Joint Supplements: Are they necessary for a young rott?

[Dstosh]

My 2 year old female rott, Roxy, does not show any signs of joint problems, but some people have said that because rotts are susceptible to hip/elbow dysplasia joint supplements should be used to prevent these problems. Roxy has not been x-ray tested for hip dysplasia yet, but I plan to have her tested in the spring for her annual physical. Is it necessary for a rott so young to be on a joint supplement without any signs of joint discomfort? If so, what supplements do you recommend? I plan to ask the veterinarian as well during her next appointment, but I haven't had the chance to meet with a vet since her last visit for bladder infection during the summer time.

[Zephir]

What do you do with Roxy? Schutzhund, agility, flyball, obedience, hiking, house pet?? Personally, if she is doing anything other than being a house pet I would have her on joint supplements. I have one that had an FHO at 11 months. She is now almost 5 years. When I run out of her supplements I can tell in just a short amount of time - her gait and posture change. My other guys also receive joint supplements (ages 3 & 6) since they are sport dogs, and I do everything I can to keep them as conditioned and healty as possible.

[jennylilbit]

My Rottie is 10 mnths old and instead of giving him suplements I feed him Nutro Natural puppy formula for large breed puppies It has glucosomine and chondrotin in the food already. You may want to try it.

[Skip]

Originally Posted by jennylilbit

My Rottie is 10 mnths old and instead of giving him suplements I feed him Nutro Natural puppy formula for large breed puppies It has glucosomine and chondrotin in the food already. You may want to try it.

Many here advise against using any of the so-called puppy formulas for rotts. Do some searching here on puppy formulas for more info.

[brunie's mom]

Originally Posted by Skip

Many here advise against using any of the so-called puppy formulas for rotts. Do some searching here on puppy formulas for more info.

I agree with Skip. You could be doing much better food wise than Nutro. The amount of gluc./chond in the Nutro is minimal....it's not a theraputic dosage. The company puts it in because "it sounds good".

As far as the OP's question, I think you should add some gluc./chond. supplement if your dog is doing some excessive sport such as agility or something where the joints are exposed to alot of repetitve wear and tear.

If the dog is a pet, going out for a couple of walks per day and playing in the backyard with the ball...I would not bother adding a supplement to a young dogs diet.

Gina

[rottcrazed]

As above - I supplement my young working dogs, but even with my pup who is 7 months and not jumping yet, she just gets glucosamine. My others, one working dog, two seniors, get Glycoflex 3 everyday!

Kristi

[Dstosh]

Thank you for the advice. Roxy is more a pet than anything. I mean we go hiking alot in the spring and summer, but besides that she just plays around in the yard and on walks. I think I will hold off on the joint supplements until she needs it for sure. I'm still crossing my fingers that nothing turns up on her xrays in the spring! I am wondering about the Nutro Natural dog food though...I recently switched Roxy onto Canidae and an employee was telling me that the Nutro Nartural dog foods are supposed to be better quality, etc. What is your opinion??? Is Canidae the best choice for Roxy that isn't extremely expensive or hard to find?

[spidey]

Hip and elbow dysplasia are generally considered to be genetic diseases, dogs either have them or they don't. Supplements can help reduce the severity of symptoms (along with slow growth, maintaining a lean body weight and appropriate muscle mass), but they cannot "prevent" dysplasia. I don't see much point in supplementing a puppy with anything if it's eating a high quality diet, and supplements can cause problems.

[dogsbydoug]

Originally Posted by jennylilbit

My Rottie is 10 mnths old and instead of giving him suplements I feed him Nutro Natural puppy formula for large breed puppies It has glucosomine and chondrotin in the food already. You may want to try it.

The amount of Gluc/Chon in the food is not nearly enough to be beneficial...