Human Glucosamine For Dogs’ Dosage

Did using supplements with everyday meals improve your health? Are you looking forward to having a healthy dog just like you? Well, giving supplements to your dog is a great idea but not all human supplements are safe for the doggo. However, Human Glucosamine can be an exception. It shares the same formulation as the Dog Glucosamine supplement, but what about the dose? What is the correct human Glucosamine for dogs dosage?

According to a randomized study on dogs around 35% of them showed improvement with their arthritic symptoms by using Glycosamine and Chondroitin Supplements. Hence, Glucosamine holds benefits for dogs. Another name for Glucosamine is a Chondroprotector (protector of cartilages).

Let us have a look at what to consider before adding something to your dog’s diet.

What human Glucosamine is best for dogs?

What is Glucosamine? Glucosamine is a naturally occurring aminosugar that cushions the joints. Humans and dogs produce it to form cartilage, but what are cartilages? Cartilages favor everyday movement and mobility. It is a connecting tissue that cushions joints and reduces friction between them.

When Cartilage is damaged over time due to a disease, injury or just aging it’s unable to repair on its own. As a result, joints get stiff, inflamed, and painful. That’s the time you need glucosamine supplements, to turn your dog into a racer once again!

Why is Glucosamine given to dogs?

Glucosamine supplement is popularly given to both dogs and humans with hip dysplasia and arthritis. Whether it’s a trauma or any other type of injury, Glucosamine will help your doggo slowly but surely. Remember it is an amino sugar that takes part in making bones and cartilage of both humans and dogs.

Joint problems arise as a result of aging. Sooner or later your dog will encounter joint pain where osteo bi flex may help that inhibits his mobility. Why? It is because with time the body loses its ability to make cartilage.

What can Glucosamine Supplement do? To avoid restricted motion, supplements are a great help. Glucosamine is an important component for maintaining joint health that keeps your dog running for longer. In addition, it also holds anti-inflammatory effects. The product is very effective in curing the pain and swelling caused due to joint problems. And the best part is that being an organic ingredient it doesn’t have many side effects to consider (except for allergies.)

The market currently has two types of Glucosamine supplements available.

1. Glucosamine Sulphate
2. Glucosamine Hydrochloride

Glucosamine Sulphate

It is produced with Mussels (Shellfish) as well as synthetically. Glucosamine Sulphate is considered the best because it has Sulphur. Sulfur is essential for Cartilage health.

However, before using this checkout if your dog has a shellfish allergy. Another thing to consider is if your dog has high blood pressure, in that case, the Glucosamine’s sodium chloride component can raise the blood pressure.

Glucosamine Hydrochloride

The other type, Glucosamine Hydrochloride is also extracted from Shellfish and Mussels. Unlike Glucosamine Sulphate it lacks sulfur so it’s a little less effective.

Both of these supplements are good, but Glucosamine Sulphate is more potent. Thus, it shows better effects earlier in dogs.

Can dogs take Glucosamine Chondroitin for humans?

It’s better to use Human Glucosamine for your dog’s arthritic pain than to use nothing at all. In simple words yes, dogs can use Human Glucosamine but you need to take absolute care with Human Glucosamine for dogs’ dosage.

At first, you need to be sure if your dog actually needs joint supplements.

Look for Joint stiffness, dog avoiding to climb stairs, and its slow walking phase. Moreover, there could be limping, lethargy, and mood changes. These are the indicators that your dog is running out of Glycosamine and Chondroitin in his joints.

You can also use it from the age of 1-2 years to avoid joint problems in near future and maintain joint health. In this case, human glucosamine dog dosage would be much lesser than normal.

What are the benefits of Human Glucosamine for dogs? Human Glucosamine is far cheaper, readily available. This means you can get it at discounts and even without a prescription. But most importantly it shares the same active ingredients as Dog-specific Glucosamine Supplements.

With these benefits, most people use Human Glucosamine for dogs. However, they take special care with human Glucosamine dosage for dogs.

Before you start your dog on the supplements we recommend consulting your vet and going through these differences between the two supplements. After all, Dogs and Humans are different.

Digestive Tract Length

Generally, the same supplements are not recommended for dogs because their digestive tracts are different than ours. How? Let’s dig in.

An example is digestive tract length. The human digestive tract is far longer than that of a dog. This means lesser time to digest ingested food.

Thus, tablets can work for human beings. In the case of dogs chances are the tablets exit the GI tract without any absorption. And without absorption is there any use of supplements? Therefore, when it comes to dogs only powdered and liquid supplements will spill into direct action.

So make sure if you are getting Human Glucosamine For Dogs it is in an easily digestible form.

Active Flavours

To make it easier to gulp Human Glucosamine supplements are blended in with flavors. These flavors help us chew on tablets before leaving the house or just after returning home, not really affecting our tastebuds or Gastrointestinal tract. Sadly, it’s not the same for dogs.

Xylitol is an ingredient found in human supplements that works as an artificial sweetener. But this sweetener is poisonous to a dog’s health. Even other sweeteners can be dangerous for a dog’s health.

These sweeteners have little or no effects on humans due to more weight but for dogs, even little quantities can make a huge difference. Dog parents need to be extra careful with Xylitol.

Flavors and additives can turn out to be a big NO for dogs. They can result in Gastric upsets and generally sick doggies.

