[Pugsonraw]

Hi Dchassett,

I took both my pugs off several supplements right now (not just Springtime)… I have food & allergy tests run about every 6 months and this time around something I’m giving them triggered for NutraSweet in it as well as some of the normal food allergies I usually see. I’m not sure what it is so I’ve completely scaled back to rotating in a few of these things:
organic coconut oil, mercola krill oil, mercola enzymes and probiotics, braggs apple cider vinegar, and a hypoallergenic phycox joint supplement. I’ve used these over the year… and these have not triggered anything for the pugs. Not sure where the NutraSweet came from but I don’t want it in their diet.

Just when I think I’m wining the battle with their allergies or food choices, something changes…. and Spring is here in CA! My pugs are so different and it is hit and miss with products I try… what works for one, makes the other super itchy…

I have been looking at the Bug Off garlic though… even ordered the granules but they have not arrived yet. I was just at the vets yesterday and they were trying to suggest accuguard which is an oral pill.

Not sure if this helps but I find sometimes you just need to test it out, cross your fingers and see how it goes…

Dawn aka Pugsonraw…

[Naturella]

Well, today I had another success… My best friend, who also owns a lab-hound mix (like my roommate) began her journey in better dog nutrition.

I have not talked to her much about that because I thought that her dad was doing most of the doggie care, and the few times I have been over at her parents’ house (where the dog lives), the dog looked like she would rather eat me than her dinner… SO I had not raised the subject until today.

She moved back in with her family in a new house and we were hanging out and she had to go back to walk her dog. I went with her, but before that I had to take her to my fave pet boutique with the free samples. Needless to say, she got an informational pamphlet, a bag full of free samples, and the recommendation to get on this site. I love this store, in case I have not mentioned this before. ANYWAY, in the car (we rode together), I was explaining to her about how what she feeds now (Kibbles ‘n’ Bits) is bad, what is good, and how it will help her dog. She (the dog) is a bit overweight, has fat pockets formed in a few places, and may suffer bad joints in the future.

So the store hooked her up with samples of Victor for joints, nutri source, earthborn, canidae pure, merrick beef, nutrisca salmon, and some other ones.

When we got to her place, I was a bit scared to get out of the car, but I did… Her dog barked at me like crazy (as usual), but I let her sniff me this time and eventually she calmed down. We decided that if I were to give her some of the new food as treats, she may like me even more, so we did. We tried the Merrick, and she liked it. We were friends now! We walked her together, talked more about food and how it affects EVERYTHING – smell, gassiness, joints, mast formations or fat pockets, allergies, everything. So when we got back, we gave her dog some of the Nutrisca Salmon, and boy, she LOVED it! So we mixed it with her dinner serving of the crap… I mean, of Kibbles ‘n Bits, and she ate some, but not too much (she is stressed because this is her first day in my friend’s new house). But, I think my friend has potential. She had bought a bag of Back to Basics for her dog in Fall and I was proud of her! So yeah, making progress… I am so excited!

With this being said, I really am sorry, Carlyn, but I don’t think anything will help this guy’s dogs, unless, like Patty said, someone whose opinion he values (more) tells him the same stuff you have been… So yeah…

[theBCnut]

Antioxidants help with joint damage/inflamation.

[theBCnut]

Dori
I found my chiropractor through my horse connections. There are many more people with horses that have chiropractic done than with dogs in my area. Yes, it could definitely help, but I would look for an acupuncturist first. And cold laser therapy is also excellent. The local vet. college may have a rehab vet or may be able to refer you to one. What I would recommend for joint care is to get a single bottle of a few different things and try them. Different supplements work differently for individual dogs. My favorites have glucosamine, MSM, and HA, but that’s because that’s what mine responds best to.

Harper’s Mom
You probably want to give 1/2 tsp per day, BUT you need to work up to that amount. Start with just a small pinch for a couple days.

[Melissaandcrew]

Hi Dchassett- The joint/mobility chewables did not work for my old man, but I am giving the longevity to all, and those that had minor issues seem to be doing well.

