Hi all,

My vet has recommended some glucosamine for one of my girls. She is six and a wee bit lame on her front leg, particularly after exercise. I didn't know what exactly to buy so I did a search on here to see what everyone else recommended and have ordered online some from Simply Supplements who had a good offer. They contain Glucosamine 500mg + Marine Chondroitin 400mg (Buy 120 get 120 free).

However when I spoke to my OH he said that the vet particularly stated to go for veterinary, not human glucosamine.... which I have.

What's the difference? And why does this matter? I would be grateful for your views.

Hi,

I use Glucosamine and Chondroitin for my boy who is 5.

IMHO the only difference in the Vet and human variety is the cost. I buy mine from Healthspan, but it is important to buy the Marine as you have been doing ;-)

My current Vet actually advised me to buy from an alternative source as he said they would be so much cheaper, as I was doing anyway.

HTH

The difference between the vets & the 'human' glucosamine is that the stuff from the vets is Glucosamine HCL and most 'human' glucosamine is Glucosamin Sulphate.
The Glucosamine HCL is more effective.
My pup has elbow displasia and the Glucosamine suppliment I have him on (human suppliment) is fantastic, its has made a huge difference to his walking :) It contains both the gluc.sulphate & gluc HCL at a combined rate of 1250g. It also contains Chondroitin.

I'm not sure if its Ok to put a link to it??

Oh go on!!! Please do!

http://hwize.com/synflex/synflex.html?mastiff

this is the stuff I use :)

Thanks so much, but I still don't know why the vet recommended canine glucosamine and said don't get any human sort.

Why? Anyone know the science behind this??

Kate (confuzzled)

I would be interested in the answer to this one as I give my dogs human chondroprotective supplements, as it happens the Healthspan ones that are HCL.

My 1 year old Rottie has recently been diagnosed with HD, we've always given our girls "human" Glucosamine. Our vet recommended a canine one as they said that the stuff we buy through Holland and Barrett or Goldshield is not pharmaceutical grade and the one they were selling was.

Not sure how true this is, but as the first month's supply was being purchased by the insurance we went along with it. A month's supply for 1 dog was £75 from the vet. I subsequently found the same stuff online from Petdrugs online - 3 months supply £100, big difference eh? And to be honest I've not noticed a massive improvement.

However when I spoke to my OH he said that the vet particularly stated to go for veterinary, not human glucosamine.... which I have.

My vet wanted £54 for a tub of 120 caspules of Synoquin -that was about 5 years ago or so. I then found Glucosamine with chondroitin for humans on the internet, *two* tubs of 120 capsules for a TENNER, and bought some and showed my vet the tub. He said it was absolutely fine to use these instead, and I have done ever since. Before I started my dog had so bad HD he could not use his hindlegs at all at times, they just dragged behind him, now he ca go for normal walks and he has a normal life. :)

Would you recommend these for an older dog showing it's age, who loves going for long walks but is starting to suffer for the following two days? 

Yes but check with vet first.

I give mine chondromax from Healthspan plus MSM, plus Fish Body Oil, Vitamins C and E.

You will also find other products on the market that are herbal for dogs with mobility issues.

http://www.hiltonherbs.com/canine/canine_mobility.cfm?cfid=26407142&cftoken=53486079

I was always led to believe that giving glucosomine and chondroitin to dogs was ok however glucosomine sulphate wasn't good due to the salts?  Maybe I would be corrected on this. :)

I also put any older dog showing signs of arthirtus on glucosomine and chondrotin and they always seem to go longer and vets have said it's slowed down the growth by giving at first signs.

On experience of using veterinary preparations of Glucosamine and Condroitin I would say that 4 out of five dogs with established osteoarthritis respond well - some incredibly well - there are loads of difference brands and human preps available and to be fair some people seem to find no difference changing from the ones commonly recommended by vets to these but other dogs have definately shown a much better response to the vet products, presumably related to the pruity and type of ingredients used

On the whole - I would recommend trying the vet advised products for 4-6 weeks initially to assess if the lameness responds as they just seem to be more reliable but it can be worth trying other products if on a more modest budget as response does appear to be quite individual