# Creatine monohydrate for dogs?



## stealle (Feb 2, 2013)

I was looking at various supplement for dogs and came across the product "Animal Naturals K9 Show Stopper." It gets rave customer reviews on amazon. Then I noticed it has been talked about quite a bit on some of the other dog forums. So, I wondered, what's in this stuff? What caught my eye was ingredient #5: creatine monohydrate. What? I thought this stuff was only used in human body builders.

*Animal Naturals K9 Show Stopper Human Grade Ingredients:* Chicken fat, Stabilized rice bran, Chicken, Silica dioxide, *Creatine monohydrate*, Canola oil, Safflower oil, Stabilized flax, Extra virgin olive oil, Evening primrose oil, whole egg, FOS (fructo-oligosaccharides),Red cabbage, Sprouted broccoli, Citrus bioflavinoids, L-Glutamine, L-Arginine, L-Taurine, L-Carnitine, Freeze dried blueberry powder, Lactobacillus acidophilus casei/latis, Potassium chloride, magnesium oxide, Sodium Chloride, Plant-derived DHA, Potassium iodide, Choline bitartrate, Vitamin E, Pyridoxine HCL, Lycopene, Beta Carotene, Inositol,Di-calcium phosphate, Copper gluconate, Zinc oxide, Folic acid, Thiamine monohydrate, Calcium lactate, PABA, Hyaluronic acid, Sodium selenite, Cobalamin.

And here is what the manufacturer has to say about it:

"Surprising to many, a significant number of today’s most efficacious and powerful sports nutrients and practices were first proven on dogs. Creatine-an important muscle energy nutrient abundant in wild diets but depleted in modern foods—is one example. Recent studies in humans show Creatine supplements increase physical performance, the rate of recovery after workouts and protein (muscle) synthesis to a significant degree.

However, it is not widely known that the first major study revealing the anabolic properties of Creatine resulted from canine research. In 1923, Dr. Benedict of Cornell reported his findings on healthy dogs given Creatine supplementation. They noted a sharp increase in nitrogen retention in dogs receiving a modest amount of Creatine. Creatine is naturally found in high amounts in wild prey species, but is found in very low amounts in commercial dog foods because of processing."


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## Mary Beth (Apr 17, 2010)

I noticed the studies they cite were done in 1923 on dogs - if this supplement were so wonderful for dogs - why do they need to go back 90 years to cite this study? It makes me think that more recent studies with dogs (not humans) perhaps show that it isn't that effective on dogs as they claim.


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## SS-GSD (Dec 10, 2012)

I've heard of a couple of people using creatine as a supplement by it's self in dogs (As well as things like whey protein), but these are -working- dogs. Even then, I personally wouldn't use it because a prey model raw diet coupled with proper exercise is enough for my dogs to be the picture of health and have great muscle tone. I have a German Shepherd (Well, I have other dogs but we'll speak specifically of my GSD), not a bully breed or a dog with a mutated double muscle genetic. (Think Wendy the Whippet for example. Google her if you haven't seen her!) I highly doubt giving Show Stopper or straight Creatine or even the Whey Protein or any other muscle supplement is going to make my GSD into anything close to those dogs. Even if it COULD, I wouldn't see a reason to because excessive muscle doesn't = health. Not to mention you HAVE to make sure your drinking extra water when you're taking creatine. Dogs on modern diets don't drink enough anyways which is what leads to a lot of health problems in the first place, if you're adding in a supplement that needs more water then what problems are you going to cause?? I don't know how much is in Show Stopper, it seems to be a product mostly based towards giving a shiny coat rather than a muscle builder but personally? I'd just go buy some eggs, cheap fatty meat (ground beef for example) and full skin chicken quarters to supplement a kibble diet with if full raw isn't an option and give some good oils like fish oil, EV coconut oil and EV olive oil. Run the dog on hills, take it swimming, go hiking on uneven land, let it play with other dogs, ect and you'll have a shiny coat + the biggest muscles your dog can genetically have for cheaper than what this stuff would cost to feed. Out of pure curiosity, what exactly are you looking to accomplish with your dog?