[DogFoodie]

Hi Dori,

I would totally look into that if I were you! I started taking Sam to a TCVM who practices both (actually my regular vet does acupuncture too, but she suggested that I see the other vet) and I felt like it helped Sam a great deal. Sam would come home after an adjustment and be so calm and just nap away. When Sam starts limping, I take him in for a recheck. When I was dealing with food intolerance and the resulting reoccurring ear issues, my TCVM helped me with that as well and actually, chiropractic adjustments can help with some of those symptoms as well also. I give it a big thumbs up! Wish you were close to me, I’d take you to my guy. : ) http://www.avcadoctors.com/avcadus.htm

Edit: Actually, I know that laser therapy is something that my vets do quite a bit of for joint pain / issues also. I’m also adding a link to my vet, even though I know you aren’t close to me, I seem to recall he had some interesting info on his website. You can see him do an adjustment on a horse! http://evetclinic.com/

[Dori]

Hi Pugsonraw. How did the Advanced Hip and Joint Springtime supplement work out? Have you seen any improvement? I’m thinking of using this on Hannah. She’ll be 15 years old on 9/9/14. I rotate her supplements as well as her foods so I’m always on the look out for supplements that some may be having some luck with. She’s got arthritis, a couple of degenerated discs center spine, but lately I’ve noticed that the swing in her gait seems to be coming more from her hips than her legs. She’s also developing a tremor in both back legs. She had it a while back but it would only be one back leg or the other. Now it’s both back legs trembling when she’s standing still. Thanks, Dori

[theBCnut]

Hi Jewel

I try to give joint supplements that only have a few active ingredients to early or mild cases because the body eventually gets used to the ingredients and they stop working, so you need to be able to move on to something else. For more advanced or severe cases, I pull out the big guns, and this would be a big gun.

That being said, I would not feed the chews unless I couldn’t get my dog to eat this any other way. There were a few ingredients that I don’t want to give my dogs, like artificial colors and artificial flavors and a couple others. The powder still has artificial flavors, but I can live with that since they dropped the other more objectionable ingredients.

[MarieLovesChis]

I too need a new joint supplement and was thinking of going with Springtime advanced joint chews.

Mom2Cavs: How much do you think an 8 pound dog with luxating patellas would need of the advanced formula? Should just one chewable a day be enough? Sorry, not trying to hijack the thread.

[theBCnut]

Orijen LBP has too high calcium

A percent is a proportion, no matter what volume you are talking about. If something is 1% of X then it does not matter if you are talking about a single kibble or a ton of it, one part out of every one hundred parts will be X.

I know this is a long thread, but you need to read at least the first few pages of it and read the links. That will answer a lot of your questions and will provide you with a list of foods that have appropriate calcium levels. You will have to figure out which of them are available in Canada, I’m afraid. I believe the people who are on here regularly from Canada have small dogs, so don’t follow this thread.

Make sure that you feed your puppy to keep him lean/thin until he is completely mature at around 2 1/2 years old. This helps his joints to develop slowly and helps to keep the stress of carrying too much weight off of them until they are completely formed. Also make sure he doesn’t overdo exercise, which is another big factor in joint development.

Add fish oil. It’s anti inflamatory and the omega 3s in it are easily damaged in kibble.

Good luck.

[pugmomsandy]

These are are the supplements I have on hand but don’t necessarily give every day: Springtime Bug Off, Longevity and Joint Chews, Mercola Bladder Support, Wysong Biotic pH, krill oil, calamari oil, vit E and C, ubiquinol, cetyl-M, DE.

[Shasta220]

I love apple cider vinegar, coconut oil, raw eggs, and I always keep a good joint supplement around for my old girl.

I’m curious – most glucosamine/chondroitin is sourced from shellfish, correct? Would crayfish count as well? Whenever we go camping, we catch loads of the lil buggers. Would it be safe to give the cooked shells to a dog (consistency is a lot like an eggshell), or would they need to be ground…or should they just be avoided altogether?

[Mom2Cavs]

I had a Shih-Poo (at the bridge now) who had both rear luxating patellas. We kept him from having surgery by giving him Springtime, Inc. Joint Health chews. He would get one in the morning and evening. He didn’t do well with Dasaquin at all. But, all dogs are different. I did limit his exercise somewhat, as well, but would have done that with any supplement given. He passed away before they came out with their new advanced chews. I keep both on hand.

[Shasta220]

I don’t know much about the vast amounts of joint supplements out there, but I enjoy Actiflex 4000 (meant for horses, but can easily be used for dogs). It’s probably not the best out there, but it’s super affordable. My 70lb senior lab gets about a tsp daily, which we figured that to be around 5$/month (compared to 30$/month of her other stuff.)

I’d definitely go with dchassett’s suggestions though sounds like she’s been around the block a few times when it comes to joint care.

Best wishes!

[Naturella]

I never used Greenies per se, but I have used the Nylabone green puppy chew things. Bruno liked them, but we are not getting any more. Ever. I am happy he never had a problem, but I would much rather give RMBs, brush his teeth, and give antlers, hooves, and bully sticks/ears/tracheae/natural and digestible stuff for dental health.

