gooeydog Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 It's been a few weeks since one of my usual odd questions, so here's one.... I'm giving Goo fish oil, Vit E, vitamin/enzyme supplement, and MSM all as supplements now. Should I be giving her a break from these every now and then, like once a week no supps at all? There is the occasional day where I'm not there to feed her, so she doesn't get them, and I don't worry about it much, but should I be giving a day of rest more frequently? Also, should I stop the supplements before she goes in to get her teeth cleaned when we do that? She'll be sedated, have teeth cleaned (they're not super dirty, but do have a bit of buildup, and she'll possibly need one taken out due to a chip), possibly have a quarter sized bump on armpit (thought to be a fatty tumor by several vets) taken off. If I should, how soon beforehand should I stop giving them to let them clear out of her system? I'd just ask the vet, but they're more of the "don't give any vitamins or supplements so long as the dog is doing fine without" line of thinking, so I don't know how good of an answer I'll get from them. One more thing, TDG, you mentioned to give Glucosamine Hydrochloride (I think? I did write it down to look for, but don't feel like getting the paper) and Nutritional yeast with the MSM, first, is that the kind of glucosamine that's used as a joint supp? And also, in two health stores, I haven't seen nutritional yeast. Should I be able to find it there, or where do I need to look to find it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 Zoey gets Gloclosamine ( sp ) 550 MG i think 2 times every day, 1 in the AM and 1 in the PM as told to do by her vet.. it's for her limping which they have still to find a reason why it causes her to limp so bad..... THe vet said the Glclosamine is a supplement for Joints and to give it to big dogs it helps to fight against arthritus and stuff... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rotten_two Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 hey DAL can you describe this limp? the reason i ask is that my female had a limp too for almost a year before anyone figured it out. how old is zoey? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDG Posted August 12, 2004 Share Posted August 12, 2004 gooeydog, you don't have to take breaks with the supplements you mentioned, but an occasional skipped day won't hurt. on-and-off regimes are usually only recommended for herbs, like for example milk thistle or homeopathic remedies. fish oil and glucosamine/chondroitin work on a "maintenance level", meaning they only have their beneficial effect if a large enough amount is present in the body at all times. water soluble vitamins and "leftover" digestive enzymes are excreted from the body on a daily basis and thus need to be replaced regularly as well. don't stop giving her supplements before the surgery. increased doses of vitamin E and vitamin C will give her immune system a boost to get through surgery better, and for an easier recovery period. you could even do a course of echinacea and milk thistle for a week or so afterwards to help her body rid itself of the substances used for anesthesia and painkillers if any are given. glucosamine hydrochloride is the chemical compound glucosamine is administered in for medicinal purposes, such as in joint support. at health stores you would either be looking for "nutritional yeast", "torula yeast" or "yeast flakes". it usually comes in jars or boxes. i usually order mine online at houseofnutrition.com. hope this helps! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mouseatthebusstop Posted August 12, 2004 Share Posted August 12, 2004 I give my two supplements every day without a break Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted August 12, 2004 Share Posted August 12, 2004 Zoey will be 2 in Dec, it's in her right front leg that she limps sdome times it will be just a little bit, other days it looks like she is missing a leg and his hoppin' everywhere.. it's hard to discribe.. but does this help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rotten_two Posted August 12, 2004 Share Posted August 12, 2004 yep that sounds exactly like what gaia had struggled with! after exercise it would get worse and sometimes it looked like she stumbled when she would get up! we took her to orthopod after orthopod and they all did xrays and mris, argued about which leg she limped on and no diagnosis. everyone said oh it must be a tendon. they all wanted to do exploratory surgery! finally i took her to the holistic vet who does acupuncture and chiro. turns out she had some scar tissue on the muscle of her shoulder (left front) and one of her neck vertabrae was out of alignment. after a chiro adjustment and 3 acupuncture treatments in that shoulder she is fine! have you had a vet look at it? gaia is one of those dogs who has 2 speeds -- completely on or napping! she barrels thru things -- a brut force girl if you will. is zoey the same? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDG Posted August 13, 2004 Share Posted August 13, 2004 [quote name='DeafAussieLover']Zoey will be 2 in Dec, it's in her right front leg that she limps sdome times it will be just a little bit, other days it looks like she is missing a leg and his hoppin' everywhere.. it's hard to discribe.. but does this help?