Too much activity or time for Glucosamine?

[Gretchen]

Molly started displaying signs of stiffness/soreness upon rising after resting when she had an intensive play date (an hour of activity) and another time after an hour of training using a lot of agility equipment (tunnels, A-frames, jumping over things). She showed no signs of soreness after a 7 mile hike that was mostly steady walking. She is 2.5 yrs old. I started her on glucosamine and bought her a thicker, orthopedic bed.

She seems to be improving, but was wondering if she is a bit young to get stiffness? Or is this too much of the wrong type of activity? Anyone else start their dog on glucosamine at a young age? Molly does not eat kibble so she does not get it in her food. Sometimes we feed Happy Hips, I'm just surprised that we would need to supplement already.

[1sttimeforgsd]

I don't have any answers for you, just wanted to say that I hope Molly is feeling better soon.

[jourdan]

My boy is just over a year and has severe HD and takes Glucosamine daily to help with his stiffness. Our vet recommended Dasuquin for him but I still just use over the counter people Glucosamine tablets.

Hopefully someone else will chime in with info about a dog who does not have HD.

What is Happy Hips?


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[GatorBytes]

I am wondering if she needs a chiro. app.

Is this her usual excercise, or new or amped up?

She may need magnesium, helps with smooth muscle contraction, I give my dog 100 mg. a day split am/pm

Is she on any other suppliments?

Also, you can make home-made bone stock (mostly chicken cartlilage for type II collagen) - in her case a couple tblsps a day - I used 1/2 cup a day that brought my dog back from lameness (a senior w/a walker could have out run him) to being able to jump on my bed and just a couple weeks ago he nearly went over a 4ft fence after a squirrel, if his toes hit 1" higher he would have been gone. I also use ground eggshells (the membrane contains type 1 collagen) in meals w/o bone - usually his a.m. meal...

Note: eggshells b/c he is RAW fed (in case someone is reading who's dog is kibble fed)

[Todd]

Abby is pretty arthritic (sp?) at 5. She's good after she goes through her stretching routine and the vet said to walk her for all she could stand, but it is still rough to see. I lost Heidi to internal problems and now I worry about Abby's joints.

I do have her on the supplements...thinking of changing to the level three pills. She is so mellow though, sometimes it hard to tell is she hurts or is just that much different than Heidi...

[JakodaCD OA]

have you ever had her xrayed? Stem to stern? hips/elbows/knees/ shoulder/ spine??

If your doing agility, it's good to have her xrayed so you can see if she's structurally sound, they are also good for future reference if something crops up.

I'd go with xrays, and from there..

Chiro's are great, PT's are great, water therapy, laser..supplements as well

[Gretchen]

Originally Posted by GatorBytes

I am wondering if she needs a chiro. app.

Is this her usual excercise, or new or amped up?

She may need magnesium, helps with smooth muscle contraction, I give my dog 100 mg. a day split am/pm

Is she on any other suppliments?

Also, you can make home-made bone stock (mostly chicken cartlilage for type II collagen) - in her case a couple tblsps a day - I used 1/2 cup a day that brought my dog back from lameness (a senior w/a walker could have out run him) to being able to jump on my bed and just a couple weeks ago he nearly went over a 4ft fence after a squirrel, if his toes hit 1" higher he would have been gone. I also use ground eggshells (the membrane contains type 1 collagen) in meals w/o bone - usually his a.m. meal...

Note: eggshells b/c he is RAW fed (in case someone is reading who's dog is kibble fed)

Thanks, after I posted this I thought maybe its the muscles, not the joints, so I'll look into something more comprehensive that would include magnesium. This activity is usually one day a week, a Sat or Sun. She is not on any other supplements.

[Gretchen]

Originally Posted by JakodaCD OA

have you ever had her xrayed? Stem to stern? hips/elbows/knees/ shoulder/ spine??

If your doing agility, it's good to have her xrayed so you can see if she's structurally sound, they are also good for future reference if something crops up.

I'd go with xrays, and from there..

Chiro's are great, PT's are great, water therapy, laser..supplements as well

Yes, this couldn't hurt. Molly is a large GSD for a female, 87lbs. She was checked for HD (negative) at six months when spayed, but now that she's full grown xray does make sense.

[JakodaCD OA]

I am all for chiro's as well as PT's, so if the xrays come up clean, try that route. I know alot of PT'er's also have supplements they use, so that might be an option as well.


I was giving my senior girl, msm w/glucosamine (chondroitan made her ill), hylauronic acid, keeps those joints lubed, but if it is muscular, chiro / PT can help

[GatorBytes]

If she is going hard 1 day, may need a bit more in between time, muscles that aren't used on a reg. basis, then pushed (as dogs will do), cause tiny tears in the fibres and need time to heal...much like if you never do crunches and then get down on the floor and do 50 (hah!-not me, lol)...next day you can barely cough w/o feeling it.

But def. get x-rays in case she has some other underlying condition that may be being aggrevated from this...at least then you can get an early suppl. routine to repair sooner then later