My friend, however, used to use Greenies every day with no problems. She also used bully sticks, but she wanted a long-lasting chew, and eventually they failed, so she stopped getting them. She is now on DentaStiX for her 2 dogs, but thankfully she is stopping soon. Her next trial will be water additive for fresher breath and with a joint supplement. Hopefully that works better. She will be using Tropiclean. Any thoughts on that?

[jewel0247]

I’m wanting to start a joint supplement on my 13 year old dog and can’t decide on which (even with all the awesome information on these forums)! She shows mild mobility issues, but gets around well for the most part…
I’ve come down to:
Mercola (the chewables)
K9 Naturals Joint strong (the powder)
Springtime Joint formula

I’m liking the K9, but there is chicken flavoring or cartilage in the formula… and with her chicken intolerance, I don’t know if she would have a bad reaction?

Thanks!

[Shasta220]

I’m sure you guys remember my good ol’ lab, Cassy. Well, I’m starting her on acv and just ordered some liquid Actiflex (it’ll cut her joint supplement cost from 20-40$/month to just 5-10$/month. Boo yah!). The dogs get fed outside of the house, and I don’t really want to hassle with measuring out the liquids every single day, so I thought of this:
Freeze the supplements w some canned food, then just give her a cube a day on the food.

I’m wondering if there’s a chance for any of the nutrients to “freeze off” by doing so? (They would prob stay in the freezer for up to 2wks, since an ice cube tray will hold about 12-14 cubes)

Also, what’s a super affordable and still 4-5 star canned food that I can pop in there? My thoughts were maybe Natural Balance, or something from Diamond? I figured it wouldn’t matter too much since she’d just be getting 1-2tbsp daily, and she’s a good 70lb.

[Mom2Cavs]

Hey, all….I just started the Springtime, Inc. supplements for people. I’m using the Joint Health capsules, the Tonic Blend and the Boswellia Extract tabs. I’ve been using for about a week now, instead of the nsaids I normally use for my back and sciatica. I believe it’s helping, so yay! Of course, it could all be the placebo thing, too, lol. Regardless, I’m going to keep using them and see how it goes.

[Naturella]

Bobby dog, thanks for the kind words!

Yes, shopping on a budget is a necessity for both my friend and I, but finding fantabulous deals for quality food is a hobby. Luckily, she has 2 dogs – the lab and a Chorkie (chihuahua-yorkie, although he looks more like a bichon…), so she likes to stock up for both of them… She feeds them different stuff, which I find slightly odd, but to each their own, they both eat really good food. The Chorkie is stocked up with Holistic Health Extension Small Breed, Earthborn Holistic Small Breed and Coastal Catch, as well as a bag of Whole Earth Farms – Pork (I think), Halo, Simply Nourish, and Evanger’s. The lab also has a bag of Earthborn’s Ocean Fusion as well, I forgot about that.

To add to that, we both have a bunch of PetCo coupons and wipll be using them throughout the year.

As for me, my little JR-Rat Terrier-maybe Chihuahua in there-mutt is on a mix of Dr. Tim’s Kinesis-Nutrisca Chicken-Holistic Health Extension Grain Free-Now Fresh-Victor Yukon Salmon Grain Free-Nature’s Variety Instinct Chicken + Raw Boost-Nature’s Variety Turkey, Duck, and Chicken (TURDUCKEN! 😀 ) + Raw Boost. Some is from his initial mix of the first 3 foods; the HHE bag I got for free from Petland; the Now Fresh I got on sale for $3 for 0.5lbs; the Nature’s Variety and the Victor are free samples. For treats I use those kibbles, or free samples of Victor Joint Health Grain Free and Victor High-Pro Grain free, mixed together. Lined up I have Earthborn’s Coastal Catch, Primitive Natural, and Great Plains Feast to be mixed with ALL FREE bags of HHE Original, Grain Free, and Lamb and Brown Rice, respectively. For later on, I have Victor Ultra Professional lined up to mix with Back to Basics Open Range, and the foods that I have PetCo coupons for, such as Wellness, Canidae, Blue Buffalo (Bruno has done well on it in the past), Avo Derm, Solid Gold, Nature’s Variety, and Merrick. Those last ones I will buy in the end of the year, so they will be next year’s stash.

As for the pet boutiques, I would not purchase food from Store A, even if it’s good. But Store B I really like.

And thank you for the compliment – Bruno is our first “real” dog (when I was little, I had a min pin for about 2 weeks, but my dad couldn’t stand her, so they gave her away… Gina was “real”, but not “mine” for very long…) and I really try to learn about what is good for him and what’s not… We really love the little guy and definitely take better care for him than for ourselves (which is not entirely good, but… eh…). 🙂

[Mom2Cavs]

One of my favorites is from Nature’s Farmacy….order it online at Naturesfarmacy.com.
It’s called Dogzymes Ultimate. They also have Ultimate Complete now, which contains probs/enz, vitamins, minerals, joint health ingredients. This vitamin smells really good and the dogs love the taste.

