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Search Results for 'supplement'
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Hi Kirsten-
Sorry about the troubles with your pup. I also have experienced a blockage due to struvite crystals with one of my cats. It was terrifying and expensive! They gave him only a 50% chance of surviving due to bladder damage. I have probably read 50 to 60 articles regarding this issue since. The most important thing is like the others have said, add as much moisture as possible. I read on another thread where you said your dog wouldn’t eat the Hill’s C/D canned. Right after my cats blockage, I fed him a variety of Rx canned that included, Hills Iams, Purina and Royal Canin. Your doc will need to give you a prescription for these, if you want to give them a try. Pet Smart carries a lot of Rx food as well as chewy.com. He also got a little Royal Canin S/O kibble. I have gradually transitioned off the Rx canned over a 6 month period to just regular canned food, but still feed the prescription kibble. He gets about 75% canned food now and forever! I also read that frequent small meals help to keep their pH level more balanced. So, I now feed three times per day instead of two. He also is now on an anti-anxiety meds and is wearing a calming collar to help keep his stress level down.
Sometimes these flare ups can be brought on from stress due to changes in routine, new family members, etc. . We made too many changes in our household too quickly for him to handle. It’s been about 7 months and he’s doing much better so far.
So, in my opinion, try out the other prescription canned foods until you get the crystals under control and then transition to as much regular canned, fresh or dehydrated food as possible. Regular bathroom breaks, smaller meals more frequently and keep the stress levels down. There are also supplements that help with Ph level as LM mentioned. Good luck!Linda- Rotties! i love them. we also have a Rottweiler along with our Pitbull a chocolate lab and an English springer spaniel. Sam, our Rottweiler (technically he is my boyfriends parents dog, so I dont get to control what he eats unfortunetly but i still think of him as my dog since I give him the most attention as hes the outside dog) is 2 probably almost 3 years old now. The bf’s parents have had all the dogs on Purina ONE lamb and rice since forever. The family dog has always been Rottweilers and unfortunely all but maybe one passed away at around 8 years old. Cancer, e-coli poisoning, you name it its happened to our Rottweilers. If it were up to me and I got to choose his food I would feed him the way I feed my Pitbull who is also prone to the problems that large breed dogs have as he is 66lbs at a year old. I do what is called a rotational diet with my dog. I certainly have him on Orijen’s Adult Dog and after that bag is through i’ve got EVO lined up next for him to try. I also feed him wet food. Now that your Rottie is far past the point where you have to worry about the calcium levels not being too high or too low to prevent rapid growth thus causing many different skeletal related disorders, you can kinda give him a nice variety of foods. If you are on a budget as someone who is retired and need to stick with kibbles, definitely go for the 5 star rated ones. I know a lot of people on here have issues with Taste of the Wild. I BELIEVE its manufacture by Diamond which has a long recall history and a terrible reputation. You want to make sure that the kibble is as species appropriate as you can get if you, like myself, can’t feed a raw diet, which would be the healthiest way for any dog to eat. Species appropriate for ANY dog of any breed being high in animal protein, at least 30% or more, moderate in fats, and low in carbs. Foods that I like and have and will use in my rotation for my pitbull are Orijen (all of them), Wellness CORE, Nature’s Variety, Merrick (GF only), EVO, Grandma Mae’s GF. I’m still working on my list but that is what I have so far.
As for raw, if it is something you are interested in, PLEASE make sure you do A LOT of research before feeding raw because it is possible to make your dog very unhealthy by not feeding a COMPLETE and BALANCED raw diet.
Also to help with the transitions to the food, you can add probiotics to their diet, like canned pumpkin and kefir. I also use a supplement thats premade in a power form made by a very great company called The Honest Kitchen. They use human grade ingredients and make their food in a human grade factory. Its called Perfect Form. Probiotics help build healthy flora(bacteria) in your dogs gut to make transitioning to a new food pain free for you and your dog. Just like with humans dogs should be able to eat a different food or protein every meal if not every couple months without digestive upset. Dogs whos stomachs are already sick and lacking those bacteria that make their gut strong due to being fed the same food day in and day out are the ones who get loose stool and vomitting when you switch their food. Instantly the owner blames the food and switches them back and never switches the food again under the claim that their dog has whats commonly called a “sensitive stomach”.