Always read the ingredients on the bottle before giving it to the dog.

Contraindicated Supplements

Glucosamine supplement solves joint problems and can show a positive effect on a dog’s mobility. But that’s not true for every supplement you’d come across. Zinc and Iron supplements are not safe for dogs. Even an excess of Calcium can make your dog very sick. Although in the human world they are very important for human health maintenance.

Human Glucosamine for Dogs Dosage

As stated earlier human and dog glucosamine contains the same formula, so they are safe for dogs. But how much human glucosamine dosage is suitable for dogs?

For us, the human beings recommended dose depends highly on two factors:

1. Weight of the person
2. The severity of the disease.

But if I had to say a safe dose, I’d say 1500mg of Glucosamine supplement can be engulfed each day.

In comparison dogs’ dosage of human glucosamine depends on weight. A large dog weighing 70lbs can safely take 1000-1500mg depending on the condition. A smaller breed dog takes much lesser.

In other words, you can give:

• 15-30mg/kg/day
• If you see improvements lower the dose to 7.5-15 mg/kg once in two days. After four to six weeks.

For calculating the dose you can use this formula:

20 x (weight of dog in kgs) = Daily Dose of Glucosamine

Here is an example: my dog weighs 20kgs or 44lbs

20 x 20 = 400mg every day

You can also pick up values from this table.

We suggest that you go for liquid or powdered form of Glucosamine as it is easily absorbed.

Loading dose of glucosamine is mostly higher, that lasts for four to six week period. You can gradually lower the dose as you see improvements. 20-30mg is the ideal loading dose of Human Glucosamine for dogs. This way the cartilage repair process gets a boost.

If you stop giving your dog glucosamine within a few weeks you’ll notice joint stiffness again.

Don’t be too quick to judge, the supplements may take weeks and months to finally show effects. Be calm.

BE AWARE! Some breeds are more prone to bone damage than others example is German Shepherds, French Bulldog, Golden Retriever, Pugs, and more. Take extra care with these breeds.

Another point I’d like to add is that you can use Human Glucosamine for dogs as a preventive measure in young puppies. If they have the right amount of Glycosamine available in the body they are less likely to go through a bone disease.

Moreover, dogs who get surgery can gain potential benefits from this supplementation. Thus its also given with post-operative drugs. It slows down damage to the joints that aren’t in a bad condition yet.

If you have a sports dog adding Glucosamine to the diet is a must. Since the dog are constantly exposed to wear and tear they need an everyday dose of Glucosamine.

Note: Do not overdose your dog on the supplement. Remember excess Human Glucosamine can cause bone abnormalities, overgrown bones. These will only create more problems with canine mobility.

Glucosamine is just a supplement, it’s not the cure. Therefore for quicker results in case of injury or severe disease they need to be paired with NSAIDs, antibiotics, and other suitable drugs. Remember a balanced and healthy diet is also very important for the doggo.

In a nutshell, on average, a safe Human Glucosamine for dogs Dosage is 20mg per kg every day.

Glucosamine for dogs side effects

Whenever you add a new ingredient into a dog’s diet chances are you’ll see some allergic effects. Especially if the dog is hypoallergenic or sensitive.

Some of the common signs and symptoms that become noticeable are:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Lethargy

We recommend that after the first dose keep the dog under your observation for a day. If you notice any severe allergic signs like difficulty in breathing take him to the nearest hospital.

These symptoms may also result as a reason for the overdosage of supplements.

You may also see:

• Increased thirst
• More urination than usual
• Fatigue
• Insomnia
• Bloody diarrhea

Most overweight and old age dogs tend to develop Diabetes. Glucosamine contains sugar that can be harmful to a Diabetic dog. Therefore, before starting with the glucosamine regime we request you to make sure that your fluffy boy doesn’t have Diabetes.

In addition, some dogs are allergic to shellfish. There is a possibility that the supplement you are using has Mussels in form of shellfish ingredients. This can result in allergic symptoms being shown. Hence, always check out the ingredients to avoid a possible allergic reaction.

Note: Make sure the supplement doesn’t have Zinc or Vitamin D.

The take-home message is that Human Glucosamine as a supplement doesn’t have many side effects. The reason is that as an organic compound it is suitable for the body.

How to keep the Dog’s joint healthy?

Here are a few tips that can help avoid joint problems in dogs.

• Add supplements to the diet.
• Make sure that the dog has a high-quality diet filled with healthy ingredients.
• Keep your dog in good shape. Make sure he doesn’t gain extra pounds. Most dogs develop joint pain due to extra weight that puts pressure over the joints.
• Daily exercise is great for a dog, but too much exercise can wear out the joints. Go for softer grounds and games, don’t put your dog through extra tiredness.
• If you see the joints showing excessive swelling you’ll need to consult the vet for additional anti-inflammatory drugs.

Summary of Human Glucosamine for Dogs

Conclusion

There, you have it! You’ve got the magic ingredient to add spring into your lazy dog again. Human Glucosamine is a safe supplement for dogs after you have a look at the ingredients and your dog’s breed, allergies. Nevertheless, Human Glucosamine for dogs dosage is equally important. Do not overdose nor give too little of it, just the right amount depending on the bodyweight will do the job.