[Shasta220]

I know pumpkin is a great addition for a dog lacking fiber, but is there a general rule of thumb for how much to add per pound (or 10-20lb, etc) of dog.

Also, I’m very curious about apple cider vinegar. On a FB page, there are several bull-breed owners who add acv, claiming it’s helpful for joints. I’d like to add some to my dogs’ diets, since it’s very cheap (even for raw/organic), and anything to further help my old girl is great.
Is there anyone on here who gives their dog acv? If so, what are all the health benefits?

[Naturella]

Shasta,

This is amazing that your lab has had such a turnaround! It is so amazing to see and hear success stories of better food, so I am always ecstatic to see my friend who switched to good food.

As for my other friend, I took her to my favorite store today, and they hooked her up with over 15 samples of 4-and-5-star foods for her old rottie who has been on Beneful and Pedigree so far… She was happy, I was beyond excited, and I can’t wait too see which one he likes/does on best, and which one she gets. I think she should incorporate a joint supplement in whatever she feeds anyway. But I think we’re on a good track there! Hoping for a smooth transition and great results. Also, I did recommend to her to start with may a 3- or 3.5-star food first, and then go to a 4- or 5-star one.

Shasta, I would have never guessed you are a teenager! You rock! 🙂

And also, I agree with both Shasta and aquariangt – although some people feed Beneful and the sort because of price, it is true that good foods can be found for much less online or at clearance/sales racks in pet stores/boutiques. But I can understand how uninformed people can suffer from commercials and misinformation, and I also believe that once they are open to at least checking this website out, they will also get hooked. Like with Shasta, that’s what happened to me. I just stumbled upon it googling something, and bam. That was it for me. I just wish people weren’t so headstrong about what they choose to feed and at least entertain the idea of learning something from someone else… My roommate, however, said to me, after I had had Bruno for about 2 months – “You have had a dog for how long, 2 months now? What do YOU know about dogs. I GREW UP around dogs and have had my own for over 3 years now.” Then it was clear to me that he just wouldn’t ever take anything I tell him, and, sadly, even his vet recommends this site, and other foods (NOT the SD), but he would still not listen, or research so meh… It is what it is.

And another dog that I take pride in being put on good food is my own. When Bruno was first found, he had the worst case of fleas the vet had ever seen. His fur was falling out, and he had patches of sores and wounds all over. The couple that found him (the second ones; the initial “founders” did not even give him food or water for 2 days before the other couple visited them and took the puppy from them) did a great job de-fleeing him, having him dewormed, given food and water, and a good safe space to live for a while until found a forever home (that would be us!). They had him on Purina-Something and he looked fine (I wasn’t able to tell he had fur missing before), and only had 2 scabs left from when he had sores. It wasn’t until we got him on Blue Buffalo Wilderness that his fur got really shiny (that’s when I realized it had been dull before!), and he started growing fur on his tummy (I thought it was supposed to be bare, not that it was actually missing fur!). So good food helped my little guy too, and like others, at first I did listen to the pet store associates and even my roommate (the Science Diet guy), but even then, I preferred grain free and higher protein food, I guess by instinct. So once I found this site, I have never looked at dog food again, let alone any grocery store’s pet aisle, lol.

[Naturella]

Hey, all!

So, Bruno’s got a problem…

Saturday night I was training Bruno with some freeze-dried liver treats, chicken-based training treats, and Victor GF Joint Health kibble from a sample bag. All went well, we had a long and productive training session, during which he had many treats. He was last taken out at 3am (right at the time change).

Sunday morning he wakes us up as usual to go potty, but way too early, even for him (8am), and this time, he’s shaking. I see that he can barely hold it, so I rush to take him out, and he goes immediately, very soft serve and a lot of it. We go back in, and two hours later, he needs to go again, for almost liquidy stool, and he went until he pooped clear. I figured he was done and emptied out, so we go back inside. He has some pumpkin in his breakfast kibble to try and help his tummy. I start cooking, so an hour later my friend points out that he had thrown up. About 30 min later, he goes #2 by the front door (I’m still cooking). When my husband takes him to his friend’s house, he throws up a quarter-sized amount, and poops liquid at their fireplace. When he came back, I had cooked some plain brown rice with coconut oil and I mixed it with his kibble to try and help his tummy troubles. Throughout the day he pooped a couple other times, at short intervals, and very soft and mucusy stuff, kind of gel-like, and incredibly smelly. He had 2 bowls of kibble and rice, and an extra half bowl of just brown rice with some water. He ate ok and his energy was just the same until the evening, when he was pooped out and passed out. We took him out right before going to bed, and this morning I woke up to him crying to go outside, so I rush to take him, but stumble upon 3 piles of poop in the bathroom and hallway… Outside, he pooped a tiny bit, still soft and mucusy/gel-like. So, now I have only served him his regular kibble, no rice.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what else I could give to him to make him feel better and fix his stools? They are usually very hard and I add different things to soften them up, but now I need the opposite effect. Maybe just kibble will help? If he continues like this all throughout today, we’re going to the vet first thing tomorrow…

• This topic was modified 11 years, 9 months ago by Naturella.

