I am looking to find a good probiotic and digestive enzymes supplement for dogs. I have a 7 year old English Bulldog who is absolutely my best friend. I believe he has food allergies that are causing chronic ear infections so I have been switching his food to hopefully solve the food allergy mystery. I have been fed him Taste of the wild, Zignature, Fromm Gold Coast – all limited ingredient and no wheat or chicken and I now have him on Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Hydrolyzed Protein Moderate Calorie Dry Dog Food $100/24lbs – bit expensive . Switching foods sometimes cause diarrhea so I have been mixing pumpkin in his food as a probiotic/prebiotic (I forget which it is) in hopes of building up his immune system in his digestive track. That is what has led me to search for Probiotics and digestive enzymes. Any suggestions to help my buddy out sure would be appreciated. Thank you
I have a 14 year old JRT that I am starting to notice some arthritis in (nothing severe) and I got Element 5 Green-Lipped Mussel Supplement for her. I like this brand because it is a Canadian family owned company. Just started giving it to her but am wondering if anyone else has used this supplement before or used green-lipped mussel before. Did you notice a difference and did it help?
Oh boy, Mine also had giardia and unfortunately, it took months for their tummies to get better afterwards for some reason. I had a hard time getting rid of it though. I would think about using another round of Panacur for five days unless you are absolutely sure that he is rid of it. You mentioned using Flagyl (metronidazole) which is an antibiotic and can cause their tummies to be out of balance. Therefore, I’d definitely continue with probiotics. Forti Flora by Purina worked well for us. It isn’t one that I’d use for maintennce. But, good for when they have diarrhea.
I used a lot of the supplements that are mentioned on the dogaware link that I provided above. Mostly Vetri Science Probiotic BD, Gastriplex as well as the Perfect Form I mentioned earlier. Some of them contain both probiotics and digestive enzymes, but also some healing ingredients as well. Only use one at a time until you see if it helps at all.
I fed them as if they had colitis, (yes, I have two littermates) adding some fiber and applesauce for the pectin. I would feed a moderate protein and fat food for now. Nutrisource large breed puppy food might be a good one.
There is hope, however. My dogs are doing well now. We can switch kibble and toppers up now without any digestive upset!!!! Woo Hoo! Best of luck to you!
I did forget to mention that he had giardia as a puppy around 8 weeks old but since then no other parasites. We’ve sent in about a half-dozen fecal tests in since this has all started and the only one to come back positive was the aforementioned one.
Do you think we should stick with the current food for now and supplement that with a digestive aid?
Hi Fireman29-
That was awesome of your friend to take in the pregnant puppy!
Have you had a recent fecal test done? If not, I would recommend taking in a stool sample and having it checked for all types of worms and parasites, including Giardia and Coccidia. They are common in puppies and can cause intermittent soft stools and diarrhea.
The supplement called Perfect Form by The Honest Kitchen was very helpful when we were going through this with our puppies. But, no supplement will fix it if they have worms or parasites.
My Selene is a blue nose pit (16 months old in April 2016). We tried changing diet, went to the vet, she got antibiotic, etc. but nothing really work until after reading different blogs, we decided to do this and it worked:
Dry food: salmon (NOW brand). Then we switched to other ingredients but no chicken.
I sometimes top the dry with half a cup of Evangers rabbit. Somebody told me rabbit is a cooling meat.
We did use fish oil as a supplement prescribed by the vet but we don’t use it all the time.
I sometimes put a spoonful of plain yogurt on top of dry food.
Once a week, Selene gets a bath with Dermal Soothe with Vetoquinol (i purchased thru Amazon).
Her skin is so healthy!!!
This reply was modified 9 years, 8 months ago by Claudia H.
