joint pain

Phil L wrote in rec.pets.dogs.health:

cshenk wrote:
snip


Aunti Mabel, youngest Vet age estimate now is 15 (we call
Thanksgiving her birthday so 16 before long). Heartworm but no
apparent lingering systemic damage, arthritis. Same as Cash, she
gets the bone broth and shrimp shells/heads but her jaw and teeth
can't handle the raw marrow bone. We tried the shellfish based
one but something in it didn't agree with her (though shrimp shells
are fine). We swapped to one with no shellfish and the combination
effect of the 2 have her hopping about almost like a puppy now.


Thanks for the info, I might make some large batches (to freeze off
in portions) of bone broth because my dog never bothers with bones,
she's a TV dog, in that if it's on, she's in front of it running
around in circles, this is why she never sits or lies down, and
rarely even bothers with food or bones until it's switched off.

Sorry to hear about your dogs with heartworm, thankfully we don't
have this horrid parasite in the UK.

I'll cointinue with the 500mg a day of the tablets while I already
have them in - she's been on them 6 days now and no side effects as
yet, then, if they do give her any benefit, I'll buy the powdered
version and adjust her intake accordingly, although the tablets are
easy to split into halves or quarters if they work out (much) more
cost effective.

I realise I might sound like a skinflint here and in other posts, but
we live in Britain, where everyone is out to rip off everyone else,
for instance, a quick check online throws up 'glucosamine sulphate
for cats and dogs' from one supplier at #16 (about us$25) for 60 X
500mg, yet I can buy the human version for #2 ($3) for 90 X 500mg.
It's the same with vet's prescriptions - they charge #40 - #50 just
to see them, then any scripts are charged for even if you take them
home to get the drugs online, and if you don't, the vet charges
double what you would pay online, often a simple course of
anti-biotics which have a value of less than a #1 can end up costing
70 or 80 times that if you go through the vet

No problem Phil and if the pills are easier and cheaper in your case
than the powder, by all means use them!

It;s much better to save the spare #'s and use that to add a bit of
better food for the dog.

I freeze up the broth in 1 cup amounts here. Cash gets 1/2 cup, Aunti
Mabel gets the rest minus 2 TB for the cat. I used to fiddle with ice
trays to freeze it but now i need more so use simple stacking
containers and pull one a day.

It can not hurt to add this to the suppliments but you add no salt so
if using some for yourself, salt it as you warm it back up.

2 carcasses of a 1- 1.5 KG chicken will make about 2 gallons (sorry,
challanged there other than a gallon is about 2.5 L?) broth. Least
espensive method is a slow cooker (called a crockpot here). A stand
alone unit that plugs into an outlet, normally with a removable 'crock'
of thick ceramic. You'll go broke doing it on the stove top but in
this slow cooker, cost very little in electrics and the result is
actually better.

I was pressed for time last Xmas and only had pork broth handy and
needed chicken. I got some from the store. Man, it was nasty salty
water with no flavor. It was like they tried to make a liter of broth
with 50 G of bones then salted it up.

BTW, if it gels in the fridge, you did it right. If it doesnt, add
more bone to water next time and cook a bit longer.
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