[Naturella]

I think I have mentioned being in a similar situation with my roommate who feeds his lab-hound mix the Science Diet. While not as horrible as Beneful or Pedigree, he can still do MUCH better, especially because he has the means to! But he just believes he knows a lot about dogs and would not listen to another opinion. This weekend he was out climbing and I was in charge of feeding his dog. Many times I debated whether I should sneak some good food into her crap, or at least a sardine, some coconut butter, or some healthy additive, but never did, precisely because of what neezerfan said. The dog is somewhat picky and if she doesn’t eat the food and he gets home and sees it, he will be upset. Or, if she eats it and gets sick, he will be upset. So while it is heartbreaking to me to not feed her good food, I am working on coming to terms that this battle is one I will never win.

I have, however, gotten a really close friend of mine and a former roommate to stop feeding her lab and chorkie (chihuahua-yorkie mix) dogs the Aldi brand dog food Shep (1 star), to feeding 3.5-5-star foods, such as Blue Buffalo, Great Life, Earthborn, Holistic Heath Extension, Evangers, Nutro, Victor, etc. She can clearly see the effects of better food on her dogs, especially her lab, whose coat has gotten soft and shiny. Her and her dogs are my pride and joy! Now, if only I can get her to stop bathing them every week and giving them “greenies” every night, I would feel complete, but that’s another story, lol. She does give them bully sticks-antlers-marrow bones-hooves-himalayan dog chews-other natural chews, so I guess they are ok for the most part. 🙂

Another “battle” is with a classmate, who is a vet actually, but studied in Colombia, back in the day. Her husband feeds their rottweiler Pedigree (1 star) and stuff like that, so I am going to slowly introduce her to other foods for a great price too (Victor for example, and Earthborn, and HHE). I am giving her a bag of free samples of better foods I got from the nearby pet boutique, and I will hopefully get her to switch to Victor Joint Health or something like that soon. 🙂

Overall I have spoken to many friends who have dogs about dog food, and some take my advice, and some don’t, but if I can even help one dog, I would be happy. I would always want to help more though, but you just have to be careful, and really gauge how to speak to a person about what they feed their “baby”.

[enny]

Here are the latest results from Consumerlab’s tests for Chondroitin, Glucosamine and MSM for dogs and cats. 1800Petsmeds joint enhancer for small dogs and cats: only 70.5% of listed glucosamine hcl.
Joint Complete for Dogs and Cats (Liquid Solutions): 76% of glucosamine sulfate listed.
Joint Max Triple Strength Soft Chews: 135% of listed MSM.
Liquid Health Naturals K9 Glucosamine: only 16% of listed Chondroitin Sulfate.
Cosequin DS Plus MSM (Nutramax Lab): Approved
Cosequin Joint Health Supplement for Cats: Approved
Hope this helps users of these supplements.

[pugmomsandy]

Do don’t have to supplement every meal since the canned food is complete. Try NL and the joint supp for one meal, prob/enz in the second meal. Fish oil two or three times a week, especially if you’re using a human dose, he’ll get more than enough.

[Mom2Cavs]