Dear Jenn H,
I belive you make some excellent points about the use of pesticides and in showing that the possibility that someone could live their life without harming any creatures is nonexistent. However, the point of veganism/ vegetarianism is not to completely eliminate animal death and suffering but to reduce it is much as possible. Any pragmatic human being must recognize that to exist is to destroy, but that doesn’t mean that you can try to reign in your incumbent destruction. I’d also like to speak to the bulk of your argument. While by no means entirely wrong, it is a bit misleading (which I recognize may be entirely unintentional). I will readily concede that the agricultural system which you described, when practiced perfectly, would result in less overall deaths than crop production, but theven system which you mentioned is a rarity in the modern agribusiness system. The vast majority of animals used for food purposes are fed a diet consisting of corn, soy, nutritional supplements, and other grains for all of their lives ( a notable exception is ruminants like cattle which graze for the first couple of years of their lives and are later transferred onto the system which I am referring to). Livestock converts this feed into energy at a horrible rate with chickens and swine converting feed to energy at around a 50% efficiency rate and cattle at only a 10% efficiency rate. These rates can vary greatly depending on the breed of animal and other factors but no matter what an animal will always use more food energy than it produces in the form of bodily tissues because most of the energy goes to maintaining basic metabolic processes and the leftover is turned into mass. So most animals will utilize the crop production system that kills much of the local wildlife and then still be killed themselves. By eating the crop directly you are killing far fewer animals. As a matter of fact, equation for how many animals more you kill by eating meat calories as opposed to plant calories would be [ (animals killed per crop calorie/ efficiency rate of livestock) +1]-animals killed per crop calorie. All in all, if you care about animals the best way would to live would be to grow as much of your own food as possible, eating mainly a plant based diet and supplementing it with meat you raise yourself in the livestock production system you described Jenn.
Thanks for your insight. I appreciate your use of logic instead of sputtering guttural pathetic crap in all caps
My dog has colitis and was put on royal canine fiber response, which took care of the problem, but I was not happy with the ingredients – corn, cellulose, wheat gluten. I went to a feed store and they recommended Natural Balance Synergy. Said it took care of many digestive issues. They cook the food and then coat with a prebiotic. I tried it , but supplement with a tsp/day of psyllium husk. My dog is doing great!!
I have fed Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream, the salmon canned food for several years. My Portuguese Water Dog who has a very sensitive stomach, and I supplement for this, has done well. Interesting to see your post because after TOTW changed the food visually, it is a lighter color, and soft chunks are larger, and I saw nothing of a formula change, I started looking for other fish based canned foods. I just tried Instinct salmon on the best list, and it is unfortunately a pate, and these seem harder to eat for my dog. She gulps her food. I have tried others best rated too, including Weruva tuna. I like this one, but it seemed that my dog has less energy on this food. So, I am may go back to TOTW canned even though it is not a 5 on the list.
If anyone has a great salmon that is not a pate, please let me know!
Thank you!
Hi, can you cook for her, some chicken breast, some potato & some boil broccoli make a few meals & put in the fridge look up “Dr Judy Morgan” she has good easy meals on
YouTube & go on Dr Judy Morgan’s face Book page & her site she sells supplements as well, she makes certain meals for her sick dogs, she has a few sick Cavilers..she also will answer any msg you send her for help..
Nutramax Dasuquin with MSM as a daily supplement, it’s the best because your dog will actually show signs of better mobility. And Zignature Zssentials for dry kibble. One of my pups has partially torn ligaments, no surgery and you’d never know he’s crippled. My other baby has sports injuries once in awhile, too. Just follow a suitable exercise regimen for your type of breed while considering age and weight.
There is no food that provides enough glucosamine and chondroitin. I’ve had several dogs with joint issues for many years. I feed grain and potato free (potatoes exacerbate inflammation) and supplement with human grade fish oil and joint supplements. You have to be careful if using human joint supplements that there aren’t added vitamins. Your vet might be willing to give you suggestions. You also have to adjust the dosage. My current senior dog is doing well and still extremely active.
This reply was modified 9 years, 8 months ago by C4D.
Hi Michael,
Foods that have glucosamine & chondroitin aren’t generally woth it as the amount of the supplements are “cooked out” of the food. You’re better to give a separate joint supplement.
It has been said that grains are inflammatory so you’d be better to feed a grain free food.
I would agree with Pit Love- a nutritionist would be your safest and best bet. There are some very important things you don’t want to guesstimate on such as calcium/phosphorus ratios, especially since GSDs are large breed dogs. It is crucial to get ratios in balance at this stage. Definitely check out this link for some supplemental resources for starting puppies on raw:
Did the veterinarian do an ultrasound/x-ray to rule out a blockage? That’s what I would have had done, going by the symptoms you describe.
Be careful reading stuff on those homeopathic sites……I find science based medicine more helpful. Supplements can cause harm.
PS: Yes, the blood test to rule out pancreatitis is important, that is how they diagnose or rule out pancreatitis. I would consider seeing an Internal Medicine Specialist and get the dog properly diagnosed as soon as possible.
