[Sadie’s Mom]

Hello all!

I have an 8 year old longhair miniature dachshund named Sadie. Two years ago she slipped a disc in her back and was on steroids and crate rest for a couple months. We though she would either die or be completely paralyzed, but thankfully she recovered. Now that she’s getting older her back seems to be bothering her again. I was wondering if anyone has found a food that helps with back problems. She is currently living with my parents as I am living on-campus for school. My parents can’t really afford $60 a bag dog food because they are feeding 4 dogs. I can only buy the nice dog food occasionally (aka in the summer when I work 52 hour weeks). The max we can pay is about $1-$1.50 a pound. Please don’t lecture me on how you can’t get good dog foods on that price. Over the summer when I have extra money I buy her Blue Wilderness or Wellness CORE. I am asking if anyone has found a relatively inexpensive dog food that seems to help with back issues. Thanks in advance for any advice!

[theBCnut]

I can’t help with brands, but just a piece of info. She is more likely to have issues in the winter with the colder weather, so leave her food the same next summer and save the money for joint supplements for winter. Could your parents afford a joint supplement, which is usually cheaper than changing to better foods anyways?

[Dog_Obsessed]

I don’t know about food that is good for back problems, but there are some good budget friendly foods. Pure Balance is a poplar one at Walmart, that is pretty reasonably priced. NutriSouce is also good. Victor (at stores, expensive online), Earthborn Holistic, and Merrick/Whole Earth Farms are also good options. What does she eat the rest of the year?

[Sadie’s Mom]

@ Nut – I guess I could do that. She always ends up on steroids in the winters because her back flares up. My parents probably couldn’t afford them year round. My dad got a new job a took a significant pay cut, so nice things are somewhat unattainable. Would the regular glucosamine chondritin supplements work? And if so what strength?

@ Dog Obsessed – All four were actually on Victor Grain Free Yukon River formula, but it ended up being too expensive. My parents went back to Beneful, but I’ve just about talked them into buying Evolve from the local HEB. It’s a 4 star food with no corn, wheat, or soy, which seem to trigger one of the dogs allergies. The dogs won’t eat Merrick for some reason. I haven’t looked at the Pure Balance though. Thanks for the suggestion!

[Dog_Obsessed]

Your welcome, and great job for getting the dogs off of Beneful! If the Evolve is affordable for your family, then you could feed that. It is good to feed rotational, so maybe you could sometimes switch with one of the other foods. (Make sure to slowly transition.)

[Sadie’s Mom]

@ Dog Obsessed Have you used a glucosamine supplement before? I’m looking into GNC Ultra Mega Superfood Complex Plus Joint Health Dog Formula. I like it because it’s a powder formula and relatively inexpensive. After being on steroids for so long my dog refuses to take any pills and is picky about chewables because she doesn’t do crunchy treats. I was think a powder would be easy to mix into her food, especially if I add a tablespoon of wet in with it.

[theBCnut]

As far as a joint supplement goes, it is definitely trial and error to see what works with what dog. Try that one and see if you can tell a difference. One hint on cost savings, horse joint supplements are cheaper. I really like one called Joint Armor and I get it from Jefferspet.com.

[Sadie’s Mom]

Ok. How much would I give her every day since the dosing is for horses? And is this one a complete with the MSM or HA and also the glucosamine chondroitin?

[Dori]

I’m sure BC will get back to you to on dosing if you choose to purchase the supplement she uses. She’s a great person for you to take advice from.

The reason for my hopping onto your thread is to ask you how much your dog weighs. You didn’t mention that in your initial post. It’s very important to keep a dog with any time of musculoskeletal issues on the thin side. You probably know that already but I thought I’d mention it. By the way, there is no food on the market that will help with the issue you are dealing with. Supplements will help.

[Sadie’s Mom]

@ Dori – She is slightly overweight at 15 pounds. She needs to lose 2-3 pounds according to the vet, and she slowly is. She’s more of a “tweenie” dachshund, larger than a mini but much smaller than a standard. The problem is she will scare everyone else away from their food and then eat it all lol. My parents have to leave for work at 7 so the dogs don’t always finish their breakfast right away. I am home for the next month on winter break, so I’ll be mixing up her food with the supplement and a little wet food and then feed her separately so she doesn’t eat everyone elses food. It isn’t too cold yet so I’m hoping that starting the supplements now will prevent problems in a few weeks.

