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Keep Your Dog Safe From the Side Effects of Drugs …
If you could manage the progression and the pain of arthritis for your dog without damaging your dogs health wouldn’t that be worth its weight in gold?? Educate yourself about the alternatives to drugs…
Glucosamine for dogs is a safe alternative!
You and I see commercials on TV everyday for drugs. It’s no secret that those drugs have side effects, you know, the ones they read off at the speed of light at the end of the commercial. Every other day you hear about another drug being pulled off the market because of its detrimental or even fatal side effects. Well, guess what? The drugs being prescribed for your dog are no different. They have side effects, they cause organ damage, they may shorten your dogs lifespan, as if it wasn’t short enough to begin with. Fortunately, glucosamine is a natural alternative and highly effective.
The use of glucosamine for human’s arthritis pain has become very popular and widely used so certainly we should question if glucosamine for dogs provides the same benefits. Keep reading and we will take a look at how glucosamine affects arthritic joints and the safety and efficacy of its use in dogs.
How and Why:
Over the course of your dog’s young life the body will make its own glucosamine to keep the joints protected. The glucosamine is used by the body to form the molecules that make up joint cartilage. Glucosamine also helps to bring water into the joint area for lubrication. Unfortunately, as your dog ages the body’s ability to make glucosamine diminishes. Arthritis develops from the combination of wear and tear on the cartilage and the decreased ability to repair the cartilage.
The deterioration of cartilage, known as dog arthritis , is a painful condition that sometimes has an acute cause, such as an injury, but more often it develops slowly. The unfortunate truth is that you will likely not notice any signs of pain until a significant amount of damage has occurred. It is because cartilage does not contain any nerves that it can deteriorate to a significant degree without pain. Once the protection that the cartilage provides is gone, the bones of the joint start to rub together causing pain. You may notice your dog is slow to rise from lying down, especially first thing in the morning. Maybe your pooch has a harder time jumping up on you or the bed or making it up the stairs. These signs may indicate arthritis and you would be wise to seek supplementation to protect and rebuild the joints before further damage occurs. Glucosamine for dogs may be a good option. We can supply the body with the glucosamine it needs to protect and repair the joint cartilage.
Safety and Efficacy:
Glucosamine for dogs is a supplement that has been on the market for years. According to the results of its use, it has been very helpful at alleviating the pain associated with arthritis and it has also been found to be safe for long term use. Veterinarians have been dispensing glucosamine supplements for their patients for many years with excellent results.
Researchers backup what we discussed earlier – glucosamine can aid the body in slowing down the progression of arthritis by stopping damage and assisting in repair of cartilage. Glucosamine for dogs has also been shown to reduce inflammation which will in turn decrease pain in your pet without the use of drugs and their side effects. Glucosamine paired with chondroitin has been found even more effective than glucosamine alone. In fact, many manufacturers are studying and combining other ingredients with glucosamine to increase joint support.
When should you give glucosamine? The earlier the better to get optimal repair or even prevent damage all together. If your dog started on glucosamine supplementation in the middle years, before any evidence of arthritis, it may be possible to nourish and maintain the cartilage thereby preventing arthritis. However, chances are your dog will receive some benefits regardless of the current stage of arthritis, so don’t dispair.
There are rarely any side effects of glucosamine for dogs. Some dogs may experience vomiting or diarrhea but this can usually be resolved by lowering the dose or giving the supplement with food.
Different Forms Available:
When looking for a glucosamine supplement for dogs you will want to be sure you are getting the best quality form. Look for Glucosamine Sulfate or Glucosamine Hydrochloride (HCl). You can check with your vet on what dose of glucosamine to give your dog. Don’t worry, it is not a prescription medication so you will not get in trouble because you did not get it from your vet! Your vet may prescribe a double dose for the first 1 to 4 weeks and then cut it in half to a maintenance dose. This will help bring your dog the therapeutic levels of glucosamine more quickly.
Most likely your vet carries a glucosamine supplement for sale. You may also consider looking into better prices online. It is important however to make sure you get your supplements from a quality manufacturer. Discount stores may be offering a cheaper, less effective form of glucosamine, so watch out.
Here is an important point to consider – rather than purchasing just glucosamine you can derive more benefit if it is in conjunction with other homeopathic or nutritional supplements such as chondroitin or fatty acids . It is generally believed that coupling glucosamine with other synergistic ingredients will deliver benefits beyond what glucosamine alone can do.
