Every day I bring you an item on Amazon that I personally use or has been purchased by many members of the audience and I have researched enough to recommend.

Today’s TSP Amazon Item of the day is Nutramax Cosequin DS Plus with MSM Chewable Tablets for Dogs.  It is a sad fact that dogs don’t live as long as humans, in fact they live for a fraction of our lifetimes.  While the oldest dog ever (Maggie) was over 30 years old, average dog lifespan is about 10-13 years depending on breed.

This means by 7-8 years your pup is on the door step of being an old man or old woman.  Say in the 50-60 year old range for humans, but unlike humans who have 20 years before they hit 80 once they hit 60, dogs will be in those “golden years” in 2-4.  And everything that comes with us getting older happens to them at an accelerated rate.  This includes arthritis and sore joints.

Now when it comes to sore joints one of the supplement combinations proven to work is glucosamine combined with chondroitin.  Many of us who have used this personally or on our aging dogs need no confirmation that it is effective, but this study which was the largest of its kind so far, concluded with, “The present study provided evidence for the symptomatic efficacy of glucosamine plus chondroitin in the treatment of knee OA.”  (OA being osteoarthritis)

I can tell you that this stuff has made my German Sheppard’s life better.  Max is huge which adds to the issue and his breed is known for hip problems.  We put him on more than the specified dose for a month, then dropped to 2 twice a day.  This is still a bit more than by the label but he is 150 pounds and the label ends with 60lbs and above.

For Charlie our Pit-Pointer mix we have him on two a day for preventative maintenance.  Lucy our Pit-Huskey mix who is still young and spry gets one a day also as a preventative measure.  Honestly had I known how great this stuff was I would have put Max on it for maintenance years before he needed it.  They way gluosamine and chondroitin are thought to work is by improving cartilage health.  This makes sense as they are two primary components in cartilage.

Additionally this product contains MSM (methylsulfonylmethane) which has a great reputation for join health and inflammation reduction as well.  Less studies have been done on MSM but again those of us who have used it know it seems to help us.  I actually take a “human version” of glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM myself along with Turmeric with Bioprene.  However Nutramax Cosequin DS Plus is what I rely on for the pups.

I find it a good value though with three big dogs it can be a bit expensive but my pups are like family.  In my years I have in various ways done a number on my joints from back, to shoulder, to knee and some of you have heard my ankles crack.  So I understand pain sucks and do what I can for our pack that gives so much back to us.

The big thing is they actually eat them, including the big baby Max who is a pain in the ass to get to eat anything “unusual” to him.  It took a while but now he eats them with out much fuss.  Charlie would eat my finger if I accidentally cut it off so getting him to eat them was no challenge.  Lucy took some work but she eats them now.  So no wrapping them in cheese just to get them down.

So if you have a dog that is getting older and having joint issues give these a try, or consider them as a maintenance supplement for long term joint health.  I checked into a lot of options and Nutramax Cosequin DS Plus with MSM is the best value to quality ratio I have found.

Remember you can always find all of our reviews at TspAz.com

P.S. – Vitamin C is also awesome for dogs as to joint pain.  It is an old hunter’s trick to keep older bird dogs happily hunting a few more years.  Here is some info on that.  Note that I don’t think it works as good as glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM at correcting the long term problem, but rather reduces pain vs. effecting the underlying issue.

While there are “dog specific” vitamin c products they cost more for no good reason.  I just use cheap Natures Made Chewables for myself and the dogs when a C boost is needed.  For dogs either do the “throat rub” or crush them up in their food.  When it comes to vitamin C I stick to chewables because they are highly absorbable, and frankly don’t taste bad.

P.S.S. – I am not a doctor, I am not a vet, I don’t even play either on T.V.  None of this is medical advice or a prescription you should follow.  Check with your vet about any questions you have about your specific needs.  I am just telling you what I use, why I use it and my results.