If your dog has arthritis, a good-quality glucosamine joint supplement is essential to keep him active and healthy. Although no dietary supplement can cure canine arthritis, it can aid in the repair of damaged and degraded cartilage, effectively reducing pain and inflammation.
So, how do you know what dosage of dog joint powder to use?
Supplementing your dog’s diet for lifelong healthy joints
If you have a young dog, do not wait until he begins to show signs of arthritis. Ideally, you should start giving your pet a daily dose of glucosamine supplement when he is one to two years old. This will boost the glucosamine that he produces naturally, helping to delay the onset of joint degradation in later life.
Unlike pharmaceutical pain relieving and anti-inflammatory drugs, nutritional supplements act slowly. When you first begin giving your dog a glucosamine supplement, it may take up to 30 days before you see any notable improvement in your dog’s mobility. To ensure that your pet’s joints remain supple and pain-free, you must feed him a glucosamine supplement for the whole of his life.
Choosing a canine glucosamine supplement
There are lots of places to buy dog joint powder, including online and through Amazon, and there are certainly plenty of different brands to choose from. So, how do you know which to choose?
When choosing a suitable canine glucosamine supplement, it is important to read the full list of ingredients on the packaging. Most supplements contain multiple constituents, and glucosamine may not be the most prevalent. Many of the added ‘extras’ purportedly enhance the benefits and positive effects that glucosamine brings, but others are merely ‘padding’. With this in mind, you can see that an online dog joint powder that recommends a daily dose of 1,500mg per 40 lbs of bodyweight may not necessarily deliver 1,500mg of glucosamine to the dog. The actual amount of the all-important constituent may in fact only amount to a mere 100mg or even less in some cases.
Many online dog joint powders and other supplements contain beneficial added ingredients such as Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids, vitamins C, D, and E, turmeric, MSM, and chondroitin sulfate, all of which are very important for your dog’s joint health. Chondroitin sulfate is also offered as a separate joint supplement, so you can save money by buying a product that includes this. Glucosamine by itself is very expensive to manufacture, so in many cases, the more expensive the supplement, the higher the amount of glucosamine it is likely to contain and the better it will be for your pet. In the world of canine arthritis supplements, it is therefore true to say that ‘you get what you pay for’.
Alt tag: Use a good-quality dog joint powder that contains additional beneficial constituents
Glucosamine dosage for dogs
There are a number of different delivery formats that are used for glucosamine supplementation:
- tablets
- liquid
- capsules
- intramuscular injection
- powder
The format that you choose will largely depend on your dog’s preference. However, dog joint powder is probably the easiest to use, as it is palatable and can simply be sprinkled over the dog’s food.
Note that the intramuscular injection format of supplementation must be given by a veterinary surgeon and is not available for online purchase.
When using an oral glucosamine supplement, it is a good idea to use a slightly higher dosage level than would be used for an injection. This takes into account some of the degradation that occurs in the dog’s stomach, as the acids digests the material. Most vets and canine nutrition specialists recommend that glucosamine supplements are given at the following dosage rates:
- Dogs between 5 and 20 lbs – 250 – 500 mg of supplement daily
- Dogs between 20 and 45 lbs – 500 mg of supplement daily
- Dogs between 45 and 90 lbs – 1,000 mg of supplement daily
- Dogs over 90 lbs – 1,500 mg of supplement daily
Initially and for the first month of supplementation, you should give your dog a ‘loading’ dose of glucosamine dog joint powder. This increased dosage rate boosts the levels of glucosamine in the dog’s body, effectively kick-starting the cartilage repair process. Once the dog has begun to show an improvement in his mobility, the dose should be reduced slightly to a lower, ‘maintenance’ dose. The dog will remain on the maintenance dose, until his condition deteriorates, when the dose should be increased again.
When working out the dose of supplement to use, you should refer to the manufacturer’s guidelines on the product packaging. If you are unsure about how much to give your dog, have a chat with your vet for guidance.
In conclusion
You can prolong your dog’s active life by including a good-quality dog joint powder that contains glucosamine in his diet. Start feeding your dog glucosamine when he is between one and two years of age as a preventative measure. Always choose a good-quality product and be sure to read the manufacturer’s guidelines when calculating both loading and maintenance doses for your pet.