Strangely, I'm just looking into this right now, trying to find brands of G&C/GLM supplements I can get here and that are the best grade available. It's my amputee rescue dog that has prompted the search, but I will be putting them all onto the supplements as soon as I find the best, even my 18-month old. I think it's worth talking to your vet about when is the best time to start supplementation. I'd be a bit leery of any supplements that worked on the joints until after they had completed their normal development, but your vet would be the one to ask.
I used to use Natures Best (the human one) for Scooby - He was a stiff old dog and the vet said it might be worth giving him supplements & said best to go for the ones meant for humans as probably cheaper (he was 10-12 ish). I still have some left, but haven't even thought about giving them to Coco. Now wondering..
I wouldn't (and don't) give supplements without a reason to think there is any need. I have one dog with a high risk of arthritis and he does get supplements: chondroitin sulphate, glucosamine hydrochloride, a purified form of krill oil, and salmon oil (with the total amounts of Omega 3 staying below the recommended maximum amount). There is barely any evidence at all that I can expect any effect, but there is also little evidence it is harmful, and it MIGHT help. It's also quite expensive to give these in a high enough dose such that there MIGHT be an effect. Most supplements are way below any level reported to be effective (but no-one knows what dose might work....). It's a bit like using expensive face cream. You can only hope it works, but if it turns out it does, it would be a real bugger if you hadn't have done it....and you hope the cream is harmless anyway.... I view it as a long shot, and probably not without risk of as yet unknown side effects. But faced with an almost 100% certainty of arthritis, I chance it and am happy that I've made a really well researched decision to do so. But, for my other dog without any problems, she gets a balanced diet and I don't feed supplements.
I just did some research on this as well. Our Vet thinks Duggan has allergies so we decided to switch foods so doubled up considering joint issues after the Bi Lateral TPLO’s and are using a food now that contains all the things Julie mentioned. Basically the the food contains the supplement in its ingredients minus the chicken and beef. We decided to do this to directly address the issue of his joints and delay the onset of the inevitable arthritis. From what I’m reading, supplements are not necessary if the animal is fed a good diet and are basically a waste and useless unless you are targeting a specific ailment with a specific supplement.
I wouldn't give them, unless there is a specific reason to . Nelly has Yumove , on the advice of our Vet, it contains glucosamine with chondroitin , plus other supplements . She has a fairly low grade luxating patella ,plus other joint issues which , according to the orthopaedic Vet who saw her X rays , don't require surgery , yet . We have seen a difference as the glucosamine has helped to strengthen the ligaments which in turn, carry the affected joints, so for this reason, she will stay on them for as long as they keep working .
Lots of large breed dog food in the US has Glucosamine and Condroitin in it as a supplement. I presume it is the same in the UK. I don't think there is a lot of evidence to say that it actually helps, and I've never looked at the quantity in the dog food, compared to a typical dose. I tried it my self years ago, and could not see any effect after a number of months so I quit.
I was listening to a podcast that had a snippet about taking supplements for ligaments. I forget what the supplement was, but the point was you should take it just before your body will use it, ie just before exercise. Otherwise your body has no mechanism to store it and it gets excreted. I need to read up more on this because I can’t remember how they worked this out (most likely there is a research paper). It’s an interesting thought though. Unlike fat, which your body can store (far too easily!).
Glucosamine is used in an effort to supplement the glucosamine used by the body to construct cartilage - so the idea is that by giving extra glucosamine it might help a dog maintain more cartilage and so help (slow progression of) joint disease, and chondroitin sulphate might reduce the effects of harmful enzymes in joint fluid and cartilage. So these supplements are aimed at reducing the progression of joint disease. Fish oil supplements are aimed at allergies, and helping arthritic pain. There are several evidence reviews available now that point to the conclusion that these supplements are unlikely to work. Easy to read reviews can be found on Skeptvet and Evidence Based Medicine (for example). I feed these supplements myself - because I want to do absolutely everything I can, no matter how remote the chance might be, to help my dog. I really know that it's likely to be a waste of money though.