The joint supplements are a great idea. Glucosamine is a great supplement for joint and hip problems. Cancer, I feel, and I think others do too can have a lot to do with a poor diet. A lot of poor grade dogs foods do contain ingredients that are carcinogenic even for humans and without variety in their diet they are being fed those toxins for years and eventually is catches up with them. The rotational diet helps prevent that and the build up of allergies as well. If your Rottie is already allergic to a protein source like chicken, you are going to want to be very careful with the food you choose as many have chicken meal or chicken fat hidden in the list of ingredients. Its all about reading ingredients but more importantly HOW to read the ingredients and the GA, which is why this website is so helpful. But like many here including Dr. Mike will tell you, its a jumping off point. Once you find a good food, you want to look further into the company that makes it, the co-packers, the recall history etc and make sure that you’re not being fooled into thinking its a good food based on the ingredients. Also knowing where the company sources from is important, what with all the problems we have been having with China lately. Avoid China. Thailand on the other hand is ok.
I really hope that I’ve helped a little and that others will contribute or correct me if I’m wrong about any of my points. I love Rotties so I’m glad to be able to give you some direction with his health!
Topic: Best food for liver disease
Hi everyone!
I have an 8 year old long-haired mini-doxie named Sweet-Pea. She was recently diagnosed with fatty liver disease when tested at a visit for glaucoma. I am feeding raw meats (various kinds) mixed with rice and sweet potato. She had been off of the raw diet for several months, eating dry pedigree food since I had lost my husband and just taking care of things was overwhelming to me. But I went back to the raw after he diagnosis, and also am giving supplement of milk thistle for her liver. She has voracious hunger and thirst, and pees an ocean, sometimes not making it outside. I know this water drinking and peeing are related to the liver disease.So what do you recommend to feed her? Red meat is not the best for her, although I feed other meats when I can, and doing the raw diet seems to be too much work for my 4 dogs, including her. I’m looking for something easy to digest, easy on the liver (low ammonia-producing), and easy on the budget and to feed.
Thanks for any suggestions you have!
CathyTopic: Help (Duplicate Topic #7)
I have a 6 year old Great Dane. He is allergic to what seems like everything. He was finally allergy tested after chronic ear infections and has been on shots for the last year. The shots do not help as much as I’d hoped. He is allergic to white potato, sweet potato, flax, peas, corn, and soy. This has left us with few options. Even high quality kibble has at least one of those ingredients. We found a few that didn’t and had horrible results. We thought we were making progress with Big Dog Natural until his neck and ears went crazy. Come to find out they use potato as a binding agent. Next we tried Sojos original and added meat. We could not figure out why his ears swelled up like pork chops. They were even worse than with Big Dog. There seemed to be no listed ingredients he was allergic to. The only thing I could figure was it had pecans in it and he is allergic to pecan trees? Now I am making his food. I am lightly cooking meat, veges, oats, and egg with shell. His coat is dull, he is tired, and still itchy. His ears are not 100% but better. I can’t continue this. I know he’s not getting all the nutrition he needs out of my homemade food. I want to try raw. We’ve attempted it before but he has no interest in raw meats especially organs. I’m thinking of trying the Dinovite recipe. It seems to be a simple place to start but I’m afraid it’s also lacking. It’s only egg, shell, ground meat, rice and their supplements. Can anyone help with suggestions or experience with anything I’ve mentioned? I feel like I’m failing my dog and all I want to do is feed him. All opinions and advice will be respected and greatly appreciated. Sorry about the book. I just want to give as much info as possible so that one of you could possibly help us. I’m begging! Lol I feel like I’m going crazy.