[LabsRawesome]

Hi Sadie’s Mom, Hydraplenish really helped my Labs joint problems. She went from hobbling around to running again. Here’s a site with free shipping. https://www.pureformulas.com/hydraplenish-60-vegetarian-capsules-by-natures-way.html Trinity takes them with no problem, but if your dog doesn’t like taking pills you can open and mix the powder in with canned. Another option is pill pockets, you can buy them at Walmart. If you haven’t heard of them, they’re treats with a hollow center, that hold pills.

[Sadie’s Mom]

Thanks for the suggestion Labs! Unfortunately that wouldn’t work because my dog refuses to take pills. Can they be cut open and poured over food?

[Dori]

Actually a dog the size of Sadie, carrying around an extra 2 to 3 pounds is a lot of weight. Isn’t there any way that they can have Sadie eat all her meals away from the other dogs. Would your parents be open to the idea of not free feeding the dogs. Put their food down, feeding Sadie in a separate area and leaving it down for 15 to 20 minutes and then pick up the bowls regardless of how much they ate. Even if they ate none of it. If they do that for both their meals they can have them retrained in a few days to eat their food as soon as the bowls are put down. Then there is no worry as to who’s eating whose food or how much each are getting. They can put their food bowls down as soon as they get up, leave down while they are getting ready for work and just before they leave pick up all the bowls. Do the same at dinner time. The dogs are taking their time eating because they know there will always be food around. Once they realize that when there is food available if they don’t eat, it’s going to disappear. Really is the best way to feed dogs regardless of any situation.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 5 months ago by Dori.

[LabsRawesome]

Yes they can be opened and mixed with food. They are the type of capsules that you can open and the contents are powder. They really helped my dog, The difference in her joints is dramatic. She is back to taking long walks in the woods. 😀

[Dori]

Hi Labs. How long have you been giving this supplement and how long before you saw results? Have you tried other supplements with less success, if so, which ones? I’m thinking of adding the one you mentioned above in rotation for Hannah. I rotate everything including supplements. I’d just never heard of this one. Does it say on the bottle that it should be given with food or without? Sorry for so many questions, I just like hearing about things I’ve never heard of before. 🙂

• This reply was modified 10 years, 5 months ago by Dori.

[Sadie’s Mom]

The majority of the time the dogs finish their food right away. I wouldn’t call it free feeding. The food put down is the exact amount the dogs need. They could feed Sadie separately but they may forget she is there and leave her in my room all day without water, which has happened before. For the next month I can feed her separately and make sure she doesn’t eat everyone else’s food. I can’t control what happens when I’m gone though. I can ask my parents to do something, and hope that it happens. She probably will be fed separately from now on since she will be getting a supplement and some wet food. I am hoping the supplement will help with both her back and her weight. Maybe not being in pain will give her more energy and she will be more active.

[Dori]

Being in less pain will definitely make her more active and help her to lose weight. I think between giving her the supplements and feeding her separately so that she’s not eating the other dogs food will be of great help. Keep us posted as to her progress.

[Sadie’s Mom]

I will! Thanks so much for all the helpful advice 🙂 I am so glad to have found this site and all the helpful people that are one it! I am planning on getting the GNC joint supplement today and starting it tonight.

[LabsRawesome]

Hi Dori, after the first week Trinity had noticeable improvement. After week two she was back to running. 😀 That made me sooo happy!! 😀 Try it for Hannah, I’m sure it will help her joints too. I give it to Trinity in the morning right before I feed her. Let me know if you do try it.

[Dori]

Labs, how did you figure out the dosing. Hannah weighs only seven lbs. three ounces. I’m assuming the dosing on the bottle is for people.

[LabsRawesome]

Hi Dori, I give Trinity 2, but she is allowed up to 4. I’m sure Hannah could handle one per day.

[theBCnut]

The dose I use for Joint Armor is kind of silly. I use a fingernail full. It’s probably about 1/16 of a teaspoon or less.

[Sadie’s Mom]

@ BC – I found something at my local feed store that has the same active ingredients as Corta-Flx (well, this one uses HA instead of MSM) but isn’t. They only had Corta-Flx in the gallon container, which is much more than I need. It is a quart bottle that actually had dosing on it for dogs! I mixed half in with my dogs food + some wet food to make it enticing and gave the other half via syringe. She seemed ok with both, so tomorrow I may try just pouring it over her food, which is much easier than mixing it with dry and wet food and some water.

[theBCnut]

The company that makes Corta-Flex makes a dog supplement as well, so maybe that’s what you found.

[Dori]

Thanks Labs.

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