Vitamins for Dogs with Joint Issues

While many veterinarians feel that healthy eating supplies the nutrient requirements needed in most dogs, vitamins can be a vital part of your pet’s diet. Though if your dog has joint problems, vitamins can be very useful to keeping your pet at peak performance. But beware, over-supplementing is possible in dogs, so be careful when choosing the right vitamin for the benefits most necessary.

Glucosamine and Chondroitin

Glucosamine and chondroitin are the most common supplements used for treating joint problems and can found either by themselves or as part of a multi-vitamin. These are probably the most popular supplements because they occur naturally in healthy joint fluid and cartilage. Research has shown that giving these supplements to your dog can not only ease joint pain but replenish the nutrients in joint fluid and cartilage that has been worn away from any number of factors.

Cosequin

Cosequin, combines the helpful rejuvenating powers of glucosamine and chondroitin and adds them to manganese to relieve joint pain in dogs. Manganese is an anti-inflammatory and is found in many foods such as nuts, seeds, and vegetables. The vitamin is available in many forms, but perhaps the two easiest forms of it to administer to your pet are through a powder that can be dusted over food and flavored chewables.

Nupro Joint Support

Nupro Joint Support is a combination of glucosamine with MSM and special ingredient ester-C. MSM is another anti-inflammatory much like manganese, and is sometimes used in humans to ease osteoarthritis. Ester-C is added because it’s a form of vitamin C, which some researchers claim helps it enter the body’s cells faster.

Cetyl-M

Cetyl-M is combined mix of cetyl myristoleate and glucosamine and is probably the most expensive option on our list. The purpose of this supplement is two-fold; first, it acts as an anti-inflammatory while helping boost the immune system to maintain the health of the cartilage in the body and second, it helps to rebuild existing cartilage by cutting down on friction so as to help get back as much flexibility in the joint as possible. This supplement is probably best effective in dogs with signs of severe hip dysplasia, or for pets that have just had joint surgery; Cetyl-M is a means to help speed up their recovery.