My mums staff x lab has reached the grand old age of 12, and in the main is a healthy, happy chap. He now ambles instead of running but other than that no real signs of ageing.
Until recently where we have noticed that he appears to struggle a bit on his hip when getting up if he has been laying down for a while. (A bit like us when we creak and groan)
I don't think it is a vet issue as once he is up and moving he doesn't seem to be bothered so does anyone have a reccommendation for things to help with joints?

Will Cod Liver oil tablets be safe?

You could try bomazeal senior tablets  , they worked a treat for my old girl  made by pharmavet you can get them online.

Hi,

The thing is people can't really advise things to give without knowing what the problem is, there are so many things that it could be that IMO he should be seeing a vet.  If he's stiff/struggling/limping then he is in discomfort or pain and there may be an obvious reason for it, staffs and their crosses have a notoriously high pain threshold so he may be pretty sore. 

My Dobe who is only four has a shoulder problem that causes her to be lame when she has been resting, although occasionally at other times.  It looks like she is an old lady but it's not that at all it's an injury that has benfited from treatment.  For the sake of a consultation fee I'd say pop him in for a visit to the vets - I think by the time they get to that age they deserve not to have aches and pains as much as possible :-)

Hi there, glucosamine chondroitin should help, it takes a few weeks to get into the system though, you can give dogs the type humans take and I get mine from holland and barrett.  I prefer to give flax seed oil to dogs rather than cod liver oil, I think I am right in saying if you give cod liver oil you are supposed to balance it with vitamin E.  Green lipped mussel is also good for joints.
hope this helps.

I agree with karenclynes, I think a trip to the Vet should be the first port of call.

My nearly 10 year old Goldie was showing similar symptoms to those you describe and after a few trips to the Vets I asked for x-rays to be taken. It showed severe hip dysplasia in his left hip, spondylosis of the lower spine and a fair degree of arthritis in most joints. Throughout his life he'd never shown any symptoms to speak of and competed in agility. Even the Vet was surprised at the severity of his conditions - they do hide things very well. He's now on Previcox and Cosequin, along with hydrotherapy and is moving much better. If I hadn't had the diagnosis I wouldn't know what I was dealing with.

If the vet says its just old age and aches and pains i would say along with cod liver oil and glucosamine try a bioflow collar. It has helped my old girl loads. She's not stiff after walks anymore.

I had a Golden with SEVERE hip dysplasia. He was put onto glucosamine with chondroitin (human version so ten times cheaper than vets) and it changed his life totally. Before the capsules, his hindlegs dragged uselessly behind him -Rimadyl from the vet had stoppwd working. With the G &C he was able to have a normal life for another 7 years -he died this May aged 13 of other causes. Just bear in mind the G&C need a few WEEKS to have an effect.

One of our old Labs had Arthritis in his legs, he struggled to get up and lay down, but once up was fine.

I have to agree with the others on this, until you know what the problem is its difficult to say what is wrong and whether he needs more than cod liver oil or something similar.

i give my 9 year old boxer cod liver oil once a day as he suffers from hip displasia and it really helps.i also don't let him run like a looney anymore, running in a straight line down a field is fine but if he turns quickly then he is fine while out but once back home and he's had a sleep he struggles to get back up. he's really good and quite happy with longer lead walks rather than running around and anyway he sleeps most the time these days anyway.
As long as he doesn't over do things his hips give him no trouble, so we do plenty of training type exercise for treats in stead and he loves that.
i would go to the vets and just get your dog checked out in case he is in any pain etc just to make sure there's nothing actually wrong with the hip joint.  

I agree that he should be seeing a vet just to make sure it isn't anything more serious than "just" joint pain/arthritis.

But here's what I have used on our pyrenees with good results for joint pain and arthritis (after being checked and diagnosed by vet):

Salmon Oil (I use that for all dogs of any age, but is good for joints in particular)
Glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM
Green Lipped Mussel
Devil's Claw

Hydrotherapy
McTimoney chiropractor treatment

Thanks for the advice.

I shall suggest a vet trip to my mum then and then see what they say