What you are giving him sounds like a good plan. The Nature’s Logic fortifier is a whole food supplement and I believe should not be “too much”. I really don’t know if you mean you might overdose him on something or if it’s too rich. But, either way, it should be a healthy supplement to add if he tolerates it. All the rest are fine, too. The doses for all these supplements for such a small dog should be small, as well. If you are worried about changing the taste of his food and him not eating, then you could use something else to help deliver the supplement, like yogurt, cottage cheese, etc…. to put some of the supplements in and give as a treat. As for the joint supplement, you could always get one that is packaged like a treat and give it that way, so it doesn’t have to be mixed into his food. The coconut oil would probably be licked right off your finger as a treat, and if the fish oil is a gel cap you could wrap it in something, like cheese, or use cream cheese and cover it and give as a treat, as well. The probiotics and enzymes shouldn’t change the taste of the food. And as far as him being healthier without all the supplementation….sometimes supplements can cause issues, like allergic ones, or loose stool, etc., so it is a choice you have to make, whether or not to give, and if you do want to give supplements to try to find those that the dog can accept either in his food or as a treat. I should know all this because I have smaller dogs who don’t eat that much food and I do like to give supplements. Lucy, my Mixed Breed, has a rare type of skin cancer (I believe she’s in remission, atm, yay!) and she takes a liquid maitake mushroom supplement in her canned/dry food every morning. I was very worried she might not take it in her food and I’d have to get creative, but she has with no problems…very good, lol. I also give Standard Process supplements, which are powders, and sometimes they will give a little loose stool, so I back off a little. If I feel I’m overloading them with supplements I tend to break it all up between morning and evening or give as a treat during the day. Sometimes I don’t give a supplement every day, but every other. I also evaluate their supplements at times to determine if I still need to give something or if I can stop for awhile. I also like to rotate supplements, too. I will give Wholistic Pet for awhile and them I’ll switch and give Nature’s Farmacy stuff, or Springtime, Inc. I’ve used cream cheese to give pill type supplements to Lucy because she’s picky. The Cavaliers tend to just eat anything I give them lol. These methods have worked with my dogs and I hope some of the suggestion help.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 9 months ago by Mom2Cavs.

[weezerweeks]

I have my little yorkie on canned food. He only gets 1/3cup a day divided by 2 so each meal is not very much. I want to give him the correct supplements but it’s hard because it changes the taste of his food. I give him natures logic fortifier, mercola’s digestive enzyme and probiotic, coconut oil once a week, Nordic natural fish oil every day.I’m also starting him on joint supplement because of his luxating petalla.since he’s only on canned food how would you supplement him each day. The natures logic has so many things in it I’m afraid it’s too much.should I give it every day along with the enzyme and probiotic and what other super food should I use instead of this or to rotate. I am trying so hard but I’m getting so confused because their are soo many supplements. Sometimes it seems he was healthier just eating kibble with no supplements except fish oil.

[weezerweeks]

Patty this is the joint supplement I was asking u about and yes they make it for horses.

[FreeholdHound]

Update: the Mobility Essentials seem to be working out well for Harry. Through the Winter from Hell (another 8-14 in expected in 48 hrs) Harry’s limp hasn’t flared up in all the ice & snow. His Vet agreed w/ the racing trainers I’ve spoken to that it’s a past ankle injury & joint supplement wouldn’t hurt.

[Mom2Cavs]

I use quite a few and rotate off and on, too. Currently, all 3 dogs are getting Nature’s Farmacy Digestive Enhancer morning and evening in their food. It’s a prob/enzyme supplement. I am also giving Standard Process Whole Body Support (a whole food vitamin/mineral) morning and evening. Lucy gets a liquid Maitake Mushroom supplement from Vetri Science in the morning. I believe this addition has put her cancer into remission! Twice a week the girls all get an Omega supplement. Currently, I’m using Vetri Science’s 3/6/9. I occasionally give coconut oil, as well. For the Cavaliers I will be adding in Standard Process Cardio Support 3 times a week. Also, every Monday they all get a urinary chew that has cranberry and vit. c. Whew…I think that’s it lol.

I also love Springtime, Inc. supplements and use Fresh Factors, Joint Health Chews, Bug Off Garlic Chews and rotate them off an on with the other ones I mentioned above.
Some of the other probiotics or enzymes I like and use are Wholistic Pet Digest All Plus and Fresh Digest. I also like Wholistic Pet Salmon Oil, Springtime 3/6/9 and Nordic Naturals for omegas.

[weezerweeks]

My vet and I are trying to decide on the joint supplement for my yorkie,he’s been having a little trouble with his luxating petalla even though it’s only a 1. I showed him the mercola joint supplement that I have and he’s concerned about the Bromelain because it has been know to cause trouble with the digestive lining. Have any of u ever heard of this? I have a super smart and animal loving vet,his 7 dogs go to work with him everyday,2 golden doodles,1 lab,3carin terriers, and one westie.you should see him driving down the highway it is quite funny!

[pugmomsandy]

Fairly regularly I use Springtime Inc. Longevity, Fresh Factors, Bug Off Garlic (or Flea Free Supplement liquid), and I got some free bottles of their Advanced Hip and Joint and Joint Health Chewables at checkout. springtimeinc.com

And a couple times a week, I give Mercola krill oil and ubiquinol, Swanson’s Dr. Langer’s probiotics or Mercola probiotics, Mercola digestive enzymes, Immunel (swanson), and a glandular product (currently Pet G.O.) http://mypetsfriend.com/pet-go.html and ProDen Plaque Off, vit E and C, and Mercola Bladder Support.

