Hi all...

I've been giving my dogs a supplement for a while called Direct Flex - it's great! The older female rottie that I care for has HD and along with switching her over to a good food (EVO/Canidae mix) and putting her on a diet (she was 40 pounds overweight when I got here!! She has lost 33 pounds since July) this supplement has done wonders. I'd been giving it to my horses and started my dogs on a little bit of it and then just kept doing that with all the dogs.

http://www.equinedirect.net/Products/Direct_Flex_N301.cfm

But I just started getting the SmartPaks catelogs again and I see something called Senior Flex
http://www.smartpakequine.com/ProductClassDescription.aspx?productClassId=1817&cmPreserveSource=true&cmPreserveCategory=true

And I was considering a switch over to it but figured I would run it past you guys first, in case you see an ingredient that is a no-no, that I don't see It has more Yucca, ester C, and lactobacillus, along with other vitamins. I only give a teaspoon 3 days a week of the Direct Flex to Duke and the other dogs that have no obvious joint problems, and Missy, the rottie, gets a teaspoon every day, I would likely stay with the same dosage.

Thanks for any input guys!

Senior Flex info:
Per 1 oz serving:

Glucosamine Sulfate (98%) 5,000 mg
Chondroitin Sulfate (95%) 500 mg
MSM (99.7%) 3,000 mg
Ester-C 1,200 mg
Yuca Schidigera 5,500 mg
Vitamin A 15,000 IU
Vitamin D 5,000 IU
Vitamin E 1,000 IU
Crude Protein 1,985 mg
Crude Fat 2,410 mg
Crude Fiber 851 mg
Lactobacillus Acidophilus 93,750 CFU

Ingredients:
Rice bran, yucca schidigera, msm, glucosamine sulfate, yeast culture, ester-c, chondroitin sulfate, mineral oil, vitamin A supplement, vitamin D, vitamin E supplement, lactobacillus acidophilus, artificial flavoring and artificial sweetner.

I was eyeballing the ingredients.. the rice bran abd the artificial flavoring/sweeteners.. but I have given 99.9% pure MSM before that was made for horses and had an apple flavor, never seemed to cause any problems but I am much more aware of ingredients these days.

Direct Flex, per 1 oz serving:

Glucosamine HCL 99% + pure 5500 mg
Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) 99% + pure 2500 mg
Vitamin C 5000 mg
Niacinamide 155 mg
Zinc Amino Acid Chelate 200 mg
Manganese Amino Acid Chelate 250 mg
Copper Amino Acid Chelate 50 mg
L-Lysine 200 mg
D-L Methionine 3000 mg
L- Proline 80 mg
Yucca 100 mg
Citrus Bioflavenoids 100 mg
Other Ingredients:
Maltodextrin, mixtocopherols, citric acid
asorbic acid, rosemary extract

Figured I'd put that here so those whose computers don't like links could see

A few months ago a forum member posted that her vet prescribed Rimadyl, and we started a thread about the cost-effectiveness of the various joint supplements. I compared ingredients and cost-per-dose of all the major brands I could find, and I ended up with either two or three that had the same ingredients as the most expensive, but were considerably less costly.

I'll see if I can find that thread.

http://www.leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=13&Number=153351&Searchpage=2&Main=16103&Words=Rimadyl&topic=0&Search=true#Post153351

Is it this one Connie? I bookmarked it....

I searched for direct flex and senior flex and didn't come up with anything for those. I probably should have just read through all the posts to see what other products were being recommended, aside from Grand Flex. I know they sell that here on Leerburg but I wanted something with more vit C and with MSM - then I saw Senior Flex which has Ester C, and a good amount of Yucca Schidigera plus Vit E.

I give vit E and salmon oil currently, though I don't give much salmon oil as I feed salmon, sardines, and mackerel(poached, not canned I buy raw and cook it) and wellness 95% salmon during the week. I figured if Senior Flex has Vit E already I could extend the life of my bottle of Vit E capsules.

I don't mind cost when it comes to supplements and other things for my critters. I set aside a lot of money and have a high budget for my 4-legged friends. They have their own checking account haha. But any info on other supplements is always welcome, and I am most definitely not averse to saving money!

No, but that's the one that triggered it.

Hmmm. I thought I did put the research results at the end of that thread. I must've made a new thread to say which came out on top.

http://www.leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/130610/page/0/fpart/1

What about this one? Closer????

Closer, but I actually presented the way I did the research and the two or three finalists. One was the liquid one Leerburg carries, I remember, so maybe I can find that name and use it as a search term.

This Syn-Flex
http://www.leerburg.com/49.htm
was one of the finalists.

I can probably find the post now.

I read both of those, good info on joints and supplements and meds etc - thanks for the searching, Carol, much appreciated!

My concern with the Senior Flex is the Rice Bran and the artificial flavor/artificial sweetener. A bucket of a horse supplement, because of the high levels it has, would last me quite a while even with several dogs so I don't mind spending $50-100.00 for a bucket of a supplement but I don't want anything that will have a negative effect.

I remember spending $150.00 on a 5# bucket of some stuff for my TWH stallion, and I had to buy that every 3 months so it wasn't nearly as cost effective but the $$ doesn't matter much. I have nothing else to spend my money on that is worth it!

Edit: I walked away from the comp when making this post - hadn't seen Connie's post yet.. thanks Connie I will read that asap