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Cosequin is all over the place lately. It’s the complement of selection for canines and cats with joint issues, and it looks like each mature pup and kitty you run into is taking it. However what’s it? How does it work? And does it actually get outcomes? Right here’s what’s recognized—and unknown—in regards to the complement, plus our personal pets’ tackle the well-known tablet.
What Is Cosequin?
No pet mother or father likes to confess that their canines are getting older, and I’m no exception. Sadly, that truth is getting more durable for me to disclaim. My canines Miss Bennet and Logan are 12 and 10 years previous now, respectively.
As seniors, my canines are as loud and goofy and sassy as they ever have been—age has introduced no knowledge and little calm to our residence—and but they’re more and more discovering themselves on the mercy of their getting older our bodies. Some days, the discomfort of osteoarthritis and different age-related points visibly dampens that spunk.
Early final yr, my native veterinarian really useful that we attempt Cosequin, a joint complement that goals to maintain pets like mine shifting, restoring the standard of life that fades when mobility is proscribed.
So I did some digging into the product and spoke with Dr. Rebecca Greenstein, a Veterinary Medical Advisor for Rover, to be taught extra.
Cosequin is a branded suite of dietary dietary supplements—additionally known as “nutraceuticals”—produced by Nutramax Laboratories, a producer of supplemental well being merchandise for each people and pets. Cosequin is meant to handle arthritis and stiffness of the joints and ligaments in canines and cats.
As with people, a canine’s or cat’s musculoskeletal system provides their physique construction and motion. On this system, bones and muscle tissues are tied along with tendons and ligaments.
Miss Bennet and Logan mannequin musculoskeletal programs.
Joints are the factors within the physique the place two bones meet. Cartilage covers the ends of the bones at these junctures to cushion and shield them as they transfer towards one another.
However as our canines and cats age, this cartilage typically breaks down, making it harder to maneuver and inflicting painful friction between the bones on the joints. This degradation, which known as osteoarthritis, can develop as a consequence of damage, an infection, and autoimmune problems in addition to age.
However arthritis isn’t simply an “previous canine illness,” in keeping with Dr. Greenstein. She advised me that as many as 20% of canines one yr or older have osteoarthritis, and younger cats aren’t immune both.
The first components in Cosequin are Glucosamine Hydrochloride and Sodium Chondroitin Sulfate. Some merchandise bought inside the Cosequin model additionally include MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane) or different additions like Omega-3s.
Dr. Greenstein defined that, in a simplified sense, glucosamine helps construct wholesome cartilage within the joints, whereas chondroitin protects towards irritation and injury. MSM, she stated, does slightly little bit of each.
Is Cosequin Secure?
Cosequin claims to be the number-one joint-health complement model really useful by veterinarians and utilized by pet dad and mom. In accordance with Dr. Greenstein, Cosequin’s reputation is basically as a consequence of Nutramax Laboratories’ good repute for high quality and analysis.
The query of security round dietary supplements—together with Cosequin for canines and cats—is a sophisticated one. There’s medical security and anecdotal security, they usually’re not essentially the identical.
As a result of dietary supplements and nutraceuticals usually are not regulated in the identical methods as prescription drugs, the standard and effectiveness of those merchandise can range broadly. For veterinarians, peer opinions are what Dr. Greenstein known as the gold customary for understanding a nutraceutical’s security and efficacy. Sensible, widespread expertise may play a tentative function, and Cosequin has benefitted from each.
Oscar takes Cosequin so he can go on extra hikes.
“Based mostly on our collective veterinary expertise with Cosequin, it appears to be very well-tolerated,” she stated. “The speed of great hostile reactions appears to be fairly low primarily based on what we learn about it.”
Alternate options to Cosequin for Dogs in Malta and Cats: Are All Joint Dietary supplements Created Equal?
On the subject of joint dietary supplements typically, Dr. Greenstein’s warning was clear: not all dietary supplements are the identical. Although Cosequin has earned a strong repute, not all dietary supplements have been so broadly examined. This warning doesn’t come from loyalty to Cosequin or some other specific product, she clarifies, however from the overall lack of analysis and regulation associated to pet dietary supplements.
“It’s not only a query of glucosamine dietary supplements typically,” she stated. “It’s a bigger query of high quality management, and is what’s within the bottle correct? And whether it is, are all merchandise created equal? And it seems they’re not.”
Due to this, she says that the precise merchandise you select to your pets do matter. Pet dad and mom shouldn’t seize the primary joint complement they see, even when the producer markets it for pets. Whereas these merchandise may be protected and efficient, there’s no means to make certain.