When I make dehydrated foods, I like to add in some raw apple cider vinegar.

I’ve just started to add some sprouted seeds to their raw food. 4 Legs of Love from SproutPeople.org. http://sproutpeople.org/just-for-pets/sprouts-for-dogs/

[weezerweeks]

My vet gave me samples of platinum performance complete joint care today. Has anyone used this. It’s in a powder form. I showed him my bottle of mercola joint tablets and he said they looked good but he wanted me to try platinum.my little yorkie had to have injection today and meta am for 4 days. He has luxating patella. Just wondered if anyone had used these.

[aquariangt]

At the moment, no. Wheat, Soy, Corn free, yes, but I’ve got some oatmeal in Dani’s (the sheltie) food, and Brown Rice in the other two. When I swap foods again to get them all on the same, I most likely will. Is there a specific benefit for the joints from being grain free, or do you just mean the all around health?

[InkedMarie]

I use human joint supplement from SwansonVitamins.com. It’s called joint mobility plus. It has all kinds of stuff that is important for joints. Salmon oil is also good. I assume you’re feeding grainfree; am I correct?

[aquariangt]

thanks Marie. Any opinion on hip and joint supplements? I’m pretty green in the world of supplementing. I just bought some Fish Oil, and am getting some Probiotics, but don’t know much about the hip and joint ones

[aquariangt]

Just curious as to some opinions on dry foods with close to 40% protein analysis. The sheltie is getting fairly active (agility) but the other two are mostly house dogs- not much more than walks, though I have a yard so they can run.

I do like to keep them on the same food, but would the high protein food be unhealthy for the others, or is it not going to cause too much unhealthy weight gain? Also- hip and joint supplements, yay or nay? Vet said she should with her agility stuff, but of course, I rarely pay attention to them re:nutrition

Thanks!

• This topic was modified 11 years, 9 months ago by aquariangt.

[Shasta220]

It doesn’t sound like your boys are on good food at all. You have awesome intentions, but the nutritional value just isn’t there.

I really don’t recommend puppy food, especially not ANYTHING under the Purina brand. Look into 4-5 star foods on this site. There are some forums on here with lists of the most affordable ones, as I imagine the food bill to get high.

No no no to hot dogs. They are very very processed, and whatever nutritional values were in them got processed right out. I’d suggest going to your local butcher/grocery store, and buying raw meats/bones like chicken, beef, etc. Those are much better meat sources… And I’d avoid any jerky designed for people too, it has extra salt and often sugar that dogs don’t need. Try making your own jerky by slicing meat and baking it in the oven until it’s chewy. (EDIT: oops, sorry, just saw that you’ll make your own jerky instead of store bought. Good good.)

The other posts have said no over feeding, and I can’t emphasize that enough either. It is especially important that you don’t over feed the puppy, as giant breeds will tend to grow as much as their food intake allows. If they grow more than their body was designed for, it will put horrible stress on their bones/joints, no matter how fit they are as an adult.

Another note on food: it will probably be a bit tough on your wallet when you switch to a premium food, but in reality, the risk is NOT switching. When they’re on quality food, they will need to eat less, much less.
My 90lb APBT mix, Otto, ate 9c of Dog Chow daily, and was still very very lean/fit. When we finally moved him up to a 3-star Nutra Nuggets, he went all the way down to 2c daily with no weight change.
Another miracle story of what food switches will do: we’ve fed our dogs 1-3 star foods for about 10yrs sadly. Our lab had Otitis, and ALWAYS had a disgusting smell to her, as well as hot spots and shedding. She also was acting very lethargic (we figured it was just her age). When we switched her to a quality food, she lost about 5 years of her age in just a few months! She was bouncy, happy, wanted to play fetch, and had ZERO odor to her!

So switching their food will give you amazing benefits, I promise. 😉

• This reply was modified 11 years, 10 months ago by Shasta220.

[Mom2Cavs]

I would think that any high quality food that agrees with the dog would be good. If you are doing agility you might want to also consider supplementing with glucosamine and chondroitin for joint support. You could look at Acana Regionals, or other foods that are for sporting dogs like Annamaet, Dr. Tim’s. Earthborn has good food, as well as Nutrisource. In fact, if it were me, I’d look at this list of 4 and 5* rated foods, find those that meet my criteria, that I could easily get, and pick a few to try. Good luck to you! I know others will respond soon with their suggestions. 🙂

[FreeholdHound]

I wish I was as organized as Patty 🙂 Since Harry gets kibble in the AM I give him the coconut oil and/or sardine oil then, along with a probiotic and a joint health cap. I am also having good luck with Honest Kitchen’s Perfect Form powder in lieu of his usual enzyme at the moment. In the PM he gets a raw grind/ kibble mix that includes tripe.

