Using glucosamine for your dog is a great way to treat arthritis in your dog’s joints. As a supplement, glucosamine is able to help by supporting a dog’s joint structure and function.
Not only that but by using glucosamine as a supplement, you are using a supplement that is chondroprotective. This allows them to be easily used in the treatment of osteoarthritis in both dogs and humans.
Not only does glucosamine help with joint health, but it plays a major role in both tendon and bone health. Sometimes referred to as chitosamine, the supplement is a naturally occurring amino sugar found in both synovial joints and cartilage.
It is normal to find glucosamine chondroitin added to many varieties of dog food sold by manufacturers. That is because the manufacturers know that the supplement is great for healthy joints in your dog. Although glucosamine can easily reverse arthritis symptoms, it is also able to stop any symptoms from developing at all if it is given early in life or as a puppy.
Benefits of Giving Your Dog Glucosamine
If you have a dog breed that is known to develop joint issues later in life, then adding a supplement like glucosamine can easily help with alleviating pain and discomfort. Not only that but it can benefit your senior dog a lot because of their increased risk of these problems.
When glucosamine is used regularly, there are many benefits that can be obtained. Some of these benefits include:
Ease of Pain
Glucosamine is used by many pet owners to help ease any pain that their dog may be experiencing. As an alternative, glucosamine is great and may be the best alternative that you come across in order to help relieve your dog’s joint pain.
There are many studies that have shown many positive effects from glucosamine and how it has relieved many cases of pain and even knee osteoarthritis. Besides osteoarthritis, glucosamine also relieves many other types of pain caused by the joints.
Able to Reverse Osteoarthritis or Arthritis
Both osteoarthritis and arthritis are both known to affect the joint’s cartilage. This usually occurs because of the dog getting older. The type of arthritis that is seen the most among dogs occurs in their hips. Because of this, glucosamine has been proven to assist in the maintenance and development of joint cartilage. This makes glucosamine perfect for relieving the symptoms associated with osteoarthritis or arthritis.
When you combine glucosamine and MSM, the symptoms will decrease even more. As long as the medication response is good, then your dog should be able to have the pain decreased and be able to become more agile in their daily life. Even if treatment has been discontinued, your dog will still be able to feel the relief for more than 90 days.
Repair to the Joint
No matter how much glucosamine a dog receives, it will have an instant effect on both the maintenance and repair of your dog’s joint. Whether the glucosamine is a pill or liquid, both are excellent ways to reduce and repair injuries sustained through sports.
Basically speaking, glucosamine is able to build important cartilage so that your dog can continue to enjoy life. Mostly, a glucosamine supplement is able to provide relief by providing anti-inflammatory properties. Because cartilage is the body’s natural absorber for shock, glucosamine is able to lubricate the joint to relieve stress and at the same time giving nourishment by using it regularly.
Recommended Doses
When providing your dog with glucosamine, you need to ensure that it is done at the correct dosage. If the amount is too high then you risk creating unfavorable results and if too little is administered then there will be very little help at all.
With glucosamine sulfate, the recommended dose is around 25 mg for every pound that your dog weights. So basically, if you have a dog that is around 25 lbs, then you would be ok to give them a 500 mg glucosamine tablet.
Of course, the dose will change with the weight of the dog and the severity of the joints. For dogs that are more than 25 lbs are able to safely be given 2 tablets every day without having any negative impact. If you have a large dog that weighs over 70 lbs they can be given 4 tablets every day.
Remember, you can make adjustments to the dose as time goes by and as soon as improvement is seen. Not only that, but they can be added to the food that you feed your dog in case they aren’t able or willing to take them from your hand. Either way you will be able to take proper care of your pup.
Possible Adverse Reactions
Although there are so many benefits that your dogs will receive by taking glucosamine, you need to understand that there are some possible adverse reactions that do exist.
Allergic Reaction
Even though an allergic reaction is uncommon, it still could be possible. This is mostly due in part of having underlying allergies stemming from shellfish.
Abnormal Drowsiness
Having a shift in the amount of energy can be seen as normal while taking glucosamine. Being very drowsy is temporary but just make sure that you are aware that it does occur.
Inability to Sleep
Having an inability to sleep well can result from glucosamine. This also includes having a hard time to nap throughout the day.
Extremely Thirsty
Having extreme thirst can be triggered by many medications including glucosamine. You may need to keep an eye on your dog if they seem to be drinking more water than normal. If you also notice them drinking more in shorter amounts of time then they may have been given too much glucosamine.
Diabetes
Since glucosamine is a sugar-based supplement, you should keep an eye on the number of times that you give it to your dog. This may hold true especially if your dog has already been diagnosed with diabetes.
So what it all boils down to is the fact that the benefits of glucosamine certainly outnumber any true cons.
What’s Better, Glucosamine Sulfate or Glucosamine Hydrochloride?
When it comes to effectiveness, glucosamine sulfate and glucosamine hydrochloride both provide identical results. Nevertheless, the hydrochloride version of glucosamine is more highly sought after than its sulfate counterpart because of its amount of concentration.
Not only that, but the hydrochloride type has a substantially less amount of sodium than what is found in glucosamine sulfate. Knowing this will allow you to be more educated in what is best to use for your dog so that their overall health is taken into account.
What’s Better, Methylsulphynolmethane or Glucosamine?
Methylsulphynolmethane (MSN) is a naturally occurring sulfur that is known for its ability to assist with joint health on a therapeutic level. It is able to decrease the amount of joint pain associated with many injuries, carpal tunnel, back pain, and arthritis.
When both MSN and glucosamine are combined they are able to work together in order to repair all muscles, joints, and tissues. This will help to reduce any future symptoms. It is also common to have supplements include many other molecules that can provide a benefit that has an increased amount of wholesomeness.
Conclusion
Wrapping up, there is a lot to gain and little to lose by providing your pooch with adequate glucosamine in their food, especially as they age and are prone to arthritis and joint issues.
