: Is there a generic, less costly, alternative to Nutramax Dasuquin with MSM? We have a 6 year old Boxer who is beginning to have hip issues. Our vet has recommended Nutramax Dasuquin with MSM, and we are just about through

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I have had five dogs over my lifetime with joint issues in old age. I have tried dasuquin for all of them. Only two of the dogs responded, but the response was miraculous, and definitely not something I could attribute to anything other than the dasuquin. The dasuquin with MSM definitely worked better than the dasuquin without MSM. I tried going without dasuquin at all, and using other supplements on the first dog with whom it was successful, and she gradually reverted back to the same problems she had before the dasuquin. As soon as I resumed the dasuquin, within a few days - less than a week - she was markedly improved. The other three dogs never responded to the dasuquin, nor to other medications that I tried, including other glucosamine/chondroitin supplements, some with tumeric, some with MSM. I am not a vet, and I can only report my observations on my limited sample size of five dogs. I can say that the results were obvious very early on in using the medicine for the dogs that received a benefit. The first dog that received a benefit began taking the dasuquin at age 10, and lived to age 15. Even at age 15 she was walking better than she had been at age 10. I am not going to name brands that did not work, but I did try three other cheaper supplements with similar ingredients. Although none contained the ASU powder, they otherwise matched ingredients in dasuquin. As for finding the best price on dasuquin, I recomment eBay. That has been the consistent cheapest source for the drug that I can find.

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Dasuquin with MSM claims to contain the following active ingredients:

Glucosamine Hydrochloride
Sodium Chondroitin Sulfate
Avocado/Soybean Unsaponifiables (ASU) Powder
Methylsulfonylemthane (MSM)

There is no scientific evidence that any of these ingredients provide a clinically significant improvement in arthritis pain (in either people or dogs).

They are generally recognized as safe, so vets often recommend them so that people can feel like they are doing something. If you can't afford it, there is likely little difference in not feeding these supplements.

If your pet's pain is severe, you could ask your vet about giving him NSAIDS. In this paper, reviewing canine arthritis treatments, the authors state:

There was a high level of comfort (strong evidence) for the efficacy
of carprofen, firocoxib and meloxicam

Overview of Recommendations for Arthritis in People

The best research on arthritis treatments is on people. The AAOS reviewed existing literature and had the following recommendations.

Each recommendation is followed with Strength of Recommendation (SoR) ranking, which rates how compelling the evidence is for that treatment. A strong SoR means that the recommendation (to use or not use) is well supported by scientific research (adequate sample size, double blinded, randomized, etc) and further research is not likely to change the recommendation.

For example, glucosamine use has a Strong SoR and is classified as "not recommended". This means that the subject has several well-designed studies that are generally in agreement, and that those studies found that glucosamine did not result in clinical (i.e. noticeable) improvements during the study period.

Conservative Treatments Recommended:

Increase exercise (Strength of Recommendation: Strong)
Weight loss in overweight patients (Strength of Recommendation: Moderate)
NSAID or Tramadol medication (SoR: Strong)

Conservative Treatments Not Recommended:

Acupuncture (SoR: Strong)
Glucosamine and Chondroitin (SoR: Strong)

Conservative Treatments Cannot Recommend For Or Against

Physical agents such as electrotheraputic modalities (SoR: Inconclusive)
Massage (SoR: Inconclusive)
Brace that unloads force from affected joint (SoR: Inconclusive)
Acetaminophen, opioids, or pain patches (SoR: inconclusive)