How young is too young to start on glucosamine and MSM?

Hey I was wondering the same thing and even thinking about using nupro too.  I would think that there is nothing wrong but I wouldn't mind here other people's opinions either.

I give my dog, Dingo who is 6 glucosamine because hes a little slow  moving. Sorry that didn't help.

Dasher is an athelete. IMO, an ounce of preventative is worth a pound of cure. Nothing wrong with starting him now.

that is a good point jennie!  I agree, think it is better to maintain his joint health rather than repair any joint damage down the road.  Man...now that I think about it most of  my animals will now be on glucosamine, Lille, Dasher,Casey (horse) and SO (not really an animal []).  I should buy stock in the stuff!! []

I started my boyz on it at around 5 or 6.  They are agility, coursing, conformation, blah, blah, blah dogs.  We have a Malinois who is 2ish and she is not on suppliments.  Since she is a larger breed, I may start her around 4 or 5. 
 
I haven't found any negative side effects on gluco/condrot.  so I feel it is safe to give a younger dog.  The only harm done might be to your pocket book. 
 
Also the latest science says these suppliments do NOT help, but I don't believe it.

I don't believe it, either, since my hips scream at me on days I forget to take mine.

I too have heard from vets, particularly equine vets, that the oral joint supplements do not work on horses. They say that horses process these supplements differently and therefore are not as effective. They feel that IV injections are more effective for horses. I stupidly took this at face value and never questioned it. My horse would get joint injections 2x per year and I will say it did make a difference. My horse moved better, smoother, etc. She was not lame without the injections, she was just better with them. It was especially as we showed on a regular basis so she was in daily work. After about 2 years I decided to try the oral glucosamine and...wow, I was pleasantly surprised. I have not needed the injections in about a year. Now if/when I start showing heavily again I may go back to the shots, but I will never take her off the oral supplements.

As far as my lab goes, glucosamine makes her life 110% better. I can't imagine how she would even be able to get out of bed if she was not on supplements.

Emma is the same. She races around the yard and house, leaps into my arms for a kiss, races again, and brings me the frisbee. If she didn't have her glucosamine and MSM, I doubt she'd race or leap. She'd probably hobble. I wouldn't be able to do my job without them, and I'm young, too. Standing on a hard floor all day and fighting dogs that sometimes weigh more than you is hard work, LOL. 

I heard it works better as a preventative than after it is a problem so I was going to start Zoe on glucosamine now at 2.5 yrs. old since she jumps a lot and as a dachshund, it is an extra concern of mine.

Sounds like a good idea to start a preventative now.  I use Vetri-Disc for my Dachshund.

That's a good question. Never considered if there's an appropriate age. IMO, Agility Dasher is definitely an athlete!

Doesn't it make you mad when you take a vet's advice anad later wonder why! (your horse) Dash and a triple pelvic osteotomy done on one hip when he was 10 months old. The very good (surgically) highly recommended orthopedic surgeon who did the procedure told me that Glucosamine was useless. I believed him. I didn't start Dash on GC until I came to dog forums and learned how it really has helped many.

   I started supplementing Jessie with a glucosamine-chondroitin supplement as a preventative when she turned six. Since glucosamine is very safe to use, it doesn't hurt to supplement younger dogs with it. I try to avoid supplements with a lot of MSM. Actually, I try to avoid joint supplements with a lot of extra vitamins added too. I worry about over doing those things since they're already in her food, and I think they're added  to appeal to the consumer. I can tell you that it takes a lot of looking to find a good quality joint supplement without a lot of other things added. The one I'm using now has 50 mg of MSM per tablet, which I feel okay about since it is a small amount. I also use supplements with a small amount of vitamin C. Why avoid the MSM? I think it is there to relieve pain, which Jessie doesn't have, and it is widely touted as a cure for many things. I am suspicious of a supplement when it is purported to do wonders for several different conditions. I also don't know if it is safe for long term use, but that's just me. If Jessie had painful arthritis, I would research MSM and ask my vet about it, but since she doesn't, I just avoid large amounts of it.  Here is a link which has some good information about it:
          [linkhttp://www.wholehealthmd.com/refshelf/substances_view/1,1525,807,00.html]http://www.wholehealthmd.com/refshelf/substances_view/1,1525,807,00.html[/link]
 

 Thanks for the link Jessies_mom, very informative!

Twelvepaws, yeah, I just wanted to smack myself on the side of the head for just taking my vet's opinion as gospel.  Now granted, I do trust my vet, both equine and small animal, I think they are very knowledgeable and are looking out for my pets best interest, but I have also realized through the years that if something doesn't sit quite right with me I am comfortable getting a second opinion or doing my own research . []

I don't believe it is ever too early to start supplementing.  My dogs are both on Cosequin DS and Curaflex 2 and they won't be two till June.  The Cos. has both Gluc and Condr. in it and the Curaflex has MSM which is a natural anti inflammatory.  It is important to start early because the onset of arthritis can be prevented or at least delayed by these supplements.  If you start after the animal is already starting to get it...you cannot reverse it but just slow or stop further arthritis development.  Jennie said it best with an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure!!!!