Dog Supplements

[tlutterba]

I have a 6 1/2 month old yellow lab. I know that they have historically have had hip problems. I was wondering if it is worth putting my dog on joint supplement pills?

[JW]

I would ask my vet but to me why use supplements when the dog foods we can buy has what we need? I know of no supplement that will insure good hips.

Now to insure a better chance for good hips - what was the parents hips rated at? An OFA or Penn-hip reading will give you some indication what to expect or not expect.

JW

[madvilledoc]

No need to go on joint supplements unless he is actually having the problem. If he is going to develop hip dysplasia, the joint supplements will not prevent it from happening. I see a lot of labs. Although one of the more common breeds for this problem, the incidence of hip dysplasiain labs is still small. I would say less than 5% chance unless there is a family history.

[Phil from Maine]

I agree with JW!, a good quality dog food can save you a lot of headaches down the road and no need to worry unless your lab develops it..

[Canned Heat]

Alot of quality foods have glucosamine and chondrointon(sp?) in their formulas...so any additional wouldn't do a whole lot anyway. I have read articles from some of the best vets in Gun Dog, Versatile (Navhda's mag), and several other places that it doesn't hurt to have them on it if your food doesn't include it. Probably after the 2 year mark is when I would start.

Some fantastic info on this very subject is found here: http://www.gundogdoc.com/

[sproulman]

ORIGINAL: tlutterba

I have a 6 1/2 month old yellow lab. I know that they have historically have had hip problems. I was wondering if it is worth putting my dog on joint supplement pills?

yes, use 250 of ester c,i buy the 500 ones and cut them in half.

give 1 per day.

also give the hip g/c stuff daily.

in hunting season i really keep toby on this stuff, if not his joints will click.

IT DOES WORK.

i bought mine at wal-mart,its called COSAMINDS.


i did a lot of research on this 5 years ago when toby was 6 months old.

dog food does not have enough in it,it gets cooked out of food.

here is site that i was involved in, i think it may still be around.

www.justlabradors.com