We have a rescue great dane x mastiff who is about 7 or 8 years old - we have no history on her. When we got her, the beginning of January, she was underweight at 45kg, she is now 54kg and until recently we were really pleased with her progress. But, for the last week or so she hasn't been eating as much as normal. She still needs to put on a few more kgs (although we want to keep her slightly under as she has arthritis) so I dont think she is levelling out her food amount, so to speak. She has been checked over by the vets and they found nothing untoward.
Its just a general worry at the moment  :(
The only other thing I can think of is that she is in pain with the arthritis so we will be starting her on something for that.
We dont want her losing weight again. Maybe a general tonic type supplement if anyone can recommend one? Iv heard that 'Keepers Mix' is good, Norwest? but not sure if this will help?

> Iv heard that 'Keepers Mix' is good, Norwest?

That's from Dorwest. Here's a link:

http://www.dorwest.com/Catalogue/Veterinary-Medicine/Garlic-Fenugreek-tablets[url=][/url]

The page it opens on is for their herbal medicine that they recommend for Arthritis. I think it's good. My only issue with it is the number of tablets a 50+ kg dog needs to take.

Good luck with her. She's not a bad age for a dog of that size and is probably doing pretty well.

Thank you for that and yes I see, i would have to give her between 5 and 8 tabs a day!!  I wish she had come to us when she was younger as she is the best dog in the world! and why we want her to live a very ripe old age  :)  We have another oldie rescue, an 8yr old Neapolitan mastiff who is starting to suffer a bit from stiffness, although not as badly as our girl. Maybe I will try her with glucosamine first as this helped our elderly staffie.

My old girl has bad Arthritis, i give her a homeopathic remedy, jyst three drops a day and did do a gentle pain killer until i had to give Metacam.

I used to give her yumeaga you move, they did work and i gave three a day but it can be costly, i also gave RA oil dioubke strength, I still give this once every few weeks for a boost.  But i found these drops cover it all.  She sqatting better and trying to walk round the block.  Not bad for 14.

Can I ask what RA oil is? (I just know Im going to kick myself when you tell me lol)

i tried noni juice its ageneral tonic and my 14yr looks great on it got it from holland and barret

The first step for my arthritic dogs has been devil's claw - very effective and works in a similar way to the usual NSAIDs (i.e. metacam etc) without the side effects.

Green lipped mussel is good too and is what I use for Saffi as she seems to be a bit sensitive to her trocoxil (devil's claw can cause gut issues if it's used along with an NSAID because of the similarities).

Joint aid is supposed to be very good - it's a mix of various supplements aimed at the joints.  Don't use it myself purely because of the cost (which would maybe be a factor for you - it's too expensive for me with dogs around 25-35kg).

Devil's claw sounds interesting.... where do you get yours from and what is the recommended dosage?

http://www.simplysupplements.net/search.php?keyword=devil%27s+claw&go.x=0&go.y=0

This is where I get mine - although I take it myself, so can't tell you a recommended dose for dogs.

My old staffie and our Neo didnt do well with the green lipped mussel, gave them awful runs! And had read somewhere about the side effects of Devils claw, re the stomach, so haven't been comfortable trying it. I will read up some more on it as I know its widely used.

I use Yumove and get them from Vio-vet, much cheaper than direct.
Healthspan is good for human supps. High quality ingredients and good price. They also do doggy supplements but didn't find them as effective as the Yumove.

I just start on one capsule a day and add one in the evening if needed.  I've gone up to 4 a day with Soli but not beyond that - at that point I figure it's bad enough for stronger intervention.

I get mine from holland & barrett, although simply supps are good too (I just tend to forget to order in time and IME they take a while to get here from SS, so I end up nipping to H&B the day I run out :-P).

Have you tried CMO?
here is a link to some information & the video on there is definatly worth a watch, also you can get CMO from places like zipvit
http://www.cetylm.co.uk/products/cetyl-m-joint-action-formula-for-dogs-and-cats/16955
;)

Hi

Here's a link to it.  Most pet shops sell it.

http://www.healthypets4you.co.uk/vitapet-double-strength-r-a-joint-formula-300ml-4214-p.asp

> But, for the last week or so she hasn't been eating as much as normal. She still needs to put on a few more kgs

Try adding raw chicken wings/portions or turkey necks into her diet.  They are great for encouraging lazy eaters, very good for teeth and generally seem to pep up an older dog. 

I converted an adult dog to raw and he got a renewed interest in food and now gets very excited by my walks to the freezer!!

An update on Olive. I bought some GluComplex Gold two weeks ago and put the two oldies on it. I have started off with half a tablet each once a day. Within a week we had seen a big difference in Olive. Her eating has improved (although we also raised her feeding bowl just in case eating at floor level was causing problems, so not sure if it has affected this side of things) she is more active on her walks and she plays more with the whipper-snapper foster girl! Ted also seems to be less bothered by stiffness after a walk.
Having tried Glucosamine on myself and my elderly staffie girl, I dont think it was this that has made the difference this quickly, so it must be the devils claw. They also dont seem to be having any side effects, gut wise.
So, all good! Thank you for recommending it :)