Hi, sounds like your rescue dog was feed home cooked meals or what his owner was eating for dinner…. He’s a very smart dog, kibbles are processed & quick & easy for us, I’d take back all the kibbles & get a refund tell pet shop he wont eat the kibble he’s a rescue….Join Face Book groups like “Home Cooking for dogs” or “Cooking For Dogs” also you can start looking up balanced home made meals, here’s Dr Judy Morgan she also sells the supplements to balance the meals she’s on Face Book & will answer ur msg if you need any help…….Judy uses the Honest Kitchen Base mix in this meat loaf so its balanced… “Honest Kitchen” have samples you can buy & try.. http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/dog-food
Please do not add any supplements to the diet or apply over the counter creams to the skin, especially those intended for human use. Unless prescribed or recommended by a veterinarian who has ideally examined the dog. You could irritate his condition and make things worse.
I say this because I made this mistake and was told the above by the emergency vet….that’s where we ended up.
It’s been more than a year ago that i posted on here regarding my terrier mix Dolly’s gulping. I don’t know what we did but she stopped having her panic/gulping/eating grass frenzy. We still don’t know what was the issue but i wanted to post what we did.
Dolly is 8 years old and we adopted her along with her brother a year and a half ago. She came with the gulping issue and super allergic to seasonal pollen and allergic to any bug bites (ticks, flea, mosquito, etc). Her teeth were ground down and causing irritation so some of her teeth had to be removed. She had a few lumps on her body which one was cancerous so we’re glad we were proactive and removed it.
After all these issues: we stopped giving her any chicken, beef, pork (mass produced meat) but stuck with venison & rabbit wet food – Royal Canin from the vet, and anchovy dry food from Forza. Additional supplements of enzyme and probiotic. Cosequin for her joints. Famotidine for heart burns (though i’m thinking of stop giving this to her to see if she still needs this daily). Zyrtec in the morning and Benadryl at night for her allergy. We give her Sentinel and Bravecto for fleas and ticks and heart worm. And we shampoo her once a week.
After continuing this for a year, her gulping has stopped since last summer. A small gulping happened few weeks ago but I realized we gave her a lot of cheese the day before (she loves cheese) so no more cheese for her. I think dairy might be causing it as well, as I remember giving her yogurt thinking that it will help with the gulping but may have been causing it.
Hope this helps someone or gave them a clue for a cure.
Have you heard of Pooch & Mutt’s Bionic Biotic? It works wonders on dogs skin, rashes, darndruff, scratching. It took about 4 weeks of sprinkling it on his normal food, 2 teaspoons a day. It’s made with pre and pro biotics and is all natural and vet reccommended.
They also have an offer on it now for 15% off that ends this week so I’ve been stocking up!
If it doesn’t work you can send the empty pack back and they give you a refund, so nothing to lose really!
I’ve found Pooch & Mutt’s Bionic Biotic to stop my dog’s scratching and biting paws altogether. It took about 4 weeks of sprinkling it on his normal food, 2 teaspoons a day.
They also have an offer on it now for 15% off that ends this week so I’ve been stocking up!
If it doesn’t work you can send the empty pack back and they give you a refund, so nothing to lose really!
I’m conscious of overloading you with loads of solutions but I’ve really found Pooch & Mutt’s Bionic Biotic to stop my dog’s scratching and biting paws altogether. It took about 4 weeks of sprinkling it on his normal food, 2 teaspoons a day.
They also have an offer on it now for 15% off that ends this week so I’ve been stocking up!
If it doesn’t work you can send the empty pack back and they give you a refund, so nothing to lose really!
