Joint supplement for dogs - recommendations?

[iggypiggy]

My 3 yr old lab is on a supplement the vet gave us called Synoquin - which is all very well but is massively expensive...

These are the ingredients:
Synoquin ingredients:
475mg Glucosamine HCL (99% Pure)
350mgChondroitin Sulphate (95% Pure).
50mg Acetyl D-Glucosamine (99% Pure)
50mg Ascorbic Acid
30mg Zinc Sulphate
TOTAL ACTIVE INGREDIENTS PER GRAM 955

I just wondered if anyone could recommend anything less expensive, but equally effective!

[MrsL123]

Ours have Seraquin which has 500mg of Glucosamine HCL and 380mg of Chondroitin Sulphate per 2g tablet, so higher than the Synoquin. You can buy it online at various places - pet dispensary does 360 tablets for £99, so it works out at about 28p per tablet. After the initial 'loading dose' (which you probably won't need if you're just switching from the Synoquin) one tablet a day should suffice.

[MrsL123]

Sorry meant to add, none of the 'normal' pet shop joint supplements can compare to the likes of Seraquin or Synoquin, and you have to feed more of them to get the same amount of active ingredients, so they work out more expensive anyway.

[iggypiggy]

Thanks v. much MrsL

That is still cheaper than the synoquin - which is something insane like £54 for 60 tablets...

[MrsL123]

The Seraquin is really good, especially as they only need one a day. If you don't want to buy in bulk you can get a pack of 60 for about £17, so it really is a bargain compared to the Synoquin, and they're stronger so it's win-win. Each tablet is about the size of a penny and ours used to take them like a treat (they're chicken flavoured), but now we just break them in half and put them in their breakfast. Our 11 month old gets a whole tablet because she's recovering from elbow dysplasia (she'll be on them for life to ward off arthritis), but our 3 year old just gets a half because she doesn't really need them for anything specific - we just give her them because they're cheap, only works out at about £4 a month! We've also switched them onto Arden Grange dried food for their breakfast (they get Naturediet at night) because it has joint supplements in - every little helps! They've had it for a few weeks now and seem to enjoy it, and we got it from Berriewoods for £23 a bag, so can't complain at that

[iggypiggy]

Mine gets a raw diet, but does get ND if I ever need to feed comercial, is pretty good stuff isn't it?

The reason I need the supplements is convoluted! But basically he had unexplained lameness last year that we had lots of investigations into, including x-rays - and althought the cause of the lameness turned out to be fixable by a chiropractor (big knots of muscle in his neck on one side - prob from an old injury) - the x-rays showed v. minor elbow probs - def not enough to cause lameness - but obv something to protect as much as poss... so he is on supplements for life too...

Buying in bulk sounds easier - thanks for the link - much appreciated!

[beautifulgirls]

Is your dog insured? You can often claim for things like seraquin if so.

[sparechange]

I used to give my old dog Cortaflex, after having it recommended by the vet and a breeder/trainer

It is a liquid which you put in the food, so if you have other dogs, you'll have to feed them seperately to ensure the right one is getting the cortaflex...

[iggypiggy]

beautiful yes - the synoquin was on the insurance - but they only cover one bottle..

spare change thank - I know about that stuff cos we use it for the horses... didn't realise there was a dog version!

[IlsaLund]

One of my dogs takes Seraquin - it's made a huge difference to her suppleness. She has one and a half tablets a day with her meal.

[liannew]

Wouldn't buy anything from this company. Very overpriced and no quality control.

[Dottie20017]

Talking " supplements for your dog's arthritis" there is a really good one called " mobile bones" from a company called " pooch & mutt's " it really work's within a week ... I know as my dog has been on this for 2 year's ( with no I'll effects ) it's made with all natural product's & it's in powder form ( so goes right into the food) & the price is a mere fraction of the price of the " seraquin"