[/quote] has elbow dysplasia been considered? a friend of mine had that problem in two of her dogs (unrelated, both different mixed breeds) and it took a lot of effort to find the cause, including a bone scan. both of them have had surgery for it and are doing much better now. they also get adequan injections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_Cassie Posted August 15, 2004 Share Posted August 15, 2004 [quote]it's in her right front leg that she limps sdome times it will be just a little bit, other days it looks like she is missing a leg and his hoppin' everywhere.. it's hard to discribe.. but does this help?[/quote] DeafAussieLover It could be so many different reasons why a dog is limping, some are harder to diagnose than others. It took me a long long time to find out that my Rottweiler has calcified deposits on her front legs. The pain from these deposits can be so intense at times that she ends up lame for days at a time. My vet had to send the x-rays away to a local vet college to help read the x-rays...the deposits are very very difficult to spot...they turn up as just a slight discoloration on the x-rays which alot of vets (including mine) do not pick up on. There is no surgery, acupuncture never worked either. I just maintain a regular exercise routine, give her Glucosamine, chondroitin HDL, MSM, vitamin C and mineral magganese to help the glocosamine be absorbed into the dogs system. I also give her Yucca root as an anti inflammatory (the yucca I do take her off for a 3 week span every 3 months, it is not good to give for an extended period of time), I also give her dandelion root. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooeydog Posted August 16, 2004 Author Share Posted August 16, 2004 Helped a lot, as usual :) One more question though.... with the glucosamine, should I just go ahead and get the Glucosamine/Chondroitin combo supplement, if I have the option of that or plain Glucosamine? And if I give both or all three (MSM, Glucosamine, Chondroitin), do I give lower doses of each, or the full dose of each still? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_Cassie Posted August 16, 2004 Share Posted August 16, 2004 [quote]One more question though.... with the glucosamine, should I just go ahead and get the Glucosamine/Chondroitin combo supplement, if I have the option of that or plain Glucosamine? And if I give both or all three (MSM, Glucosamine, Chondroitin), do I give lower doses of each, or the full dose of each still?[/quote] gooeydog, I find it best to give all these supplements combined. My Rottie was diagnosed with HD at 1 1/2 years of age, she has been doing great on these supplements daily for the past 3 1/2 years...her hips don't bother her at all. I found a wonderful product called Nutri Aid GCM, this contains: Glucosamine Chondritin HDL MSM Vitamin C Mineral Manganese I used to have her on the human form of Glucosamine, Chondritin and MSM...then I had to buy seperate vitamin C and mineral manganese...you need th latter 2 supplements in order to aid in the uptake of the Glucosamine into the dogs system. I do give human grade Yucca supplement...now this supplement I am truly amazed with. My Newfoundland with elbow dysplasia is not as bad off as my Rottie with HD...but, I still keep him on a maintence level of the Nutri Aid GCM...I also give it to my other 2 Newfs which have ruptured their cruiciate ligaments to help heal and keep secondary arthritis from popping up. It gives the proper amount to give for the weight of your dog. Its also in a liquid form which makes it easy to slip into the dogs food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted August 16, 2004 Share Posted August 16, 2004 Zoey has been to the vet many times, they have taken biopsy's and t hings.. Xrays.. They said it is a calcium deposit with tissue around it attaching it to the leg. but that , that should be causing her pain and ther was no reason to remove the lump it has not gotten any bigger since she was a pup.. the vet said to just keep her on the gluclosamine.. Zoey's quite lazy lol but like you said if she's up she going 50 miles an hour! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllAmericanPUP Posted August 16, 2004 Share Posted August 16, 2004 where can i find Nutri Aid GCM I'd like to try it with my senior lab. she is 12 years old and has arthritis, i just give her glucosamine right now, but would like to give her something more and this stuff sounds pretty darn good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_Cassie Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 The Nutri Aid GCM is made by Nutriscience and I purchase it at my local tack store for horses. It is made for horses and dogs. I found a phone number for central sales on the bottle 800-387-2522 Hope this helps. I found that with my girl with HD she used to have pretty bad days being in pain from the secondary arthritis from the HD. The Yucca root is a wonderful supplement I use as an anti-inflammatory. YOu can purchase Yucca root either through Solid Gold dog food products or at your local health food store which sells vitamins. The human forms works wonderful and its really cheap. I purchase a bottle of 90 capsoles for $6.00 canadian, this lasts me a long long time as I only use half a capsole each day (I open the capsole and add just a little powder to her food) Good luck :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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