Food that has Glucosamine in it- Happy Hips

sleepybree03 said:

I buy the dog food that's called "Happy Hips" and it states that it has Glucosamine: 600mg/kg and Chondroitin: 300 mg/kg. It's cage free chicken and oats kibble plus I buy the canned foods.

I have a 4 yrs old and and 2yr old GSD. Do I need to also supplement more and buy pills? How much glucosamine is good for them ( they are both around 78 lbs).

I am mostly worried about the 4 yr old b/c when he gets up from laying down for a while i can hear cracking noises. He's in no pain or anything and runs and does everything normal. I just don't want to over supplement by accident. Thanks for any adivice or links to a similar thread.

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im pretty skeptical of gluc/chon thats added to dog food. even many of the supplements have been shown to have very little of what they claim. plus, im not sure what the dog food processing does to whatever supplements they have added.

since grains are a known inflammatory, the first thing ive done for any dogs with joint issues is get them on a grain free diet and add a reliable supplement (i use cosequin DS, but there are others).

The amount in the food is not enough. I would feed a food without the added glucosamine and chondroitin and just give a supplement. Figuring out exactly how much is in the food so you know how much more to supplement, changing when you change food due to exercise and weight changes etc is all WAY too much work.

The therapeutic dosage of Glucosamine is 1500 mg, and Chondroitin 1000. My dogs get 1500 mg glucosamine, 1200 mg chondroitin, and 1000 mg MSM daily.

I use human grade supplements. The ones for dogs are much more expensive and at lower dosages so you have to give more. I've heard the reason for this is pet owners starting out by giving too much.

For arthritis you should also give vitamin E (anti inflammatory against prostaglandins), Omega 3s (fish oil or flax, or both!), GLA (omega 6 that improves anti inflammatory effects of the Omega 3s. Borage oil has highest GLA)

I never heard of "Happy Hips." All I can picture is a GSD in a grass skirt doing the hula. Sorry, I know that isn't really helpful.

LOL a GSD in a grass skirt! HAPPY HIPS®


They really like it, esp. the canned food..it looks like beef stew for humans pretty much!

Are the petco/petsmart supplements terrible?

No, they aren't terrible. They are overpriced in my opinion though. Just pay attention to the dosages, because many are very low so to actually be giving therapeutic dosages you'd have to give more than the bottle lists.

I don't know about their dog food, but all Happy Hips treats are manufactured in China. I would be very carefull about feeding any jerky type treats from China to my pet. In fact, they did make my dog sick for a while. I do not feed ANY treats to my dog that are manufactured in China, regardless of how much they say on their website how safe their products are.

sleepybree03 said:

LOL a GSD in a grass skirt! HAPPY HIPS®


They really like it, esp. the canned food..it looks like beef stew for humans pretty much!

Are the petco/petsmart supplements terrible?

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Thanks for all your replies!