Home Forums Birds & Dogs Hunting Dogs Joint supplement suggestions for aging lab

I posted this in Hunters Campfire and thought it may be fitting here as well, so please forgive if you already saw this.


Our awesome lab Max (pure house dog) is 7 and starting to show some age in his hips and joints.
We have been giving him Synoquin (description below) which seems to be helping but it’s quite expensive.

Any suggestions for supplements that have proven helpful to your older dog?

Here is their description:

SYNOQUIN® is a complementary feed for dogs which promotes healthy cartilage, soothes stiff joints, promotes mobility and supports joint health.

SYNOQUIN® is the only joint supplement to contain Dexahan, a purified Krill packed with Omega 3 fatty acids.


Thanks for you help,
PigGuy

Buy a cheaper supplement and get your krill from Costco.
It's all the same.

7 is very young for that kind of problems.

Do some research into Adequate... I have used this off/on for 20 years with so so results.

If it is arthritis
you can get a cheap generic Rx for Meloxicam. A 15mg tablet can be broken into 1/4's and given a piece each morning. This works pretty well.

I have also given fish oil tabs and glucosamine/chondroitin/msm tablets (Sams) since they are puppies.

ALSO.... walk the dog EVERYDAY for 1-2 miles... motion is lotion.

I am not making a claim, just sharing an anecdote. I save bones and carcasses that will fit in the crockpot. I keep the crock in the fridge to prevent spoilage. When it gets full, I cover them with water and put it on the counter at low heat for a few days, then back in the fridge to set up. I put the resulting jelly on my dogs' kibble (usually grain-free, but not exclusively). My male got his hips OFA certified at 120 months this summer. My vet's partner thought we were crazy to even take the x-rays. I will continue the practice with my younger female.

It appears as thought there exist some commercial varieties: https://be.chewy.com/bone-broth-for-dogs/

Good luck.

Thanks for everyone’s replies , it looks like we have some great options by going generic

Acti-Flex 4000 worked for my Lab—someone with horses initially gave me a free sample they had gotten. Feed stores carried it here, and there's also a dog specific version now.

No substitute for the exercise part mentioned. You can add supplements etc to that but it won't substitute for exercise

My dog gets dried green lipped muscle powder for her joints. She's young, but I don't want issues in the future.

Do you load your dog in the back of a pickup? Using a ramp is a lot better on the joints especially exiting from the bed of the truck. Four door cabs with back seats folded are a lot lower than the bed if they balk at ramp use. Some wear and tear is preventable.

My dog gets Glucosamine and fish oil supplements. He's a big boy (183lbs) and his left hip or knee used to get sore when he played a long time with his buddies. After about a year of daily doses he can run and jump for at least an hour or two without soreness.

I have a few suggestions:
1- Is your Lab at or slightly under their ideal body mass? If not, ANY extra weight he's carrying is breaking down his cartilage. If he's overweight, reduce his caloric intake by 20%. Add canned cut green beans to his food bowl with his food to help fill the belly without additional calories. Weigh him at least every 2 weeks, your vet won't mind.
2- from your vet, get a prescription for Adequan (hyaluronic acid) or Pentosan polysulfate (Cartrophen) and be instructed on how to inject into your dog (either subcutaneous or intramuscular, respectively) and what the schedule is. I use a number of pet mail-order pharmacy to get the best prices.
3- purchase the krill oil, greenlipped mussel oil, glucosamine/chondroitan/MSM combo pills (all but the mussel extract) can be found at Costco or similar warehouse store.
4- Daily exercise: swimming and bumper fetching is a great, low stress exercise. Walking a must if you don't have water around. Caveletti exercises are good for strengthening your dog's muscles. Consult YouTube and/or a vet clinic with a rehab department.
Try all these and see how he does. This has helped a number of my Labs! Mark & Belle

Equa Holistics Green Lipped Mussel Powder for Dogs, All-Natural Hip & Joint Support Dietary Supplement Formula for Dogs (120 Servings) https://a.co/d/1sR7yaR

Ask your veterinarian about librela . A new monoclonal antibody against nerve growth factor. It has been amazing on my personal dog as well as client animals for degenerative joint disease.

sorry. ADEQUAN is the correct spelling

My DVM told me the same thing on Tuesday. Going in to find out more about it next week. She said on her dog it's been like rolling time back 2-3 years.

With Librela, is this an IM injection? Dose size by weight?
Calling my Vet about it now..... English Pointer with OA signs, weight correct , and regular exercise....I would like to improve her quality of life.....and extend her field usefulness, for both our sakes.

Monthly subcutaneous injection. Dose based on weight

Thank you so much for the information..... I'll be in my Vet's office on Tuesday Morning for a consultation.

Follow up to the above Post. I immediately conferred with my Vet and put my 10 year old English Pointer on the medicine. Maybe just wishful thinking , but I already see a noticeable improvement in her mobility on our most recent outings, 10 days into the Rx.
Thanks for all the helpful input, particularly to Dogvet for his information and endorsement.

I give my setter Dasuquin, it is a perscription chewable treat made for dog joint health.. After about a week the difference in her is amazing. I will give it to her for life,

Great conversation--our 12 y-o Rhodesian mix was experiencing some pain and stiffness in his neck. [he is only 55 pounds] The vet gave me some pain meds to use when it gets bad. He had trouble bending down to his food dish. On a whim I bought Cosequin chews maximum strength from Costco online [also on Amazon] The label says includes Glucosamine, Chondroitin, MSM and Omega 3. Supposedly these take some time to work but we give him 2 a day and he seemed improved after just a couple of days. I have continued providing these, also set the food and water on an overturned rectangular baking pan 3 inches tall to raise the dishes.

Plus 1 on giving the dogs some help loading into the truck, I always have lifted my dogs in even when they are young, much easier to have them used to it than trying to change only when they are older and they have the habit of trying to jump ingrained.

My 9 year old DD wants to be lifted down from the tailgate after a hunt so think I'm going to start him on a joint supplement. Thanks for the info in this thread!

My 12 year old wire-haired pointer has developed considerable arthritis in her hips over the past couple of years. A year of treatment with daily doses of rimadyl and dasuquin tablets helped initially, but as things gradually declined we then added a monthly injection of adequan, alternating hips from one month to the next. Three months ago she slipped going up stairs and really torqued her right rear leg and hip, to the point that she was all but unable to walk and falling down when trying to get outside in the snow to do her business. At that point I thought we were going to have to put her down, but our vet suggested that we first try the recently-released librela injections. Those have had an amazing effect. While she's never going to get out for another pheasant hunt, she walks with little or no limp and is actually running around in the yard and enjoying life again. For a dog that is in real trouble with joint deterioration, the librela injection is very much worth looking into.

I give my dogs Wellness liquid in their food, seems to work. I run my GSP’s at least twice a day at my gun club down the road about a mile and bird hunt about 50 days/year.

I suspect you already know, but it’s worth saying: keep the dog at a healthy weight. Obesity is terrible on joints. Swim the dog regularly if he’s ok with it. Of course avoid very cold water and especially avoid muddy shorelines as this is very hard on his joints.

Meds? Talk to your vet about treating pain when necessary. I suspect that none of the popular joint supplements will actually alter the course of his arthritis. I understand the desire to help your buddy, but most of the evidence for benefit is pretty shaky.