Okay, first thing I have to say is that I am totally serious when I ask this question. I've asked this question of both my personal trainer and my boss (he's a vet). They both cracked up hysterically and said, "I dunno."

Here's my problem:

I have a bottle of glucosamine tablets for my Basset Hound. She WILL NOT eat them. I tried to hide them in her food, offered them to her with peanut butter, etc., and she simply won't eat them. Now, I have a bad shoulder from a poorly-healed injury YEARS ago. The shoulder has gotten a lot better with weight training, but because my job is so physical (I'm a vet tech) it still tends to get aggravated from time to time due to restraining large dogs, etc. I can feel the bone-on-bone crunch, and I'm pretty sure I'm headed for arthritis in the joint.

I'm sure you can see where this is going....

Can I take glucosamine made for dogs?

{{{Kate pauses to allow everyone to giggle}}}

Seriously. I'm assuming it's the same stuff made for humans, just cheese flavored. Each tablet contains 99% Glucosamine HCl. Is that the same stuff they put in the human version and in the same amount?

It's expensive stuff, and it seems goofy to have it sitting in the cupboard when I could use it. Any glucosamine experts out there?

(and PLEASE no "stop taking it if you start barking" jokes...I've heard enough of those already from my boss .)

Kate, no giggle from here.

The vet glucosamine is the same thing as the human glucosamine and a **** of a lot more expensive. You can take it and you won't bark. Just figure out the dosage. I take the liquid and so do my Girls. It's a morning ritual.

woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof...arf!

yes all my life i have heard that a human can take pretty much any dog mediciene,it should not hurt you at all.

Hi Kate,

My doggie and I are both on glucosamine. The only difference I see between hers and mine is "liver meal" in the ingredients - thankfully, it's in hers and not mine.

The only thing I'd be worried about is getting the tablet down - my dog's are humungous, and apparently taste like liver. Blech. Also, the directions on hers are 1/2 tablet for every 20 pounds of body weight. That's a whole lotta liver flavored pills, girl, even if you are just a shadow of your former self. More power to ya if you can get 'em down.

And, just fyi...I get hers and mine from Trader Joe's. If you have one close by, it's much cheaper there than I've seen it anywhere else, and you can get it with chondroitin and without.

Let us know how it goes!

cheers!
paula

OK, I laughed right where you suggested. I did the opposite: my dog happily ate ANYTHING (including LEGO's. Hotwheels cars, socks, an entire bag of chocolate chips without getting sick) so getting glucosamine into her was no problem. Every morning I shook two out of the bottle...one for her and one for me. I got an extra in the evening. My vet said that the ones sold for humans and dogs were the same, but to avoid the glucosamine/chondroitin combinations for the dog. Not a problem, since I had a horrible allergic reaction to chondroitin.

Mel

I was in a motorcycle accident which did a number on my knees--left knee is fine now but the right kneecap still sits a little to high. Talk about grinding noises. I take something called MSM from a local health food store--on the nights that I am really ache I drink BeCalm which helps and is also available at the health food store.

Kate, I am in physical therapy to rehab my right knee after a fall. The P/T said back in the late 90's when Glucosamine was not on the shelf for humans he used to go to the feed store and buy the pills for horses--those are big! He would cut them up into 5 pieces and take one piece a day for maintenance. He said those were a helluva lot cheaper than what's on store shelves now. So the short answer is yes, you most likely CAN take the dogs pills.

I'm interested in what you guys pay (if you buy the "human" kind) for glucosamine pills where you live? I've found a triple strength pill for around $27 for 75 tabs.

Thanks guys . I'll give it a try...although Paula I suspect you're 100% right about the dosage problem (and how to get them down my throat ). I'll let you know how it goes! I just didn't want to go out and buy a whole new bottle for myself when I already have some. I'll have one tonight and report back on the taste tomorrow....cheese....hmmm...

ah...where'd my signature go?

Hi Kate,

At the moment, your signature only shows up on your first post on a page...kinda strange, but I think they wanna save page loading time.

Good luck with the pills! They made an amazing difference for me. Taking just one (person-sized) dose a day made all of the sore hip trouble that I had vanish. It's lovely!

Let us know how it goes!

cheers!
paula

BTW - if you still want to give your hound the glucosamine, try this site:

http://www.greyhoundgang.org/

They sell pure, glucosamine powder (humans can use it, too) - I sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon in the morning & in the evening and my pups don't mind it at all. I actually bought one bottle, and then started buying the refill bags of it and it lasts a long time - even with two greyhounds.

BTW, both of my pups are ex-racers, so they've had a lot of wear & tear on their joints and they both responded positively after about 6 weeks of using it. They both play like puppies now... not bad for a 9 and 5 year old!

just let us know if you get any odd urges or anything!

Hi there... I just wanted to see if I could offer another suggestion as to what you might take. My husband is really into weightlifting and also does heavy construction for work. He goes to a really great chiropractor and naturopathic doc for the same types of shoulder problems you have and he gave him magnesium citrate and it helped him A LOT. Hope this helps!