[Dailydrool] Edgar

[Pamela McQuade via Dailydrool]

Have you put Edgar on glucosamine to help with his arthritis? It can be 
very helpful with back issues, as we found with our back-surgery boy, 
Abner. According to Abs's surgeon, it lubricates the bone, making it 
slip better, so if you have narrowing in the back, I think it might 
help. It's worth trying.

I asked Abner's primary-care doc if I should put him on it, and he 
wasn't enthusiastic. Some vets will be, some won't. But my doctor told 
me it is one of the few nutraceuticals that have been carefully tested 
and proven to help. It is worth trying (and I wish I'd given it to Abs 
earlier than I did, since he stopped biting after I started him on 
it--he had been in pain, and that stopped it). You may have to give it 
for a couple of months to see if it works, but all my dogs have had a 
quick improvement.

Since this is not a drug, there is no requirement for a certain amount 
of glucosamine in any product. I found that effectiveness varied a lot, 
depending on the brand. When our Holly was so bad with arthritis, we put 
her on Dasuquin, which was far and away the best product. You can get 
this through your vet or get a script for it and buy it online. It is 
more expensive than the human glucosamine, but it helps when that won't. 
My vet says that the avocado in Dasuquin, though it sounds goofy, has 
actually been proven effective.

I am no vet, of course, and I would run it by your vet first, but if you 
are not told you cannot use it, I would give it a try.
Pam, food slave to the Dashing Bassets