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Among the proposed treatments to repair lesions of degenerative joint disease (DJD), chondroprotective nutraceuticals composed by glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate are a non-invasive theraphy with properties that favors the health of the cartilage. Although used in human, it is also available for veterinary use with administration in the form of nutritional supplement independent of prescription, since they have registry only in the Inspection Service, which does not require safety and efficacy testing. The lack of such tests to prove efficacy and safety of veterinary medicines required by the Ministry of Agriculture and the lack of scientific studies proving its benefits raises doubts about the efficiency of the concentrations of such active substances. In this context, the objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a veterinary chondroprotective nutraceutical based on chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine in the repair of osteochondral defects in lateral femoral condyle of 48 dogs, through clinical and radiographic analysis. The animals were divided into treatment group (TG) and control group (CG), so that only the TG received the nutraceutical every 24 hours at the rate recommended by the manufacturer. The results of the four treatment times (15, 30, 60 and 90 days) showed that the chondroprotective nutraceutical, in the rate, formulation and administration at the times used, did not improve clinical signs and radiologically did not influence in the repair process of the defects, since the treated and control groups showed similar radiographic findings at the end of the treatments.

Periodontal disease (PD) is widely known among veterinarians for its high prevalence and serious consequences to the dogs. The objective of this study was to assess the occurrence of PD in dogs that live in the micro-region of Viçosa, treated at the Veterinary Hospital of the Federal University of Viçosa (HVT - Hospital Veterinário da Universidade Federal de Viçosa), as well as to assess how aware of this disease dog owners are. In order to do so, all dogs treated at the HVT from March 10th, 2009 to November 30th, 2009, on alternate days, had their oral cavities examined. Medical history data, such as age, type of food, main complaint and owner consent, halitosis, presence of dental calculus, inflammation and gingival recession and tooth loss, were collected. A prevalence of 88.67% was found for PD in dogs referred to the HVT, and 2.67% were referred due to this disease. Of all the owners who participated in the study, 43.83% knew about periodontal disease and of these 17.46% made use of some type of prevention or treatment. Therefore, periodontal disease is highly prevalent and the owners are not aware of the disease. Thus, a dog owner clarification program on periodontal disease is needed in the area where HVT-UFV operates.