Anyone have any experience of this Glucosamine/Chondritin mix? I've just bought six months supply to supplement my pup's diet as he had corrective surgery for ED two months ago. One of his growth plates (bones) in his elbow was quite arthritic and of no use so his repaired joint is largely cartilage.   

I've no experience with that one, but my pup is on Synflex, he has UAP (a form of ED) which we are reluctant to have opperated on while he's growing and are going with the option of managing it (option given by specialist). Within a week of taking the suppliment there were dramatic improvements and after 4 weeks of taking it there was further improvements and he no longer needs Metacam (anti-inflamatory pain med) & his limp is hardly ever seen now, when it is it is so slight you wouldn't notice it if you didn't know he had a 'bad' elbow :) :) :)

Good luck with the supplimet, I hope your pup has as much success with Vitapet as mine did with Synflex :)

Is that an un-united Anconeal Process? Poor Humphrey's was definitely un-united, so much so that his Radial head had been forced out of the joint and continued to grow. Part of his growth plate was fractured and arthritic also. Initially, the specialist wanted to wait 8-9 mths before doing surgery, but decided to go ahead now, due to the fast growth in his breed and an awesome amount of weight on his joints, plus he was obviously in pain, but stoic to the point where he would cry like Chewbacca from Star Wars if I took the others for a walk and not him. Therefore I think I have been walking him too far, too soon-only about a mile around a grassy field. I have rested him for three days now while starting him on the supplement, and he is already limping less.

> Is that an un-united Anconeal Process?

Yes.
Buster's anconeal process is completely detatched, but the elbow joint itself is fine. Within a week of a limp first showing he could hardly walk 4 yards and had a job to get up if he was laid down, so much so he even started to wet his bed :( Metacam gave him some releif while I worked on building his muscles through walking. He started of on daily walks of only 10 yards at a complete snail pace and now, 5 months on, he walks at a normal pace (sometimes he likes to even gallop!!!) and goes for between 30 - 40 mins, I am sure the most recent improvements are down to Glucosamine suppliments, as since taking them he doesn't need Metacam. Buster also had a visible 'lump' over his elbow, which was swelling, Metacam didn't do anything for this, but since starting the suppliments the lump has gone :)
I really can't beleive how well he's doing, when the specialist gave us the option of seeing if we can just manage the UAP and keep the elbow mobile, I thought that sounded like torture, Buster is a very big pup (being a Mastiff), last weigh in (2 months ago) he was 56 kilos, but the bigger he gets the more improvements there are :)
The vet agrees that we should just keep a carefull eye on things, if it starts to cause him trouble we have the option to remove the process or attach it in place or if in years to come he gets severe arthritis, replace the entire elbow.

Poor Humphrey, crying like Chewy :(
No wonder you decided to get the surgery done for Humphrey sooner rather than later, having the radial head pushed out sounds awful. The first time I heard of UAP was having Buster diagnosed, I assumed that it must be the mildest form of elbow displasia, but obvioulsy Buster is just very lucky by not having it too bad, even though the 'process' is detatched he has no other problems with the joint. Poor Humphrey, it must have been so painful for him.
I hope he continues to improve with his suppliments. A gradual introduction  back into walking should have him feeling much better. I wish you lots of luck in getting him back out & about so he can go walking with his buddies :)

Hi Mastifflover,
I'm really encouraged by your experience with Buster. Today, I walked Humphrey just about a mile without limping, which was amazing. I'll have to see how he is tomorrow and whether he is stiff. Thanks for your post-at least i don't feel like the only one going through this. 

Mastifflover, glad to hear your pup is doing so well especially that glucosomine is playing such a big part in his mending. what glucosomine supp. are you using? I am thinking of giving it to my pup to help with his elbow and to strengthen his joints all round but am confused as to which one is best for him!

Hi Killickchick,

I've bought Flexivet, don't know why I said Vitapet from www.vetuk.co.uk and have paid about £35 for 200 tabs, which will treat Humphrey for six months. Here's what they say about it:

Flexivet is a two-step nutritional supplement for the management of arthritis in dogs and cats. Flexivet Start, the initial step, helps limit joint degradation and optimise cartilage synthesis. It's dual action is conferred by the combination of two chondroprotectors - chondroitin sulphate and glucosamine. It is the only veterinary joint supplement that contains chondroitin sulphate from a sustainable marine source. It is safe to supplement long term with Flexivet Start. However, once arthritis symptoms are under control, the dose of Flexivet Start may be reduced or alternatively, owners may wish to change to Flexivet Go. Flexivet Go, the maintenance step, is a highly cost effective long term joint supplement which can be used following Flexivet Start. Flexivet Go contains one chondroprotector - glucosamine,which helps to prolong the natural life of joints.

Mastifflover is using a similar product, also available in the UK, for pets and people. It comes in liquid form. The Flexivet Start is a palatable tablet. I find it hard to believe my eyes that after only about five days on it, He can walk with his head up and his leg straight. The all too familiar nod caused by the permanent limp has gone. He must be growing Cartilage for this to happen. I have always been suspicious of natural supplements and never tried them, always happier to have something from the vet, so I am a convert and am delighted!  

