Give glucosamine to a Labrador as a precautionary measure?

Question:
Can I give my two-and-a-half year old Labrador a glucosamine capsule out of precaution? Or should I wait until she’s a bit older, like five years?
To what extent have the glucosamine products your company been tested on dogs? Over what time period?[glucosamine-links]

Answer:
If you suspect that your dog has a chance to get osteoarthritis or hip dysplasia then it can’t hurt to give them something preventative. However, our preference doesn’t go out to glucosamine, because this may have some side effects in the long run. Chondroitin is just as a powerful protection supplement of the cartilage and doesn’t have any long term side effects.

One chondroitin capsule a day is sufficient. So, a jar will last six months.

You could wait until the dog is a bit older, but then there is always a chance that there could be osteoarthritis. It’s best to make that judgment call yourself, for instance by looking at the ‘osteoarthritis history’ of the parents.

Glucosamine and chondroitin are not specifically tested on dogs as far as we know (we haven’t come across any scientific studies). However, there is no reason to believe that they wouldn’t respond well to it. In our experience they even respond very well. The well-known brands of dog products add glucosamine and chondroitin to their products. But it is pretty expensive. Partly for that reason, millions of dog owners (and thousands of our customers) give capsules meant for humans to their dogs. A further consideration is that people trust products more that are made for human consumption.