Hi Carlene, I feel for your poor dog, your story reminded me of my Patch that I rescued 3 years ago, I also have tried all the ant acid meds until I read about not making enough Hydrochloric acid, its called Hypochlorhydria low stomach acid, this year I stopped any meds on Patch the end of 2015 all I used was liquid Mylanta & the Metronidazole for 7 days in October 2015, the ant acids seemed to make Patch worse not better & his mouth started to smell like food was fermenting in his stomach & not digesting, after he took Losec the Moltium you have Reglan in America made his breath smell like food was fermenting vet didn’t want him on the Moltium…
2016 all I gave Patch was grass, grass growing out the back yard, i’d wash grass under cool water dry in a tea towel & feed Patch 1 blade of grass at a time about 5-6 pieces, then he’d either spew up un-digested kibble or he’d feel better & want to play,no more Mylanta nothing, then a lady told me LOW FIBER diet, I was lowering the fat% always feeding kibbles from 8% fat to 13% it made no difference then I saw on a EPI F/B group their dogs were doing really well on the “Taste Of The Wild” Pacific Stream, the fat is 15% & the fiber is 3%, I live Australia & we still have the old formula with no peas & no garbanzo beans, its just Salmon, Ocean Fish Meal, Sweet Potatoes, Potatoes, Canola Oil, Salmon, Smoked Salmon Meal, probiotics… finally Patches acid reflux, grinding his teeth, all stopped, no waking up grinding his teeth, another thing I have found I have to do is change his kibble every month if he eats the same kibble or cooked diet for more then 5 weeks, he gets food sensitivities & all his symptoms come back, so now I’m feeding the “Taste of The Wild” Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb in 1 month I’m trying Canidae Pure Lamb limited ingredients then going back to the TOTW Pacific stream smoke Salmon & going to rotate his kibbles, Becareful with the Prilosec its a Pump Proton Inhibitor you can not just stop taking it after taken a PPI’s for 1 month, my vet said NO to the Losec & I was to only use it for 3-4days then stop also I use Metronidazole for 7-10days that’s what I did in October & January 2016 & after I stop the Metronidazole Patch does real well as soon as I see him have his acid reflux grinding his teeth for more then 3-4 days I’m giving the Metronidazole again, have you tried any Calming supplements??
Since the grass works the best now with Patch I’m going to buy some Chlorophyll liquid, look at what is in the kibble she is eating now write down everything protein% fat% fiber% ingredients, & look for another kibble that’s the same BUT a different protein & start rotating in 3 weeks, I also feed 4 small meals a day, 7am I give 3/4 cup TOTW Roasted Lamb, 12pm under 1/2 cup TOTW Roasted Lamb, 5pm the TOTW Smoked Salmon & 8pm 1/2 cup cooked chicken & sweet potatoes or a low fat wet tin food, 2% fat but I have just started that this week…. I don’t know why Patch has finally gotten better & gained weight I don’t know what I did but something has fixed his IBD, all I’ve done is changed his food every month & feed something different for breakfast & dinner & the grass & the Metronidazole when the acid reflux doesn’t go away, Patches vet wanted Patch on a low dose of the Metronidazole 200mg a day for 6months she said the Metronidazole works for her IBD dogs with stomach problems, I just gave for 21 days then stopped, I hate giving any tablets they seem to make Patch worse, I hope everything you’ve been thru you find the answers for your poor girl…..I really believe stress plays a big part..
I was reading this thread and couldn’t help but wonder if you have ever tried Pooch & Mutt’s Bionic Biotic?
It’s a natural health supplement and can be sprinkled on any food for scratching, biting, itching, and other things like solid stools, digestion, and just overall health! It has pre and probiotics in and might be worth a try. They currently have 15% off and full money back guarantee if you don’t see a results, you just need to send the empty pack back. Loads of good reviews on their website and it really worked for my dogs (www.poochandmutt.com/product-reviews/)
I have to disagree with “anonymous”. And here’s why- We’ve been using Nuvet Plus with our dog for almost 3 years. When we got him, he was a rescue who had been sitting in a box on the side of the road for who knows how long. Someone found him and his sister, and brought them to a vet. They were covered with fleas, had demoxdex, severe allergies and a bunch of other health issues. We fell in love with him- hair loss, red spots and all and decided we would do everything we could to get him better. We tried EVERYTHING to get the demodex to clear up, and it was awful for him (And us!) I was devastated.
I searched around constantly for a cure, and then ran into an old friend of mine who worked for a holistic vet, and she said to try NuVet. I did my own research, and read some of the nuvet reviews and saw a lot of other people who’s dogs had issues with hair loss and allergies- and it HELPED, and so I figured it was worth a shot. If it didn’t work, I’d get my money back.
Well- it didn’t hurt, it actually cleared his issues up. We made no other changes, stopped the (like Acid!) baths for the demodex, stopped the antibiotics (we felt he was on them too long anyways) and made sure to watch closely what was in his food. And within 2 months, his fur was regrowing. It took about 6 months to clear up fully. I’ve kept him on it ever since, and he’s 3 now, and hasn’t had a single issue with his coat or skin. He’s shiny, happy and healthy.