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## stealle (Feb 2, 2013)

SS-GSD said:


> Out of pure curiosity, what exactly are you looking to accomplish with your dog?


SS-GSD - Thanks for your take on creatine. Actually, all I'm looking to accomplish here is to have a discussion about creatine. I never suggested I wanted to give it to my dog. I am familiar with creatine. I've used it myself at times. I'm just not familiar with its use for dogs. I am interested in canine nutrition so here I am in the diet & nutrition forum.

I am now finding that creatine is much more common in animal products than I thought. I am finding lots of products for joint problems that contain creatine monohydrate:

Synovi G4
Pala-tech Canine Joint Health
Vedco Flex 2500
VPS SynovialMax
AniMed ArthAway Powder for dogs
AniMed Muscle-up


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## x11 (Jan 1, 2012)

good question/thread re the creatine for dogs, would love to see some knowledable opinions, as far as humans go creatine program can help yr performance much.


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## stealle (Feb 2, 2013)

x11 said:


> good question/thread re the creatine for dogs, would love to see some knowledable opinions, as far as humans go creatine program can help yr performance much.


Thanks, yes, I'd like to hear more comments as well. Since canine nutrition is often different than human nutrition, I thought creatine might have different uses than just muscle building. As I discovered above it seems to help for joint problems. When I discovered the K9 Show Stopper product, which seems to be a product geared toward the coat, I was assuming creatine might help for hair growth in dogs. Perhaps my assumption was wrong.


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## x11 (Jan 1, 2012)

can't help but would like to know if you come up with anything, maybe a sled-dog racing or greyhound racing board, weight-pull or something more physical than what i think a lot of folks do here might be the place to ask???


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## GatorBytes (Jul 16, 2012)

I think it may have its place where there is muscle atrophy from an injury - like in an ACL tear.

But then L-glutamine (abundant in *real* meat) is muscle amino acid as well repairs digestive health and fuels the brain - one of very few nutrients that can pass the blood brain barrier 

I wouldn't go trying to pump up a otherwise healthy dog...like SS-GSD said...a good (biological/natural) source of nutrition goes a long way.


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## nonstop99 (Jun 18, 2015)

*I agree!*

Yea I totally agree. This is a great product.

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stealle said:


> I was looking at various supplement for dogs and came across the product "Animal Naturals K9 Show Stopper." It gets rave customer reviews on amazon. Then I noticed it has been talked about quite a bit on some of the other dog forums. So, I wondered, what's in this stuff? What caught my eye was ingredient #5: creatine monohydrate. What? I thought this stuff was only used in human body builders.
> 
> *Animal Naturals K9 Show Stopper Human Grade Ingredients:* Chicken fat, Stabilized rice bran, Chicken, Silica dioxide, *Creatine monohydrate*, Canola oil, Safflower oil, Stabilized flax, Extra virgin olive oil, Evening primrose oil, whole egg, FOS (fructo-oligosaccharides),Red cabbage, Sprouted broccoli, Citrus bioflavinoids, Creatine for Dogs by Muscle Bully Supplements , L-Glutamine, L-Arginine, L-Taurine, L-Carnitine, Freeze dried blueberry powder, Lactobacillus acidophilus casei/latis, Potassium chloride, magnesium oxide, Sodium Chloride, Plant-derived DHA, Potassium iodide, Choline bitartrate, Vitamin E, Pyridoxine HCL, Lycopene, Beta Carotene, Inositol,Di-calcium phosphate, Copper gluconate, Zinc oxide, Folic acid, Thiamine monohydrate, Calcium lactate, PABA, Hyaluronic acid, Sodium selenite, Cobalamin.
> 
> ...


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## Austin R. (Aug 3, 2015)

The vet I go to has bread and shown gsd for 20+ years and has been a vet for 25+ years and she recommended this, ghost loves it and it's Improved his joint movement a lot http://www.amazon.com/Nutramax-Cose...=UTF8&qid=1439555038&sr=1-1&keywords=cosequin


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