Joint supplements

[Wicket]

My toy dogs walk about 1/2 mile to 2 miles a day, depending on the weather. My Poodle has mild arthritis in her hip. My Chi-poo does one hour of agility every week (which has lots of running, climbing and jumping) and she's usually tired and slightly stiff the next day.

In the "best dog kibble"section, Salome mentioned salmon oil. Are there any good joint supplements out there? Is there something I can find in my pantry/fridge that I can use to help joints as well? Thanks for all your help.

[Mattie]

I have Ellie on Cortaflex and use it myself, we have both had a new lease of life since we started it, you can buy it on line at www.cortaflex.com

Just had Ellie to the vet for a check-up after having a canine tooth out on Monday, the vet said that Cortaflex is one of the best suppliments there is.

[Salomé]

In the "best dog kibble"section, Salome mentioned salmon oil. Are there any good joint supplements out there? Is there something I can find in my pantry/fridge that I can use to help joints as well? Thanks for all your help.

As you know, I'm a big fan of the salmon oil, but in terms of other things, there are some very good products put out by a fantastic company called B-Naturals. They're all holistic and very natural: http://www.b-naturals.com/. The owner is someone I know indirectly through one of my raw feeder groups, lives closeby to Houston, has got a PhD in all this animal nutrition stuff and is scarily knowledgeable about everything to do with animal health. (Seriously, whatever you ask her, she can go into a whole speel at the drop of a hat on the details, whether it's detailed calcium levels by food types for dogs with renal issues, or godknowswhat). She's an AKC judge, President of 2 diff. dog clubs, runs a Rottweiler Rescue, written books and is a one-woman phenomenom, as well as brilliant. Her products are really effective and justifiably praised.

I haven't used any of the B-Natural stuff for joint or hip issues, but I have used their Berte's probiotics line for digestive & immune system health. I was incredibly impressed. It's expensive, but it's worth it. I have some friends who swear by the drops for things like thunderstorm panic, fungal/bacterial issues, etc, while others use a lot of the supplements for senior care.

If you want a really good, really effective and *trustworthy* company for any sort of supplements you may need, you're in excellent hands with B-Naturals.

[timm1916]

I had a lab mix that developed some hip stiffness at about 10 years old. Got quite stiff. Also had knee replacement surgery. Anyway, found that giving her glucosamine/chondroyton/hyaluronic acid (which is a joing lubricant I think) was very helpful. The glucosamine/chondroyton by itself did nothing noticeable but I read in a vets column in the paper that supplements with hyaluronic acid were often helpful. So I started her on it per directions and it helped noticeably. By the way, it works for people as well so Indy and I took our joint medications together every day.

[josie1918]

Glucosamine/Chondroitin is extremely beneficial you will need to be sure that it is formulated 500mg. glucosamine and 400mg. chondroitin or it does not work. The other two things I would want my dogs to have an ample supply of are 2 Omega 3 fatty acids, the first is a long chain fatty acid, A linolenic acid or ALA, this can be found in flaxseed or flax oil's (beware the loose stools that go with this) it is also found in common table margerine(not butter) The other is eicosapentaenoic acid or EPA,a short chain fatty acid, this can be found in most cold water fish oil (the previously mentioned salmon) but please don't forget my dogs favorites sardines and aslo mackeral. I am not saying other things do not work, but these three, I have seen do some wonderful things for dogs with painful joints.