I don’t see how people say it’s snake oil- it’s easy to see what each ingredient does, and doing your own research will show you that some people have seen those things help with certain ailments in their pets. I take vitamins for myself, my husband and children take them as well, and have seen them work consistently, along with the right nutrition, so why wouldn’t I do that for my dog too? I know that not every supplement or even every medicine (as we proved in the past) is going to work with every animal but this one worked for my dog and I’m grateful. I’d recommend at least trying nuvet to any pet owner who is seeing similar issues.
PS: Has your dog had an x-ray to rule out calcium oxalate stones?
I use a potassium citrate/cranberry supplement I get from Chewy.com. It depends on the type of stones.
It is best to get approval from the veterinarian that is treating the dog before adding anything, and I would go along with the prescription diet for now. PH levels fluctuate and it takes a while (sometimes weeks) to see changes, at least that is what my vet told me.
Hi Georgia-
One of the most important things you can do for your dog is to add as much moisture to her diet as possible. Are you feeding the Hill’s canned or dry Urinary food? If dry, see if your vet oks adding some of the Rx wet food to the dry. Also add water to her meals and make sure she gets plenty of bathroom breaks. Water will keep her urine diluted and flush the crystals away. Often there is an infection involved when a dog is producing urinary crystals. Did you get an antibiotic for the infection?
Also, please be careful feeding supplements to a pet who is on prescription food. They can over acidify your pup’s pH and cause a different type of crystal in the urinary tract that cannot be dissolved like the struvites can. Check with your vet first.
Thank you all for the above posts. My dog has the exact same problem and the vet just put her on Hill’s Urinary Care but I agree this food is not very nutritious and I really do not want to put her on it. One of you suggested Vit C. Can you please be more specific? Tell me how much to use for a 19 lb dog (powder or pill form) and where to purchase. The other suggestion was a cranberry supplement (which my vet also mentioned). Thank you for that info. I will check it out. My last vet said it was urinary crystals; my new vet says its a UTI and her ph level is 8.5. Your help is very much appreciated. I have another dog and would prefer they each eat the same thing, if possible.
Btw, dried beet pulp is a supplement we used to feed horses for weight gain that would not make them “hot” (more energetic). (Noticed it in Dr. Tims food)
I have 3 dogs, one JRT and two Border Collies. I buy small bags of the highest protein kibbles that meet my standards and rotate after every bag. My dogs get half kibble and half other. One day a week, it’s raw sardines or herrings for omega 3s. One day a week, it’s green tripe for probiotics. One day a week, they get a whole carcass grind from Hare Today. It may be rabbit, quail, guinea pig, or whatever they have. This gives them the micronutrients found in brain and eye, as well as many other things never found in any other form of dog food. The other days, they may be getting a quality canned food, leftovers from my dinner, or another raw like pork, beef, turkey, lamb, goat. The beef, lamb, and goat are from my own farm. I make dehydrated treats and buy freeze dried to use as treats. I also prepare a veggie blend and a fruit blend and freeze into ice cubes so I just drop one or the other in their food bowl each day. I occasionally use another probiotic or give kefir. I give a green superfood supplement. And if my husband drops his fish oil pill I give it to the dogs. I add water and apple cider vinegar(raw with the mother) to every meal and I give coconut oil on the days that I feed a low fat protein.
Has your dog had a chest x-ray? Mets to the lungs? Golden Retrievers are #1 for developing cancer.
Check The SkeptVet blogs , nutrition, herbs, supplements…..I was unable to post the link.
Did the vet do a chest x-ray? When my dog had symptoms similar to what you describe, it turns out she had tumors (mets to the lungs).
Golden Retrievers are #1 on the list for developing cancer..
Our golden boy Connor went to the vet this week for coughing/gagging and hard swallowing symptoms. They did an abdominal ultrasound and found nothing scary. They also performed a fluoroscopy (esophagram) and found that he had some esophageal dysmotility with dry kibble. They feel that the acid reflux is what caused the dysmotility. So he’s on Prilosec for the reflux, canned food so that his esophagus has time to heal and FortiFlora probiotic to help with diarrhea and stomach issues. We were given cans of Science Diet i/d to help with digestion. Science Diet i/d is quite expensive and I’m wondering if anyone here can recommend a good canned food that isn’t so expensive? Also, are there other home remedies or supplements that we can try to help with the acid reflux? The Prilosec seems to work but I think it’s also the reason he has diarrhea. Thanks in advance.
