Has anyone used these? Are they helpful for stiffness?
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Phoebes Mom |
Zukes Hip Action |
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Has anyone used these? Are they helpful for stiffness?
Dogs are not our whole life but they make our lives whole
-Roger Caras Nicole :) |
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TKW |
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I have used them for treats not for therapeutic reasons, so can't help you on that one.
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BarnCat |
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They are not close to a therapeutic level - unless you feed 10 or more a day. So can be an expensive way to supplement.
Dogs love the Zuke's but there are probably more cost effective ways to supplement. Also for stiffness - better results are obtained by giving massive doses of omega fatty acid supplements in addition to glucosamine/chondroitin supplements. There are a few diets on the market that have the right levels of omegas - I feed Badger the Hill's J/D - it is very $$$ in order to achieve those high levels of omegas. Works great though. I also give additional omega supplements too - very few commercial canine supplements come close to a therapeutic level - many dogs need >3000mg of omegas - that is like giving 20-40 capsules a day !!! There are some human supplements that work - some of the fish oil supplements have levels that high. And key to stiffness is maintaining a LEAN body weight - and a well conditioned dog - that is the most important factor in my mind. Overweight dogs are more likely to show stiffness than their lean counterparts. |
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Phoebes Mom |
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Thanks BarnCat.
Phoebe is the one with some stiffness. She is stiff on her left side some days. I have taken her to the vet and they figure it is a combo of her being middle aged and her past injury (Phoebe was picked up by AC after she was hit by a car-left side and taken to shelter with "no" injuries, I adopted her 4 mths later). Doesn't figure it is too bad or that she needs anything. I only notice stiffness after she has had a long nap and she will limp for a 5 seconds or so and then it's done. She has dropped 5 pounds (on purpose, it was needed) in the past year and the vet says she is in fine condition. Any other supplement suggestions. I have been giving both dogs Ascenta Nutra Sea Omega 3 fish oil. But probably not enough to be therapeutic. 1500 mg/tsp. I suppose I could give 1 tsp 2x/day. They both love this as do I. No fish taste at all. http://www.ascentahealth.com/products/human/nutrasea-original-200-ml#details I was thinking of switiching myself to this one. But I wast to just keep one bottle around so it would be for both the dogs and myself. Would this be okay for them to take? http://www.ascentahealth.com/products/human/nutrasead-200-ml#details
Dogs are not our whole life but they make our lives whole
-Roger Caras Nicole :) |
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Salty Dogs |
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Don't know what your options are, but you might also try and find a canine chiropractor and/or canine physical therapist.
Supplementation is only part of the picture - they get used to moving in limited ways after injury, thereby limiting their range of motion further and putting stress on the "good side" and so on. You might be able to get some simple excercises to help her balance herself. Deb Gross Saunders (canine physical therapist) has some DVDs out that might be helpful if you can't find anyone. They wouldn't deal with your specific problem but are about stretching canine athletes. For Omegas I use Missing Link and also fish oil - I find the fish oil capsules pretty reasonably at Trader Joes or Costco. I have used glucosamine/chondroitin on myself and it worked, therefore I feel very good giving it to my dog. Patty |
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Phoebes Mom |
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Thanks Patty.
There is a physio therapist that will be at our July agility trial. I think I will book some time with her and see if we can set up a program for Phoebs.
Dogs are not our whole life but they make our lives whole
-Roger Caras Nicole :) |
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