Thank you pugnacious - will have a look at that, it sounds really effective.  Any supplement or therapy that will help the healing process, that works, has to be worth a look. We know time, rest and supervised exercise are the keys to  recovery but we want him to be as good as he can be so are looking at all ways to help him. The vet who did Louis' op suggested the glucosomine and omega oils as well. Have heard of konch and grizzly salmon oil but don't know if they are better than say, cod liver oil. Lots of researching to do :)

Yes we are on both me and dog are on the stuff. My BC had OCD in the right shoulder. It seems to be doing fine on it the Chondritin is anti inflamatory for the pain. Jake has been on the tablets for 6 months and he's on them for life Im afraid (hes 13 months now). They cost me £90 from the vet or £35 online, guess where I go now!!.
(Im on Superflex we don't share the same tabs!!) He will probably get arthritic later in life but now you would never know he had a problem. From what little I know I would recommend the stuff, (Im doing ok too!!!)

> both me and dog are on the stuff

LOL think I should be too, for my Knees. Should really go on the nhs waiting list but coudn't afford to take time off (self-employed)

> Thanks for your post-at least i don't feel like the only one going through this

No problem :) I am over the moon with Busters improvements and I'm glad they have encouraged you :)

> Mastifflover, glad to hear your pup is doing so well especially that glucosomine is playing such a big part in his mending. what glucosomine supp. are you using? I am thinking of giving it to my pup to help with his elbow and to strengthen his joints all round but am confused as to which one is best for him!

lol, there is a big choice!!
There are so many different glucosamine supps out there. The one I use is called Synflex, several different places sell it online, I get it from here:
http://hwize.com/synflex/synflex.html?
Its £15.95 for a bottle (it's liquid), the bottle lasts Buster for 1 month, but he's on max dose (same as an adult human). For a dog weighing 40-100lb the bottle would last 2 months, for a dog weighing 10-40lb it would last 3 months. You need to double-dose for the first 10 days. It's the 'original' version of Synflex that is suitable for pets, the '1500' version is not.
Buster loves the taste of it & will lick it off a spoon, but some people have said thier dogs don't like the taste of it, so they'll mix it in with food to hide it.

Deffinately get you pup on Glucosamine, you will be very suprised :) I had read about how people swear by Synflex but really wasn't convinced, so I asked the vet about it, he said that glucosamine supps would definatetly help Busters problem, but he couldn't say to what extent, so I tried it - wow :) , all you have to do now, is figure out which 1 to get :)

I have a pup and an older dog both on Glucosamine and Chondroitin and also Devil's Claw. I get the Glucosamine and Chondroitin from Wilkos, it's £3.25 for 60 capsules, much cheaper than the vet, and it's marine Chondroitin. I do sometimes think that vets take advantage of devoted dog owners. I give both dogs 2 G&C capsules twice a day, and 2 Devils Claw twice a day, (from Holland and Barrett). I also give a handful of raw shredded cabbage mixed in with their feed, (excellent anti inflammatory properties). Since I started this regime, the results have been amazing. The older dog had been lame for 9 months as the result of an injury which had left him with a slightly arthritic joint. He's been on this regime for 6 weeks now and he is almost ready to return to the show ring. The puppy has panosteitis and 6 weeks ago could barely put his front leg to the ground. He is now sound at the walk and only very slighly lame at the trot. I know Pano is a self limiting disease and I have no way of knowing if he would have become sound anyway had he not been treated. Interestingly, whilst doing some research into Pano I discovered that the Americans have done quite a bit of work looking into the causes. It's quite a mysterious illness which is believed to be caused by a virus. They took some bone marrow from an affected pup and injected it into the bone marrow of several unaffected dogs, they all developed Pano. The incidences of Pano have become much more prevelant since the introduction of the live distemper vaccine which is derived from, you've guessed it, bone tissue. My pup was the only pup in a quite large litter to develop Pano. Did he get it from a contaminated batch of vaccine. I guess I'll never know.

Raw cabbage I did not know that i will add to meals, my CS loves raw veg so no problem there but BC usually turns his nose up, but I will add some. Do the tabs you use have bpth Glucosomine & Chondroitin? whats Devils Claw for?
I am a great believer in natural remedies they often are a lot better than artificial drugs.

yes its all in one capsule. The devils claw is from a south american plant and is very good for bone and muscular pain and also is anti inflammatory. If you type into google 'what is devils claw' you will find several sites of research data. Don't just type devils claw or you'll have to trawl through all the sites selling it before you find the right ones.  It has the added bonus of having a calming influence on a part of the brain with an unpronouncable name, so if you have a lame dog which needs to be kept quiet, it helps with that too. They say you need to allow 5 to 6 weeks to see the full benefit, but I got very good results after 3 weeks. If you shred the cabbage very finely and mix it in well, they eat it without realising its there.

Excellant thanks a lot.