[Pugsonraw]

Thanks guys for the responses… I’m going to try some of their products out. Just ordered the Advanced Hip and Joint, C-formula and Fresh Factors.

[sean76034]

I know these posts are like a year old, and I also know it has to do with large breeds like Great Danes, but I need some advice. I have a 2 month old doberman puppy mix and she has been knuckling over. It started when she was smaller, we noticed her front leg would shake while she was sitting, we thought she was just getting used to her weight so we ignored it. 2 weeks later which is around now, she looked a lot worse while she was running outside. She started to run with three legs. This is when I realized something was actually wrong. I looked it up and realized she goes back and forth from normal to stage 1 and 2. The more active she is, the more it looks like stage 2, the less active it looks like stage 1, and when she is asleep most of the time then starts walking it looks normal. This led me to believe it is just knuckling over and nothing worse that would need immediate surgery. I have concluded many reasons to why this happened to her. For one, all we have is tile/hardwood floor throughout the house, for two, we switched foods many times, and lastly, the food she was on had like 27% protein. After reading many posts I’ve concluded she needed lower protein so I went and got her 21% protein with no by-products or corn. It seems to have been helping because her paws look normal right now, but she hasn’t been as active since we don’t let her play anymore with her litter mates. We had a litter of 8 puppies, which the other 7 are all normal and they’re still on the 27% protein. All seemed great until I read that when they have knuckling joints their supposed to be on low fat too. I read the label and the food she’s on is 21% protein and 16% fat. I’ve concluded this is too much fat so now I am wondering if we should once again switch foods on her. What do you guys recommend I should do? Buy a high quality adult food that is 21/12? Or keep her on what she’s on? I feel if we did that she would get too heavy for her paw. But I feel if we switched foods again which will be like the 3rd or 4th time it will make problems worse. What should I do? if I had to make a diagnosis id say she’s looking pretty normal at this point. But I think that’s just due to more sleep and walking and less running and playing. Also I read that vitamin C is good, but she won’t eat her food with the crushed up pill in it. If anyone still comes on here please help us out because we don’t want her to get worse

[Mom2Cavs]

Pugsonraw, I used the Advanced Joint and Hip once for Lucy (pulled muscle at the time) and it worked great. Mine get a Fresh Factor tablet every morning for their vitamin and their 3/6/9 supplement 2 days a week. I’m not using their Joint Health (the regular formula I use more often) right now because I’m using Annamaet’s Endure. I really like Springtime’s stuff. I also have some of their Bug Off Garlic, Bee Pollen and Spirulina on hand.

[Pugsonraw]

Melissa,

I was just looking over the Springtime website today and they have some deals again. How did the longevity or advanced joint and hip work out for your dog? Would you order again?

Let me know…..

Dawn

[theBCnut]

Oh and Lablubber, turmeric/curcumin is great for dogs too, yes, absolutely. It is an anti-imflammatory as well as cancer fighter. It works great for minor joint pain.

[theBCnut]

That’s the one. I use my horse joint supplements on my dogs too. My horse didn’t like the taste of that one though. Your dogs would use just the littlest pinch of it. I also use Cortaflex, also a horse supplement.

[Dori]

Hi Patty. The only Joint Armor I’ve been able to find on line says it’s for horses. Is there one specifically for dogs or is this the one you mean? Sorry to keep bugging you.

[Dori]

Hi Patty. Thanks for the advice. When whether permits I’ll start taking her for short slow walk around the neighborhood. She’s light enough that if she tires I can carry her home. No one had explained to me that it might be atrophy of her leg muscles which I suppose would start at her age anyway. She had become quite lazy in the last year or so but since starting her on raw foods and rotating brands and proteins she has gotten back a lot of her old spunk. I will also look for Joint Armor. Hadn’t heard of it.
Thanks, Dori

[theBCnut]

Hi dchassett

I don’t know how much help I’ll be, but I’ll try. I believe the leg trembling could be because she is losing muscle mass in her rear legs. I’ve seen that in dogs with spinal arthritis and degenerative disc disease. As they lose muscle, their remaining muscle fatigues faster. I think there is probably not much you can do about it, except to make sure that she gets regular walks and consistant gentle exercise. As far as the joint supplement, Dasuquin is the one vets recommend because it’s made by the makers of Cosequin, and cosequin actually has some research behind them. I have always had the best results with supplements containing MSM and HA. I have many times bought MSM seperately because I wanted to try a supplement that didn’t have it. The one that I have had the absolute best results with was called Joint Armor.