It sounds like you feed pretty much the way I would like to feed. Could you go into more detail of how often you feed each food form? What supplements you add? Are the supplements also rotated or only given when feeding certain meals, etc? I currently rotate a couple of different lower carb kibbles from each Orijen, Nature’s Variety, Merrick, EVO, and Dogswell. I tried raw full time and it became too much for me timewise. I can’t afford premade raw full time so I’m looking at how to incorporate more fresh foods or other food forms into my kibble rotation and trying to find a method that keeps it on the simple side.
You are narrowing your search too far. Just research “dog diet for liver disease” or better yet, “low copper diet for dogs”. There are dog foods for dogs with liver issues.
Are you also supplementing periodically with a high quality vitamin B complex as well as E, K and C? Although it is risky to give zinc all of the time, it is a good binder for copper.
You can also provide turkey and chicken but NOT duck. We use hard boiled eggs which are put into a food processor (or blender) and ground up, shell and all because calcium is a good phosphorus binder and eggs are an excellent protein source. I also supplement magnesium for my kidney disease dog to balance the calcium.
I’m not sure what type of joint supplements I will try yet. The glycoflex 3 seems to be causing GI issues with my little pom, Rooster. I think I may try the Joint Power Rx recommended by Hound Dog Mom. I do know I won’t be trying FidoActive ever.
Good for you for making the switch to a better food! I would definitely try some probiotics. The Honest Kitchen makes a great goat’s milk powder that’s easy to mix into food and contains multiple strains of probiotics. Mercola Healthy Pets makes a Spirugreen supplement that greatly helped my dog in achieving normal poos, too. Lamb is a pretty rich meat so it may just be your dog is reacting to that. Any food with rice in it came out in very large, almost double-the-sized lumps back when I was feeding kibble. I’m not sure if rice expands as it digests when it is a kibble ingredient, but that may be part of the cause, too.
All dogs are different, and some need a little more help than others when it comes to making sure they have enough vitamins in their diet. Dog dietary supplements are prescribed by veterinarians to compliment the diet and maintain optimal health.
theBCnut, have you really only heard bad things about blue ridge? I’ve actually only heard good things, but I’d love to have your source for the denaturants because at the store I work at we usually highly recommend the blue ridge so I’d like to show that to my boss. If not blue ridge, what raw company do you prefer? I chose blue ridge because of the recommendation from my boss and because of the fact that they aren’t too pricey. About the balanced diet, when I first started the raw diet I was concerned about that too and I looked it about and apparently it’s arguable about whether the dogs need anything else other than the meat, so I wasn’t sure about whether I needed to supplement her with anything. Also, my dog is going about once a day when I’m with her, I only see her a little more than half a week but she doesn’t seem to have any noticeable tells that she’s constipated.
InkedMarie, no, to my knowledge she’s not getting any bone unless it’s in the food I’m giving to her now and I’m unaware, which is possible.
Anonymous- We haven’t been to the vet yet, but I am definitely considering taking her to one. I would have already but we haven’t been able to find a vet we’re happy with yet. I just need to look more into vets in my area. Thanks
theBCnut- I’ve been feeding her beef, and I’m pretty sure it doesn’t have any bone in it. I’ve been going back and forth from the blue ridge beef kitten grind and the blue ridge beef breeder’s choice. So I don’t think too much bone should be an issue. I’m unsure about the fiber, I just looked up the analysis for both of the types I’m feeding her and they seem relatively low. The kitten grind has 2% fiber and the breeder’s choice has 1% fiber. Do you think I should be putting her on something with more fiber in it? As for her stools, obviously she’s going less but I think they’re relatively normal for a dog on the raw food diet? They’re definitely harder and smaller but from what I’ve been told and what I’ve read that’s typical since their systems use almost all of the raw food in comparison to the kibble. I’ve also just started supplementing her diet with coconut oil, because I read that it is good for dogs digestive systems.
Hi!
I don’t know if you found your answer but this happened to my dog and all the problem was a food sensitivity or allergy caused by CORN, corn is everywhere including enzymatic supplements – most of them – and in most of the calcium supplements as well. Is an ingredient in a lot of pills – medicines, and has many derivatives – http://www.cornallergens.com/list/corn-allergen-list.php. If you want to know about this – and other – food sensitivity the only cientifically proved test for that is Hemopet – Nutriscan Test. It is expensive but well worth it! Good luck!
