Dog joint supplements

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samlf

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I know, it's probably been done to death!

Firstly I've always been very sceptical of joint supplements - not only through my own research but also a leading orthopaedic vet told me they were essentially a waste of time.

However, my 6.5 year old BC has poor hind limb conformation and very poor nutrition to the age of 18 months (a rescue), she is also a go-go-go dog which doesn't help. I've always been concerned that the likelihood is she will develop arthritis early due to the aforementioned factors, and over the last few days she has seemed a little stiff in one of her hind legs.

Worth mentioning that I will, of course, be taking her off the vets for x-rays if it persists, and am doing the usual of restricted exercise in the mean time.

So with that in mind I thought it cant hurt to start her on a joint supplement as the worst it can do is just not help her.
Well it is a minefield, I am aware that there is no evidence that glucosamine has any effect on arthritis in studies, so why does every supplement contain it and focus on it!?

Does anyone use the supplement 'yumove'? It seems relatively inexpensive and has good reviews. Any other supplements people can recommend?
 
Thanks Britestar, sounds like it'd be worth using then.

IHW - certainly sounds like she could benefit from cartrophen, thanks for the suggestion
 
I asked the vet about supplements after the terrier' s cruciate op. to try and stave off arthritis as long as possible. They recommended Synoquin which is tailored to the dog' s bodyweight and is manufactured to ensure maximum absorption of the useful ingredients. So far so good, the dog is very active and staying sound.
 
samlf said:
I know, it's probably been done to death!

Firstly I've always been very sceptical of joint supplements - not only through my own research but also a leading orthopaedic vet told me they were essentially a waste of time.

However, my 6.5 year old BC has poor hind limb conformation and very poor nutrition to the age of 18 months (a rescue), she is also a go-go-go dog which doesn't help. I've always been concerned that the likelihood is she will develop arthritis early due to the aforementioned factors, and over the last few days she has seemed a little stiff in one of her hind legs.

Worth mentioning that I will, of course, be taking her off the vets for x-rays if it persists, and am doing the usual of restricted exercise in the mean time.

So with that in mind I thought it cant hurt to start her on a joint supplement as the worst it can do is just not help her.
Well it is a minefield, I am aware that there is no evidence that glucosamine has any effect on arthritis in studies, so why does every supplement contain it and focus on it!?

Does anyone use the supplement 'yumove'? It seems relatively inexpensive and has good reviews. Any other supplements people can recommend?
Click to expand...
We gave our old boy flexijoint along with the horses and he did really well on it.
 
We put our dogs on yu move, they were formerly on joint aid and we saw a visible improvement.
I think it is worth not putting them on prescription drugs until they are really needed. Old lurcher now has both prescription NSAIDs and yu move.
 
I used yumove on my border collie. After 4-6 weeks he had a noticeable spring in his step. He also used to yelp when he got up after a long lie down, he was a lot more comfortable whilst on yumove. Moved on to yumove advance as he got older.

The RVC carried out a clinical study where dogs that were put on yumove had better mobility after 6 weeks, than those on a placebo. My friends dog took part in the studies and was much better. She wasn't told what she had been giving until the study was over.

We sell Synoquin EFA at the vets and have had very good reports.
 
I'm watching this post with interest. I started my old girl on Yumove advance 3 weeks ago after hearing all the raving reviews. I cant say I've noticed a difference at the moment but will report back if I do.
 
I have ordered the yumove and will see how it goes once it arrives, certainly the reviews and data seems good.

Took her to the vets today and was somewhat unimpressed unfortunately, the vet agreed most likely low grade arthritis. They then suggested that she should have anti inflammatories and a joint supplement and a 'special diet'. Asked about cartrophen but the vet was very dismissive of it, but couldn't/wouldn't explain why, saying at this practice they don't stock it and prefer to use supplement/NSAIDs and you couldn't use both at the same time.

I'm disappointed that they wouldn't have a conversation with me about it really, but shes got some previcox til I decide what to do.

Personally I cant see what is wrong with doing the course of cartrophen then managing on supplement and NSAIDs - is it contraindicated? I don't understand!

I feel like they were just trying to get me to buy the supplement they stock (nutraquin) and trying to make money out of us, which granted they would either way but I'd think they'd make more out of supplement + food + NSAIDs than they would a course of cartrophen which might delay the need for the NSAIDs for a while!

Plus, theres no way I'd ever feed my dogs rubbish such as hills.
 
we use all of them together for dogs at the vets I work at or have done in the past. Cartrophen is contravertial as noone truely understands how/why it works and it does nothing for most animals and works well for others.
I gave my dogs micronised linseed to help as they got older too and tumeric-I trialled them on yumove too and was impressed for 2 of them and not for one
 
samlf said:
I know, it's probably been done to death!

Does anyone use the supplement 'yumove'? It seems relatively inexpensive and has good reviews. Any other supplements people can recommend?
Click to expand...

