 | Home > Off Topic > Food supplements for older dogs |
 
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| discomog Member Since: 09 May 2015 Location: Notts/Lincs Border Posts: 2526   
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You could always take a leaf out of my book - book him (or her) into the vets, let them diagnose and then recommend a specialist diet food or a supplement. As you say they will no doubt recommend something from their expensive shelves. Pay their consultancy fee and go find the same product via Google, that way you get expert advice from your vet and you get the best possible price. We were recommended a veterinary diet for one of our bitches with a urinary problem and found it about a third cheaper via the internet. She was on the veterinary diet for three years so saved ourselves a fortune. Defender 90XS SW
Mini Countryman Cooper S Morgan Plus 8 |
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12th Dec 2020 9:07pm |
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| landy andy Member Since: 15 Feb 2009 Location: Ware, Herts Posts: 5707 
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Kronch dry food for our boy as it’s made from quality salmon fish that contains natural oil that is good for their joints.
I may ask a doctor if I have arthritis but wouldn’t ask him to plan my menu. |
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12th Dec 2020 9:16pm |
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| hank Member Since: 12 Sep 2016 Location: South Wales Posts: 2300  
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Vets can sometimes be brand ambassadors/sales people...
Have you ever looked at the BARF (raw) diet? I switched mine onto it around four years ago... His "allergies" cleared up within a week or two and his glands now look after themselves rather than needing expressing every few months. It's also leaned him right out and his coat went from being like dry wire to soft and fluffy! It also seems to have mellowed him out a bit but not 100% certain this is from diet... I sometimes give him some fish oil or if I see him eating grass I give him something high in chlorophyll - some green veg typically. Only downside that I can see is that occasionally a bit of meat can get stuck in a tooth and it doesn't half honk 
There is an excellent documentary called Pet Fooled which exposes some of the muck that big brands sneak into dog foods - really will make you think! > 110 XS Double Cab |
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12th Dec 2020 9:18pm |
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| lohr500 Member Since: 14 Sep 2014 Location: Skipton Posts: 1316 
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We've been giving our 12 year old Vizsla two JOINTSURE tablets each evening for the past 2 years.
They are almost the same composition as the much more expensive YuMove tablets that the vet recommended for my parents old Lab. We think they make a big difference to her mobility after long walks. They are often on special offer on eBay or direct from the manufacturer Vetwell Scientific. And she loves eating the tablets which is a bonus too as it makes them easy to administer!! |
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13th Dec 2020 9:58am |
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| Muddybigdog Member Since: 11 Apr 2014 Location: Suffolk Posts: 1017 
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Expensive but good are Synoquin EFA Capsules for Dogs, due to cost we have moved to Dorwest Glucosamine & Chondroitin Tablets.
Plus meal times we add a few drops of Akela Pure Salmon Oil, also their food ranks highly on https://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/ Jumped ship to reliability - Mitsubishi L200 Puma 90 XS - Sold D3 - 2.7 S x2 (both Sold) Freelander 2 HSE - Sold Freelander 1 - Sold Disco 2 - Sold |
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13th Dec 2020 11:11am |
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| Barneyboy Member Since: 19 Nov 2014 Location: Exmoor Posts: 1621  
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Hi we give Barney our almost 9 year old black lab 2 of the below each day, he is very alert to having absolutely anything added to his food so much so he will actually find them and gently remove
 with these he is absolutely oblivious to there being anything other than a treat  cheers Paul
 Click image to enlarge |
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13th Dec 2020 2:39pm |
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| RFT Member Since: 13 Nov 2010 Location: Cheshire Posts: 678 
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++ for Youmove Our 8 year old collie eats them up with his dry food (Simpsons Premium Lamb & Brown Rice)
We tried the foods for older dogs and he did not react well at all, almost like his blood sugar dropped very low 130 Puma HCPU with an Artica 240LR Demountable Camper |
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13th Dec 2020 7:35pm |
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| Bluest Member Since: 23 Apr 2016 Location: Lancashire Posts: 4209 
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Thanks all, a lot of good stuff to look into.
I don’t think a switch to raw diet is for us. He’s always been on a German made cold pressed dried food and we’ve had no health issues, so don’t really want to change. Hence why a supplement appeals. Luckily, he’s not at all fussy about what’s in his bowl. 2007 110 TDCi Station Wagon XS |
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13th Dec 2020 8:31pm |
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| geobloke Member Since: 06 Nov 2012 Location: Nottinghamshire Posts: 4410
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What dog do you have Bluest? As with everything in life there is no quick fix, but supplements like Youmove or A-OK9 Flexi K9 do help. There are also a number of foods with green lipped mussel extract and congriten amongst other things that has been proved to help with joints and mobility. Combining nutrition with a fitness regime can have incredible results; this could include sessions in a dog hydrotherapy pool, virtual dog fitness classes (I am happy to make a suggestion here if you are interested, it is great fun) or one to one physiotherapy consults. For over night stiffness look to a quality orthopaedic dog mattress, not only do they support the dog whilst they sleep but they can also retain an amount of body heat which will make getting up in the morning a little less clunky... Then if you are really keen to get hands on then you can look in to dog massage and manipulation through Tellington T-touch. Same thing as used in horses. If you go to a specialist (either a qualified vet or canine physiotherapist) they will guide you through the above with your dogs specifics in mind. What they may tell you is to consider reducing the length of walks for a period to see if the stiffness improves, work on the dogs overall fitness and then begin to increase the walk duration once more. Hope that helps. |
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14th Dec 2020 9:31am |
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| AMBxx Member Since: 24 Jul 2016 Location: York Posts: 1031 
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Joint Aid from GWF is supposed to be very good. https://www.gwfnutrition.com/pages/joint-aid-dog
We give it to one of our alpacas on recommendation of our vet. One of our dogs (schnauzer) is on Synoquin. She thinks it's a dog treat, so no problems there. Get yourself an independent vet - avoid the big groups like CVS (if they have 'healthy dog club', they're CVS). |
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14th Dec 2020 1:10pm |
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| Romadog Member Since: 07 Jul 2011 Location: Powys Posts: 1749 |
You move
Used with my Labs. Search google to find good bargain offers. |
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14th Dec 2020 1:57pm |
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| Bluest Member Since: 23 Apr 2016 Location: Lancashire Posts: 4209
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He's a Basset Hound. Hydrotherapy pool is no good as he can't swim. I took him to a pool once when he was younger as I thought it would be a good idea to try and teach him in case he fell in the res. He couldn't keep his head above water and kept rolling over. Even with a float vest on he kept listing to one side
He does absolutely love a massage though! I sometimes do his front shoulders and he goes into a trance. 2007 110 TDCi Station Wagon XS |
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14th Dec 2020 5:33pm |
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| MarkyT Member Since: 29 Mar 2014 Location: Colchester Posts: 33
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a small spoonfull of codliver oil in his food every day will help ease his stiffness of joints and make his coat look nice
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15th Dec 2020 11:39am |
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