamine, chondroitin, and their combination do not reduce joint pain or have an impact on narrowing of joint space. Health authorities and health insurers should not cover the costs of these preparations, and new prescriptions to patients who have not received treatment should be discouraged. "

 

Just food for thought.

 

 

I don't buy that either. I had an 10 year old, 175lb. Great Dane that had a horrible time getting up and down. When I started the glucosamine/chondroitin it made his mobilty a lot easier. It did get worse as he got older, so I'm not sure if you would need to up the dose after a period of time or not, but it did give him another good year.

I've been using Trixsyn for my bad back and hip dog. It seems to be working well.

[Gloria Atwater]

Greetings all ~

 

While researching SynoviG3 (which seems virtually invisible out there) I keep running across something called Joint Max. Here's a link on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Joint-TRIPLE-Strengt.../ref=pd_sim_k_2

 

Has anyone any experience or opinions on this? A couple of online stores touted this as an improvement over Synovi. (Which, btw, I just realized my vet GAVE to me a year or so ago, when my Nick injured himself ... a $50 value for free? My vet is awesome.) Anyhow, yeah. Can anyone offer some thoughts on this Joint Max? Thanks!

Cheers ~

 

Gloria

[Rave]

Yeah I'm not buying that Synovi is back in production yet. Nothing I've seen out there leads me to believe this. If whoever posted that can give us a source as to who has it, I'd love to be proven wrong!

[ShoresDog]

I think there is evidence that glucosamine/chondroitin supplements actually are useful in dogs. A quick look turned up a review article in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. Here is the link:

Systematic review of clinical trials of treatments for osteoarthritis in dogs

 

Here is the abstract:

 

Systematic review of clinical trials of treatments for osteoarthritis in dogs

 

Carlos L. Aragon, DVM; Erik H. Hofmeister, DVM, DACVA; Steven C. Budsberg, DVM, MS, DACVS

Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602. (Aragon, Hofmeister, Budsberg)

 

Dr. Aragon's present address is MedVet Associates Ltd, Veterinary Surgeons of Ohio, 300 E Wilson Bridge Rd, Worthington, OH 43085.

Address correspondence to Dr. Aragon.

 

Objective—To identify and critically evaluate the quality of evidence of the most commonly used pharmacologic, nutraceutical, and purported slow-acting drugs of osteoarthritis for the management of osteoarthritis in dogs by use of the FDA's evidence-based medicine scoring system.

 

Design—Systematic review.

 

Sample Population—16 clinical trials.

 

Procedures—A broad bibliographic search was performed prior to May 2006. Inclusion criteria focused on prospective trials evaluating commonly used medical treatment interventions for the management of osteoarthritis in dogs and published in peer-reviewed journals. The analysis consisted of the following: study design rating, quality factor rating, quantity rating, consistency rating, relevance to disease risk reduction rating, and cumulative strength of evidence ranking.

 

Results—4 trials evaluating meloxicam were rated as type I.Three trials evaluating carprofen were rated as type I, and 2 trials were rated as type III. One trial evaluating each of the following agents was rated as type 1: etodolac; P54FP; polysulfated glycosaminoglycan; and a combination of chondroitin sulfate, glucosamine hydrochloride, and manganese ascorbate. Two trials evaluating pentosan polysulphate and 2 trails evaluating green-lipped mussels were rated as type I. One trial evaluating hyaluronan was rated as type III.

 

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—A high level of comfort exists for meloxicam that the claimed relationship is scientifically valid and that its use is clinically efficacious for the treatment of osteoarthritis in dogs.A moderate level of comfort exists for carprofen; etodolac; pentosan polysulphate; green-lipped mussels; P54FP; polysulfated glycosaminoglycans; and a combination of chondroitin sulfate, glucosamine hydrochloride, and manganese ascorbate. An extremely low level of comfort exists for hyaluronan.