It didn't work on my parents dog but they gave the promised refund with no quibble so nothing to lose in trying.
 
I switched from easeflex to yumove a couple of years and it's been great. I also use cartrophen - it isn't how it's recommended but mine has it every 3 weeks because 2 days longer than that and I know it. My vet recently said that it was losing reputation fast because it didn't seem to be useful or they didn't know what it actually did, but it has unmistakeably changed my boys life.

I also do hydro which has been amazing and is worth looking into even just to do a course as a one-off - I went from a lame dog to a superfit sound dog in 6 weeks, and despite then being followed by massive injury and 10 weeks severe crate rest he is still moving better than before we started.

These and trocoxil make our lives happy. Any one thing that is dropped and I can see the difference very quickly.
 
Cartrophen doesn't seems to work very well in dogs from what I have seen. No one really knows how it is supposed to work. My practice doesn't keep it in stock because of this but we still have the odd horsey person that demands it. But from the lack of results I have seen it looks like a massive waste of money! Better off with a good joint supplement, perhaps NSAIDs in the future when the dog gets worse, maybe even consider hydrotherapy?
 
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I did think about hydrotherapy - I'll have to look into it further.

I didn't demand the cartrophen, just was hoping we could have a discussion about treatment options rather than being spoken to like I was a bit stupid. I guess I forgot small animal vets are nothing like a good equine vet!

Ah I found the bit on the website saying that you shouldn't use NSAIDs at the same time as cartrophen is being administered.

I appreciate everyone's views, but I am keen to try the cartrophen as there doesn't seem to be any risk to using it and if it means I can hold off the use of NSAIDs for a while it'll be useful, considering the well documented long term side affects of those.
 
It does say not to be used with NSAIDs, but the combination has worked brilliantly for my boy for many years with no adverse effects on his liver/kidney function etc - his bloods all came back all within normal and better than expected for his age last year.

I used just cartrophen and easeflex/yumove type stuff for a couple of years before adding metacam which increased to daily and still not effective hence the switch to trocoxil. It is always worth asking directly for a trial course, they can only say no!
 
My dog responded well to cartrophen, he had become reluctant on walks & had intermittent limp on front leg . He had 4xweekly then gap was gradually increased a 7-8week interval was ok for him. Not only was he more mobile but his character reverted to his younger self so must've been in more pain than let on. At that time he wasn't on any other medication.

He did have carprieve for initial 2 weeks as vet said it can make them bit sore at first, just not in 24hrs of injection though our current vet now says its not necessary for us to stop meds. This year he started to show strain whilst stood (better moving) so has now had full investigation(xrays, MRI, arthroscopy) & orthopedic vet said its still worth carrying on with cartrophen although dog is now on tramadol& plt too. The shockwave treatment our dogs had, the vet described as black magic as they don't know exactly why it works.

Agree on hydrotherapy our dog uses treadmill rather than pool but does seem to help.
 
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We gave Yumove to our old lurcher and it really helped him, would definitely recommend.
My uncle also used it on his dog to good effect.
 
I'm going to try the cartrophen - although the vet says they cant get hold of any and there is a supply issue. I have a friend who bought some recently from an online store and they didn't have any problems with buying it, so I've ordered some from there and fingers crossed I don't get an email saying it's out of stock. Tried phoning but was on hold for a while so gave up.

Mentioned about hydrotherapy but she didn't seem bothered either way, although I spoke to the insurance and they said it would be covered so once the flare up is under control I'll ask the vet to refer her.

At least I have a plan now, even if the conversation was a bit awkward!
 
Check that the actual pool you will use for hydro is covered by your insurance, not just whether hydro is- some will only cover pools registered with a certain body, there isn't a single one near me that is covered :(
 
OP it sounds to me like you need to change your vet-be careful who you order cartrophen from online a lot of it is not what it is supposed to be unless from reputable companies and if supply is an issue there is more likely to be hookie stuff online as more buyers look about
 
One dog will be having his fourth cartrophen jab tonight; he has had them for about four years, starting once a year and now twice a year. He also has previcox on an as needs basis; I am asked to withhold the previcox for 24 hours before a jab and then 24 hours after. That is all.

No issues with supply as far as I am aware.

Don't see why your vet can't order in for you.
 
It is from a reputable online pet pharmacy, just couldn't put the name as they removed it!

I definitely do need to change vets - problem is there are two very good ones but one is 12 miles away (country lanes) and the other is about 20 miles, and I worry what I would do in an emergency.
 
In a real emergency you go to the closest vet and ask them to stabilise the dog so you can travel to the vet of your choice. the small animal vets I work at are 10 miles away from home and all my animals are registered at the closest vets which is a mixed practice. I have used the local vets for a horse with colic once but apart from that they have been treated by the vets I work at and the equine vets at the same base
 
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