I hope you have found this information about glucosamine for dogs helpful and I hope you find safe and effective relief for your furry friend struggling with arthritis. Please feel free to leave comments or share your stories with our readers. I have 15 years experience in the veterinary field and I personally have a young dog that suffers from an early onset of arthritis due to an injury. That is why I am a fan of using natural pain relief over drugs. I have tried many things over the years and I am most happy with non-pharmaceutical remedies – for my dog and my family!!
If your dog has arthritis they may sit down slowly and even more so, get up from sitting or lying down with some effort.
The most obvious difference between the dog in the video and a dog that has arthritis is the length of the stride when running. The dog in the video completely extends the front legs forward and the back legs backward when running.
A classic sign of arthritis is a shortened stride.
Compare your dogs movement to the one in the video. Do those limbs stretch completely out? In severe cases a dog may even ‘bunny hop’ on the back legs when running – meaning they keep both back legs close together and make small hopping motions with the back legs.
Other tell-tale signs of arthritis are…
- not jumping up on you to greet you
- not jumping up on the couch anymore
- not wanting to climb stairs readily
- stiff and slow to rise after resting or especially in the morning
If you suspect your dog has arthritis get a diagnosis from your vet and then start using glucosamine as soon as possible. It is very safe but it may take some time to take effect so start it right away. Some dogs take 2 to 4 weeks to get relief.
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I agree with you, Ryan. I will also let people know about this advise. I love sites like this that can give tips to help people, or animals, out with problems. Thanks for all the advise and information you have given many people.
I have found this site very informative, thank you for the helpul information!! I have had my 8yr old Boxer (Maya) on Glucosamine Chondroitin and Omega -3 Fish oil for just over a month now and I have noticed a great difference in her!! She is all around happier, more playful and eager to run. I imagine because she is not in the discomfort she was in previously. Before she wouldn’t jump up on the bed, play etc., she preferred to lay around (not like her at all)
I have definitely recommneded this to friends
Drugs side effects can be very dangerous to dogs. Thanks a lot of sharing the information. I really do appreciate it.
- Robert
I couple weeks ago I started my great pyrenees on a chondroitin-glucosamine pill and we have noticed he periodically vomits after taking it. We give it to him with his breakfast and dinner, at the recommended dosage for his weight. I hate to continue it if it makes him sick, but he’s quite young (2 and half) and is already showing slight signs of pain (I had a sneaking suspicion his hips weren’t good by the way he prefers to lay down rather than sit, and the way he runs, and then his vet noticed some reluctance to extend his legs last time we were there and recommended the supplement, but he generally seems to get around just fine). Are there any different forms of the supplement, such as the versions where it’s mixed with food, that might be better for his stomach? Or a different dosage you would recommend? He weighs 92 pounds. Thanks!
Hi Krissy,
Thanks for sharing your story with us. Usually vomiting after glucosamine supplements can be alleviated by giving it with food (which you are doing) or by lowering the dose a little. It may be difficult to lower the dose by just a little bit if you are giving a pill.
You might want to try a liquid, such as Syn-Flex. You will notice the banners on the home page of this website for Syn-Flex.
I personally am not inclined to go with the dog food that has glucosamine added because of the inability to control the dosing.
I would definitely keep at it. Sounds like you could really be saving him from a lot of future problems but you just need to find what works for him.
Let us know how it goes.
Hello,
my 10 year old american bulldog receives 2ml of Flexicose Plus a day, which is a liquid glucosamine which I just pour over his food. Has helped his mobility quite a lot. FYI http://www.flexicose.com.au is where I purchased it from.
Regards
Frank
I agree…drugs side effects are very dangerous to the dogs.I am very grateful to you sharing this knowledgeable information with us.drugs are very harmful to everyone not just to the dog.
Thank you for this sound advice, I can wholeheartedly endorse what you say. Our vet recently prescribed Glucosamine for our 11 year old shepherd who was having stiffness in his rear hips and feeling really down. I have to tell you it has been a transformation for him. Its like he is 5 years younger, he is able to move more fluidly and he can run again. Who know how long it will last but at least for now he is a much happier dog for it.
Our 12+ yr old Rhodesian/Shepherd has been on natural supplements until they no longer were effective. Currently she is taking Rimadyl w/the occassional tramadol chaser for pain relief for her hips.
My question: can she still take the glucosamine with the prescription Rimadyl and tramadol? The glucosamine works well for my husband and we want to try it on her asap!
Thanks!
You should talk to your vet of course but there should be no reason she cannot take glucosamine at the same time as the anti-inflammatories.
Best of luck to you and give her a pet for me.