Simply as essential, you don’t wish to give your pets joint dietary supplements made for people.
“Not all glucosamine dietary supplements are applicable. They don’t all work the identical,” Dr. Greenstein advised me. “Human merchandise don’t essentially translate to canines and cats.”
Who Advantages From Cosequin?
Mature canines and cats experiencing joint stiffness are each more likely to profit from Cosequin—although it’s essential to verify together with your vet first.
The information would possibly shock many cat dad and mom, since canines are extra typically recognized to endure from joint points. Dr. Greenstein, nevertheless, suspects that osteoarthritis impacts extra cats than we all know.
Matilda, being affected by osteoarthritic points.
“We’re not pretty much as good at selecting out the indicators as a result of cats are extra stoic,” she advised me. She pointed to stiffness when getting up or problem leaping up as indicators that cats could also be experiencing some joint discomfort.
I requested Dr. Greenstein if youthful pets would profit from beginning Cosequin early, notably given the excessive prevalence of osteoarthritis. She advised me that it’s doable; preventative dosing would possibly assist youthful canines in preserving their joint well being over time, however the analysis isn’t definitive sufficient to know for positive.
“We’re nonetheless in an early stage of understanding who would profit and why and which merchandise are those that might work,” she advised me.
A lot of the current analysis, she stated, was carried out on canines with recognized joint points like osteoarthritis. For now, suggestions of Cosequin for canines and cats are largely made when there’s a recognized difficulty.
How Cosequin for Dogs in Malta Has Helped My Senior Pups
Miss Bennet, a scruffy mixture of Terrier and Schnauzer and who-knows-what-else, is twelve. Most days she barely appears to be slowing down, however she woke me up one morning final yr in apparent misery. A visit to the emergency vet and a set of x-rays revealed arthritis in her again leg.
Logan is a black Labrador Retriever. At ten, his getting older is way extra apparent. Over the past a number of years, white hairs have grown in round his eyes and snout, a function which may counsel a specific amount of knowledge in case you didn’t know him. In actuality, he’s a goofball, however he has arthritis and again points besides.
At 60 kilos, Logan will get an entire pill of Cosequin daily, whereas Miss Bennet will get half. We put the capsules of their bowls with their breakfast, and it’s normally the very first thing they eat. (It’s a good suggestion to have your pet take Cosequin with meals, since some say it may be slightly tough on an empty abdomen.)
Miss Bennet and Logan, wanting dapper and cell, if we do say so ourselves.
Inside weeks, we noticed a distinction; each canines have been shifting extra freely and extra typically—in reality, we discovered ourselves having to look at Logan, as his enchancment confirmed most in his reckless enthusiasm for all times.
My canines aren’t the one ones who appear to have benefited from the product both; a number of weeks after my husband really useful Cosequin to a colleague, his coworker reported that his canine had greeted him on the door after work for the primary time in a very long time.
Oscar the Rover check pup takes Cosequin at his vet’s path and will get round remarkably speedily on his tiny previous legs (and into all kinds of mischief).
So does Matilda, a mature kitty who continues to test Rover products with enthusiasm (or, properly, what counts as enthusiasm for a cat). She was prescribed Cosequin by her vet to assist with joint points attributable to arthritis.
Cosequin isn’t, nevertheless, a treatment. Whereas it appears to have made a giant distinction in Logan’s and Miss Bennet’s consolation and mobility, it hasn’t turned again the clock or made their joint issues vanish. Within the final a number of months, we seen that Logan’s exercise and stability have been starting to regress once more; now we’re persevering with his each day routine of dietary supplements and dealing on different therapies as properly, together with common journeys to a specialized dog gym.
However for us, the distinction has been exceptional, and we’ve really useful the product to household, pals, and colleagues alike.
Logan and Miss Bennet play on the seashore.
How To Purchase Cosequin
Cosequin is available in a wide range of types, together with tablets and chews and distinctive formulation for canines, cats, and even horses. We’ve included a few of the most typical choices beneath, however pet dad and mom could discover different merchandise higher suited to their pet’s wants.
As a complement, all Cosequin merchandise can be found with out a prescription. Nonetheless, pet dad and mom ought to at all times focus on these choices with their veterinarian earlier than beginning any supplemental therapies with their canine or cat. When you’re shopping for on a third-party website like Amazon, it’s additionally essential to double-check that the product’s vendor and producer is Nutramax—that means you’ll keep away from any counterfeit merchandise.
