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My dog BLF is turning 11 in a couple of weeks and she is starting to slow down. I have noticed her having a difficult time jumping up on the couch or climbing the stairs. I went to my vet yesterday and he told me to put her on supplements (glucosamine and fish oil) he recommended the human type and not pet because of price. I am looking for advice or suggestions from the ones that has used them in the past.

My vet is a Hunt Tester/Duck Hunter, and he recommends Synovi G3 or G4, that you can get online. We have had both ours on G3 for many years, and just switched to G4 (bc Vet told us to do so for the old dog).

I've had good success with Dasaquin. I can tell when I've forgotten to give them their pills in a day or two b/c they slow down. I give it every night and seems to work with my two older dogs. (9 and 13)

I recommend Dasuquin often. Good product from a company that has done some solid research on their product.

An NSAID (Rimadyl, Meloxicam, etc.) may help a lot too. Especially on days your dog is going to be more active. My lab is 12 and has been on Carprofen daily for several years now.

I get meloxicam thru the pharmacy at our grocery store(kroger) for $4.00 for 30 pills. not to bad It seems to help my 14 yo lab

Thanks guys I have started the supplements and hoping that she responses to them soon. I went back to the vet and he gave me Deramaxx for a couple days to try and get this under control and all I can say is wow. She has the energy she had when she was 4-5 years old but at the cost of $6 per pill is going to get old fast. I will try to talk him into meloxicam and see how that goes. All this has got me into looking for a cheaper pill than $6 and was wondering about these online pet meds sites. I have always wanted to support my vet but the cost between the 2 is a lot. What is everyone experiences and opinion on using them and how will the vet take it?

I'm a vet but I don't do much dog/cat work anymore.

There are other NSAIDs approved for dogs that are more cost effective that Deramaxx, but it is a great drug. I'd have a conversation with your vet. Long term Deramaxx is going to get expensive. Most vets understand financial concerns, we deal with it everyday.

Meloxicam tabs are an option if your dog is a size that the human tabs will work safely. I'm sorry I don't remember the dose off the top of my head.

I'm not a fan of the pet meds sites. Yes, I'm obviously biased. Some of those sites sell drugs and vaccines cheaper than I can buy from my distributor. The clinic I used to work at would try to match prices of online prices, but sometimes we were already cheaper. Also, some of those sites are sketchy, there have been counterfeit products discovered on more than one occasion.

Like I said, have a conversation with your vet. Let him know your concerns about costs and see what he can do.

The generic for Rimadyl is Carprofen. It is not that expensive. It is makes a big difference on my old dogs

Dasuquin is a great supplement. It's my personal preference as the first line of therapy for early arthritic dogs. Fish oil is a good addition as well, you can buy the fish oil caps and cut them and squeeze the liquid over the dogs food. With your dog you may need something a little more than just supplements, they help a little but they are not going to make a dramatic change in anything. If you haven't had any bloodwork done on your dog in a while I would recommend at least having a chemistry panel done to asses kidney function. NSAIDS can be hard on the kidneys and renal disease is common in older dogs so we always recommend checking some bloodwork before going on an NSAID long term. I would get on carprofen (rimadyl), it will definitely be more cost effective. You want to be on the lowest daily dose to keep clinical signs under control.

Also, make sure we keep up our activity level, and if your lab is overweight then definitely work on weight loss. I don't see a lot of older labs that are at an ideal body weight, so if we are overweight, getting that extra weight off will definitely help in the long term and help slow down the progression of the arthritis.