Glucosamine and Chondroitin for Dogs
Did you know that 20% of all dogs will suffer with osteoarthritis and joint pain at some stage of their life? Joint pain can happen at any stage of a dog's life and not necessarily in old age.
Early preventative steps in assisting your dogs joint health is an excellent way in slowing down degeneration and deterioration. Glucosamine and chondroitin, is an excellent natural alternative to keeping your dogs joint healthy and in top condition.
What is glucosamine?
Glucosamine is a natural compound that is created from glucose and glutamine, it's these two combinations that assist with maintaining healthy joints and cartilage. Glucosamine is also important in the growth and structure of cartilage growth and the lubrication of joints.
When your dog is suffering with joint stiffness and pain this could be caused by the dog's body not producing enough glucosamine naturally. This is when a natural supplement such as fish, trachea, shark cartilage, or shark cartilage powder, squid cartilage is beneficial.
Chondroitin assists in the maintenance of the thickness of your dog's natural joint lubrication. It creates structure and compression resistance to your dog's cartilage.
While glucosamine is excellent for relief in joint pain, chondroitin helps more with anti-inflammatory properties.
How do you know if your dog is showing signs of canine arthritis?
They have stiffness or may limp.It's usually more obvious in the mornings or in the colder weather.
They may have more difficulty getting up or down or be reluctant to stand for too long.
Climbing staircases becomes more of a challenge.
Pain from walking or jumping. Getting in and out of cars proves a challenge.
No interest in playing, walking or exercise as it's too painful for them.
Glucosamine is naturally found in shellfish like lobster and shrimp, while Chondroitin is naturally found in fish and shark.
Always check with your veterinarian before starting your dog on Glucosamine or on any holistic treatment. If your dog is a diabetic or you suspect your dog may have diabetes, glucosamine may not be recommended because it's an amino sugar. If your dog is on blood thinning medication glucosamine may not be recommended as this could also cause bleeding. Glucosamine has the same properties of heparin. Also it's important to know if your dog has an allergic reaction to shellfish. It's not a common ailment with dogs, however it does exist.
