Gun Dog Forum

Vet wants me to use Glucosamine/ Chondroitin sulfate with my 8 year old dog that just completed ACL surgery. I understand why she wants this done. However, the dog hates both pills. I really don't want to spend the rest of his life shoving pills down his throat daily.
Any suggestions on a liquid form or.......

What about the dog foods for joints?

Thanks. Never knew that existed. I googled it up and found some good possibilities sold here.

weimdogman wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 21, 2021 1:39 pm

What about the dog foods for joints?

To my knowledge there are no foods that have glucosomine added to the food in any significant enough amounts to effect any help whatsoever.

Thanks for that info. I found some sold here but now you've got me wondering.

Purina Pro Plan Performance 30/20 dog food has Glucosamine/Chodroin(sp) in it's formula. A less expensive but good food is Diamond Natural
Extreme Athlete --it also contains Glucosamine/Chodorsin in the food. I would also look at some of the senior food ingrediants--I'm betting a lot of those foods have Glucosamine/chod in them (check the ingrediants list on the package).

Thanks very much.

Sharon,

When medication is needed, I exchanged the peanut butter, slice of cheese or piece of meat routine, which always seemed to turn into a pill found and spit out on the floor and pursuant wrestling match; for chopped up in a few chunks and put into dinner with a bit of warm water. I’m sure a few bites don’t taste as good, but they always finish their bowls.

But then again, I am not dealing with keen sense and superior intellect of a Jack Russel Terrier!! You may have your work cut out for you. Might be worth a try to dissolve it in a warm cup of water ahead of time and mix it with dinner.

Garrison

You got it. a JRT LOL
Thanks for the tips though.

I have using Nutomax Cosequin Max for years. Really helps dog joints. I have a 13 year old GSP and she gets around like a 4 year old. You can buy it over the counter. Has worked for me.

When I have had to give my dogs pills I found "Pill Pockets". My dog liked them and it was easy way to get the pills into her.

On a side note I saw chicken feet for sale in my local Walmart. I looked them up. Each Chicken foot contains 400 mg of Glucosamine. During hunting season, I add cooked chicken livers, gizzards and chicken hearts as a topper to my dogs kibble. Thought about adding the chicken feet to the mix but they are kind of weird looking...not that a dog will care. They are really high in glucosamine though.

That's very interesting.

Sharon - someone on here recommended Mendota glucosamine tablets. My older pointer gobbles them up like candy, and I have to say that he seems to be a little less achy after having been on them for a few weeks. Might be worth a shot.....

Appreciate the advice. Once he recovers from the ACL surgery, I'll make a decision about what supplements/food I'll choose.

When I have to give medication the dogs hate it so I just wrap the pills in ground beef. They love "treat" time. But depending on your meat source, it may not be a very inexpensive option.

Ah but you don't have a very smart Jack Russell. LOL He eats all of whatever one puts the pill in , enjoys it, then spits the pills out.

Sharon wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 22, 2021 3:28 pm

Ah but you don't have a very smart Jack Russell. LOL He eats all of whatever one puts the pill in , enjoys it, then spits the pills out.

Haha I just saw this! Sorry I can't help you then. I can only imagine! I'm sure he's smart as a whip. Only Jack Russell experience I have wasn't for long! Someone gave one to my brother when we were little. The thing was so stupid (or maybe the word is smart????) we let him go and he ran off to the road faster than you could say Jack Robinson. He wouldn't come back no matter how hard we called him. Then when we quit calling he decided it was time to come back. Reverse psychology maybe? If he woulda come from you he would've had better manners. It wasn't long before he was rehomed.

The ProPlan I feed has Glucosamine in it but I have still started to supplement my 5 1/2 year old Brittany with Nutramax Cosequin Maximum Strength that contains 600 mg of Glucosamine and 300 mg of Chondroitin. I get it in chewable form, break a tablet in half and add it to her food. She eats it right down.

Dakotazeb wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 23, 2022 9:24 am

The ProPlan I feed has Glucosamine in it but I have still started to supplement my 5 1/2 year old Brittany with Nutramax Cosequin Maximum Strength that contains 600 mg of Glucosamine and 300 mg of Chondroitin. I get it in chewable form, break a tablet in half and add it to her food. She eats it right down.

I give my old girl (13 Years Old) the same thing, she loves the way it tastes...Art

slistoe wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 21, 2021 2:23 pm

weimdogman wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 21, 2021 1:39 pm

What about the dog foods for joints?

To my knowledge there are no foods that have glucosomine added to the food in any significant enough amounts to effect any help whatsoever.

This is correct. But if Sharon will simply crumple up the tablets -- presuming it is Dasoquin or similar, they should crumble easily-- and just trickle into his food as powder or granular, he will probably eat them, thinking them food. Don't think of them as pills to be got down his throat. Just crumble them up and put in his food. They will fragment easily. If necessary, you can mix the crumbled substance in with a little canned food. Some dogs do eat them readily, as mentioned above. If yours doesn't, just do this.

Appreciate all the advice. The problem for me is that many of the suggestions are not available in Canada ; to order from the USA doubles the price with money exchanges and shipping. I have to get it from my vet. It's a work in progress.

The head vet of ortho at Ohio State recommended adding fish oil to my dog's dinner.
I bought it at the drugstore and cut the capsules open and stirred it into his kibble ( be careful cutting them...if the oil squirts out and hits your clothes, you'll need to change )
Can you find a drugstore brand people joint supplement with similar ingredients and dosage as the dog ones? Your vet might be able to suggest one.

shags wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 23, 2022 2:03 pm

Can you find a drugstore brand people joint supplement with similar ingredients and dosage as the dog ones?

That's a pretty good suggestion. Most dog stuff is simply people stuff with different dosages. Worth getting good quality people stuff (in the correct dosage, obviously) as some of the off brands do not truly have the quality they claim. (Source: my brother the vet who claims analysis has been run on off brands of human OTC glucosamine/chondroitin combinations.)

shags wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 23, 2022 2:03 pm

The head vet of ortho at Ohio State recommended adding fish oil to my dog's dinner.
I bought it at the drugstore and cut the capsules open and stirred it into his kibble ( be careful cutting them...if the oil squirts out and hits your clothes, you'll need to change )
Can you find a drugstore brand people joint supplement with similar ingredients and dosage as the dog ones? Your vet might be able to suggest one.

You can just open the capsule and squirt it into their mouths. Some want to eat the capsule too.

Wrap the pill in a piece of cheese or some kind of lunch meat.

Exactly! That's is what is working now- wrapped in a piece of cheese. He sees the surgeon Tues for an x ray. Hopefully he is fine.

Google Wilderness Athlete. They are in Utah. They have a glucosamine vitamin formula that my dog likes. Just sprinkle it on their food. Very inexpensive and seems to do the job. I use their recovery mix when in competition. It is also great for recovering from a hang over. We tend to drink a little on Saturday nights around the campfire at So Cal NSTRA. For pills I general I put a small amount of grated cheddar cheese on a paper plate. Put it in microwave till just melts. Push the pill into it with your fingers. Cheese oil exudes from it. Dog cant resist it. Licks it from fingers.

I supplement my dogs food with Nupro Silver. I came to like Nupro products when I was a handler for the Sheriff's Office. I used to supplement my partner with the Gold. The Silver is generally considered for older dogs because of the glucosamine/chondroitin in it, but with an athletic dog it's perfectly fine. I drop the appropriate amount of powder on her food and mix a little water in.