|
|
 I'm Cooler Offline
Posts: 6387
   
Location: Pacific Northwest | My parents and my brother both recently got GSD puppies, they're about 4 months old now. When we were little we had a GSD that we had gotten from my uncle; very well bred, my uncle and my best friend's dad used to train GSDs for schutzhund and all their dogs were very carefully bred, some were imported, etc. Ika started having hip problems at an early age, which is how we ended up with her. I think of all their dogs she was the only one that had problems at a young age.
I was really young at the time so obviously I didn't know anything about joints or supplements, and plus Ika always did pretty well. She got enough exercise on her own on the farm to keep her at a healthy weight and her hips didn't really start bothering her until she got old.
So far, neither Kona or Arya (the new puppies) show signs of having problems, and they go to the vet on a regular basis for shots, wellness check-ups, etc. I like our vet a lot and she hasn't mentioned anything about either of them appearing like they will have problems in the future.
But I'm a worrier so I'm wondering if it would be beneficial to start them on something early? What's a good age to start dogs on a joint supplement as a preventative?
| |
| | |
 Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| I would put him on Adequan and I don't think you can do it too soon. I have a 16 month old Scottish Fold cat that I have had since he was 4 months old. He was limping on right front on and off, I watched him for a couple of weeks, he was not improving so took him to the vet who did not find anything. He started limping on left front so did some research and found that the gene that causes the ears to fold can cause thick joints and arthritis. I did the 6 shot loading dose and with in 2 doses he was a different cat- more active and no longer stiff and limping when first waking up. Shots are given according to weight so they were very cheap for a cat. I paid $7 for 4 more shots to give twice a month for maintenance. | |
| | |
  The Color Specialist
Posts: 7530
 
Location: Washington. (The DRY side.) | Personally, I wouldn't waste the money. Giving them
a suppliment now is NOT going to stop them from having bad hips. They either do or don't. | |
| |
|
OT - puppies and joint supplements