[Gil]

Would like to know about the Synovi G3 also. There is a SynovialMax soft chew that I think is very similar. Picked up a bucket today. Vet sent me home with some Dausaquan Soft Chews at a visit recently. Snap didn't really like them. I read the label and gave them to a friend after explaining why I was getting rid of them. Snap is epliptic and the Dausaquan has both BHA and BHT in it as a preservative. The BHA and BHT are considered potential seizure triggers and two things we eleminated to get control. Next time I see the vet we will discuss this. Won't say she hasn't had anything with them in it in the last 9 or 10 years but it has been limited to the very rare treat offered by others while out. I do believe they were part of the trigger for her.

Jenny

[Alchemist]

Would like to know about the Synovi G3 also. There is a SynovialMax soft chew that I think is very similar. Picked up a bucket today. Vet sent me home with some Dausaquan Soft Chews at a visit recently. Snap didn't really like them. I read the label and gave them to a friend after explaining why I was getting rid of them. Snap is epliptic and the Dausaquan has both BHA and BHT in it as a preservative. The BHA and BHT are considered potential seizure triggers and two things we eleminated to get control. Next time I see the vet we will discuss this. Won't say she hasn't had anything with them in it in the last 9 or 10 years but it has been limited to the very rare treat offered by others while out. I do believe they were part of the trigger for her.

Jenny

 

There's no BHA or BHT in the "Dasuquin with MSM" chewable tablets ("Now Liver Flavored!").

[bc4ever]

Yes, they work.

 

Got some bug a few weeks ago so for the past week DH has been getting up with Scooter in the morning so I can sleep a little later.

 

The last couple of days I noticed Scooter kind of dragging around and he had a hard time getting up the stairs last night. Today I asked DH if he'd been giving him his pills in the morning and he said, "No! Ohh..I forgot!"

 

I suspect it's the lack of his glucosamine and fish oil caps. At least I hope it's something that simple...

[fergmatt]

can anyone explain the difference between Dausaquan Soft Chews w and w/out MSM? Which is better? My vet doesnt sell the MSM version.

 

PS - Jax stuck his nose in my running shoe to get his ball out that bounced in it and got it stuck. he was running around the room with my stinky shoe. I almost fell out of the chair laughing so hard.

[Alchemist]

can anyone explain the difference between Dausaquan Soft Chews w and w/out MSM? Which is better? My vet doesnt sell the MSM version.

 

Some info. on MSM (methylsulfonylmethane) is available from Wikipedia. Basically it's a dietary supplement that's supposed to be helpful in treatment/prevention of osteoarthritis.

 

Before I found this, though, I went to the Nutramaxx website (they make both Dasuquin and Cosequin), and it had some information. Maybe more than you were asking, but here it goes:

 

"Dasuquin combines NMX1000®* ASU (avocado/soybean unsaponifiables) and decaffeinated tea with Cosequin's FCHG49®* glucosamine hydrochloride and TRH122®* low molecular weight chondroitin sulfate to provide the most comprehensive joint health management formula available for dogs.

 

Dasuquin is a dual synergistic formula: its specific glucosamine hydrochloride and low molecular weight chondroitin sulfate have demonstrated synergy in stimulating cartilage production,1 while ASU also acts synergistically with glucosamine.

 

What is ASU and how does it work?

 

ASU (avocado/soybean unsaponifiables) is derived from avocados and soybeans. A potent ingredient demonstrated to protect cartilage which leads to improved joint function, ASU complements the effects of the other ingredients. While working via their own primary mechanisms of action, ASU, glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate together deliver comprehensive joint health support. Our trademarked glucosamine hydrochloride, chondroitin sulfate, and avocado/soybean unsaponifiables together were shown in cell studies to be better than the combination of glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate alone at inhibiting expression of several agents involved in cartilage breakdown. (Click here for more info)

 

Dasuquin is available only from your veterinarian. Dasuquin is also available in a formula with MSM (methylsulfonylmethane). Your veterinarian can advise you on which formula is best for your dog. Dasuquin is available in two strengths: Dasuquin for Small to Medium Dogs and Dasuquin for Large Dogs.

 

OK, I dispute the "Dasuquin is available only from your veterinarian" part. I've been buying Dasuquin chewable tablets with MSM online for a while. Even Amazon sells it, with no prescription needed. Shop around.

 

If, as another poster says, the soft chews contain BHA and BHT, then I'd be inclined to feed the chewable tablets instead, as they DON'T contain these ingredients.