Dog Has Bad Hips - Give People Vitamins?

Question

I have an 8-year old, 160 lb. Rottweiler that has bad hips. I looked into the hip joint medicine for dogs, but for his size he would have to take about 5 pills a day and it is crazy expensive.

Can I give him joint supplements for people? Should it be glucosamine or shark cartiledge? Or something else? Thanks!

I talked to the vet that we normally take him to and he wanted us to have a hip operation done on him that costs $3,000. Then we would have to carry him out to go to the bathroom for several months. Since he is already very old for a big dog and we are stuggling for money right now....and we both work fulltime...this is clearly not an option for us. He told us otherwise...just go to Petsmart and buy something. Maybe I should get another vet's opinion, huh?

Money is an issue! My friend asked me to watch this dog for "about a week" while she found a new apartment...and never came back for him. We love him....but didn't bring this on ourselves. I work 2 jobs trying to make ends meet and have 3 kids. If money is not an issue for you...count your blessings!

Checked the Rimadyl and it is $38 for 30 pills...ouch! I don't even take my prescribed allergy medicine anymore because we can't afford it right now!

Answer 1

You should talk this over with your vet but why not use human glucosamine/chondroitin instead? There are things for pets but they are really small dosages at very high prices.

With such a big dog you can slice up cheese and mold it around the big tablets. You can even get a pill cutter if he still eats the cheese and spits them out.

Again, I would ask your vet for the latest info but from what I remember, these work even better for dogs than for humans, it takes a few months to work, excess gets excreted and you have to keep at it permanently. I don't know if there are newer studies.

Your dog is the same size as an adult male human so the dosages are pretty significant.

Good prices at Puritan's Pride and they always have a sale on something. They regularly have a buy-1-get-2-free sale when you can stock up.

http://www.vitamins.com/pages/iq.asp?xs=4E2EFE2B9E3442CFA535BC94AAB4F71C&SearchText=glucosamine+chondroitin&imageField.x=0&imageField.y=0

You can also get a bottoms up leash:

http://www.handicappedpets.com/resleash/

If he is overweight, having him lose weight slowly over time wil make it much easier on him and on you. He can live to 12-13 or even longer.

Most operations done on humans were tested on pets so was your vet thinking about a hip replacement? You can shop the price around and get a second opinion.

Everyone has to weigh these very high costs against reality.

Answer 2

what medication are you giving? you can use otc glucosamine, but NEVER use human vitamins for your dog without checking with your vet first. the dosages and vitamin requirements are different.

add- uh, yeah i would get a second opinion. your vet is recommending hip replacement surgery? not a good idea for an old dog. i say that because the recovery is long, drawn out, and can be painful. how is the dogs activity level now?- probably not so active as to warrant surgery. i would really get a second opinion.

Answer 3

YES! You can give your dog glucosamine and such that is intended for people. I give my 70# dogs the following dosages daily:

Glucosamine 1000mg
MSM 500mg
Shark Cartildge 740mg
Hyaluronic Acid 10mg
Bromelain 40mg (digestive aid to help disperse meds properly throughout the body)

The cheapest place I have found them on the web is www.puritansale.com Costs about 12 cents a day for the dosages I use.

Talk to your vet, and research the dosages for a dog of his size. But go ahead and give him the human stuff!!! Alot of times the human stuff is even better because it is pure and the dog stuff has a lot of fillers in it!

Answer 4

At 160lbs, any joint supplement is unfortunately not going to be very cheap. You can give human glucosamine to dogs...it's the same thing only formulated differently (most dog supplements are flavored) and at a different dose. Read how many mg of glucosamine are in each pill (most human supplements list them per pill, although some might list them per dose and a dose may be more than one pill) and use that to compare. One brand may be $3 cheaper but have only half as much glucosamine as the next cheapest brand. Also, google "glucosamine for dogs" to get an idea of what range you're looking for (I seem to remember it being somewhere around 1,000mg/day for my dogs but they are only half as big as yours and I could be remembering incorrectly).

You should look into using a supplement that has glucosamine and MSM to help not only with the joint degeneration but also with the associated pain. Also, you may want to look into adding vitamin E and vitamin C (preferably ester-C) to the supplement regimen as well as both of these vitamins seem to have anti-inflammatory properties that help ease joint pain.

Answer 5

Your dog needs to be evaluated by a vet & possibly an orthopedic specialist to determine what the problem is & how best to treat it. Suppliments may or may not be helpful depending on the cause of the problem. Discuss the use of suppliments with your vet or orthopedist when you formulate a plan of care for the dog.

Answer 6

Yes, you can give your Rottweiler human joint supplements. I had a golden retriever that was 98 pounds (big for a golden) and had hip dysplasia. We gave her Glucosamine supplements once a day with food and it seemed to help. I also have a German Shepard mix now who was just diagnosed with hip dysplasia last week and my vet recommended a once a day glucosamine supplement. It works for them the same way it works for us. I hope this helps.

Answer 7

Haha, jiont stuff for humans... for a dog! Hah, somthing I would do! I don't know why it would work but we give my old dog this liquid in his food everyday, its like £50 a month but it really works. I go tit in a really good horse shop that sells every suplement for horses going so I'd look in a good horse shop

Answer 8

Get his weght down to as little as possible, even on the thin side. The added weight is what is causing so much pain.
Glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM are all great joint supplements. I don't know how much you can spend, but the supplement that I use, and has done wonders for my dog is this: http://www.springtimeinc.com/product/172/2
Also, you could try a health food store and get those supplements for humans and just dose the dog for the weight that you would a human. It's hard to overdose on those supplements, so you don't have to worry about that.
Good luck!

Answer 9

There are a few brands of dog food that have glucosamine & Chondroitin in them (for example Nutro Natural Choice for large breeds). Also try a good holistic pet supply store. They sell products that you can give your dog as an additive in their food or already incorporated into treat form. I don't believe in giving my dog any kind of people medicine or vitamins unless my vet gives me the OK.

Answer 10

Glucosomine and Chondroitin as a combo pill.

Take as MUCH weight off the dog as possible. His hips will have less to support then. See if you can find somewhere to do swimming therapy... it will help him build other muscles to support his rear.

I'm going to star this so I remember to come back tonight and give you the name of a supplement that will help decrease the pain.