There are 2 foods that we purchase. The moist food is ordered directly from the Robert Abady company which makes a low phosphorus/lower (but good) protein foods for both dogs and cats. For my 7 year (recently adopted) Lab with kidney disease we use Beef-based formula for maintenance & stress for adult dogs.
The kibble we use is a Blue Basic Limited Ingredient Senior which is also low phosphorus/low protein. That is not the only food he gets but the rest is a meal regimen which is all fresh food.
Yes, aside from baby carrots and lettuce, he is given 2 different dog treats which are seem to be within the acceptable range.
He is also given supplements daily as well as probiotics and occasionally digestive enzymes along with certain protein in an attempt to keep the BUN levels withing normal range. BTW, his last CBC showed everything in the normal range!
Marie, since you had some for Boone, I will assume it is safe to give to dogs! 🙂
Do you (or anyone else) think it is too early to start adding it for Bruno, just for maintenance? Also, I was thinking of adding a tiny bit once/week, but I can add it daily to his water if needed, or just a few times/week? Any ideas and recommendations are welcome!
I am excited about trying the supplement myself, my boss said it really boosted her hair, skin, and nails, and I can definitely use that! 🙂
I will just say that feeding your dog raw is SO awesome! I’ve done this for 2 years and has healed my dog of many ailments. I will say that in the end after lots of turmoil I have switched over to a commercial raw diet, that is balanced in its nutrients. I constantly felt like I wasn’t doing it right before. My dog’s bowels would be rock hard like yours or liquid…and usually that stems from having too much calcium of not enough and finding a balance is hard. If you ever have any trouble with this Honest Kitchen makes a wonderful supplement called perfect form. It’s essentially a probiotic and at our house we call it the Perfect Poop Medicine 🙂 Best of luck!
Hi Kevin, I’d start with home cooking first while your boy stomach & bowel heal, when their immune system is low & they have stomach/bowel problems, its not a good idea to start raw feeding also I wouldn’t mix kibble, feed kibble for 1 meal & the cooked meal for the other meal also if you feed raw don’t add the kibble, just feed the raw & the kibble for the next meal… go to Dr Judy Morgan F/B page https://www.facebook.com/JudyMorganDVM/
you can watch her or her partner make easy simple meals, Judy also sells supplements …… Judy cooking- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB3bd84gwmA
“Balance It” has recipes & supplements http://secure.balanceit.com/ there’s F/B group called “Cooking For Dogs” also…
Hi Jenn, theoretically I think you are correct. However, soil depletion, food and environmental toxins and issues with absorption can all cause nutrient deficiencies.
C4D, it depends on what kind of supplements. Pharmaceutical companies generally use isolated, synthetic vitamins in their studies, as opposed to whole food supplements. This is very misleading but not surprising.
The author of the article you posted, Dr. Paul Offit, is on the board of trustees of the American Council on Science and Health – they describe themselves as a consumer education group – but they are a front group for corporate interests. Their funding is from pharmaceutical, oil and chemical companies, and they’ve defended DDT, asbestos, agent orange and various other pesticides, saying they do no harm.
I acknowledge it was wrong for jumping into this process without enough research and the vet said my dog wasn’t getting the right amount nutrients (I thought I was doing it right the whole time). He told me about the website balance it and I plan to order the supplements they sell. As far as diet goes he just told me about using balanceit because that site is detailed.
Another favor, since I am pretty bad at this stuff can anyone recommend me a meal to give to my dog for tonight that is balanced in nutrition. I must get to class soon and I can run to the market afterward if someone gives me a good recipe! My dog is 10 pounds.. Thanks. And if not, is it wise to mix alittle bit of kibble with cooked chicken or beef?
This reply was modified 9 years, 9 months ago by kevin k.
This reply was modified 9 years, 9 months ago by kevin k.
I don’t think supplementing with vitamins, especially if you are feeding a food that’s complete and balanced, is a good idea. If you must supplement for a specific condition, that would be different. An example is, in a dog with arthritis, fish oils may be beneficial to reduce inflammation. Here’s a link which shows that several studies have found that humans taking multivitamins has actually caused a shortened lifespan and some medical issues in others:
Jamie H I agree with your thoughts as well. Because the humans buy the food, companies market to them. They will try to make foods that follow their fads. If you notice dogs don’t fall for fads. It’s not them putting stupid dresses on themselves or trying the latest diet (not per their request anyway) or watching TV and asking for what they see in commercials.
Unless your animal has a medical reason for needing supplements, all of their nutritional needs should be met with the food they eat. Just like people.
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