Okay, I’m just going to throw this out here because I’ve found this to be a remarkably useful website, and if there’s anyplace I might productively ask my question, it’d be here. I apologize in advance for the length of it.
My family’s got four dogs currently: One small, one medium, one medium-large, and one large. It’s a nice range. I try to order higher-quality kibble brands to offset the lower-quality ones sometimes brought home by other people. A month or two ago, I had a two-hour phone conversation with my aunt, who’s got one small dog on a raw diet (with wet canned stuff in the mornings.) I’d hoped to simply be able to follow her precise regimen, adjusted for our pack…and got a half-page worth of notes during that convo in Microsoft Word. I should’ve figured it wouldn’t be simple, and I suppose I could start ordering some whole rabbits or tripe or turkey necks and supplements or any of the other various things I jotted down from the site she mentioned…but the whole thing still seems so overly, excessively complicated and worrisome. She said that she hadn’t even told her vet about the switch, but had been at it for about a year now.
A few benefits stood out: Cleaner teeth naturally, because no matter how much toothpaste or how many correct-ingredient-inclusive wipes I use, nothing removes the ‘icky’ stuff (which is worst on the oldest dog.) My aunt also noted that cleaning up after them is much easier thanks to the raw–and since that job typically falls to me, I’d really appreciate that. AND potential weight loss/healthy-weight management, as well…I almost always opt for the low-fat variety of everything to be on the safe side. Fortunately the hefty Brittany did recently move down to a smaller dosage of heartworm med, and can suddenly fit behind the sofa again–so I guess it finally paid off.
I’ve given the pooches everything from the raw-coated kibbles to Stella & Chewy patties to Fresh Pet to Honest Kitchen “green slop” (we’ve had that huge box for over a year now), to dozens of kibble brands that all seem essentially identical–and so on and so forth. When I try to look up which kibble or commercial raw food to try (assuming that cans would disappear far too quickly to be worthwhile), I am instantly overwhelmed and confused–I see loads and loads of brand names and packaging and shapes, but all of the food and flavors appear to be the same. I have no idea how to even tell which to buy. The sizes and portions and pricing baffle me–how am I to tell what will feed multiple dogs of various sizes and breeds for more than a couple days? We usually get a new big kibble bag about twice a month. I simply cannot tell what the raw equivalent would be…and even for dry food, I’m now kinda stumped. Every time I’m asked to order another bag, I freeze. How to choose?!?! My list’s grown so long, and we’ve tried so many…now I usually go with whichever has the best price per pound at the time, and a decent rating/reviews. I wish I could just find the perfect brand to consistently turn to, and continuously rotate through their flavors and treats. (Deciding which treat to pick up becomes a whole other can of worms, and I’m just like, “Gods, why, why, why must this be so bamboozling?! Why the hundreds of redundant choices? The dogs don’t even care, they just want our stuff!”)
Only one of the four dogs eats neatly (my Saluki, who has a snood. š The other three are slobs, knocking the bowls around and splashing before they even touch the floor. The little Beagle frequently flat-out refuses to eat from a bowl, insisting that the food be spilled onto the floor for him. Also, my mom’s a clean freak–and I’m a bit of one myself at times. For these reasons, I knew that any attempt to transition would be tough and drawn-out, if not impossible. I knew I’d have to discover the cleanest, neatest, easiest, least odiferous method.
Now, before I got older and started performing more research into these areas, my parents…well all right, let me just put it this way. The two Beagles we had at the time I was born ate cheap supermarket kibble and human leftovers, lived in the backyard, never once to my knowledge had their teeth brushed (the one had green teeth and rancid breath) or nails trimmed or even saw the vet…yet both lived happily & health-problem-free for 16-18+ years (we can’t be exactly certain because they were adopted from a shelter.) Thus it can be very difficult for me to convince these guys, no matter how many times I reiterate what the healthy-food brochures say, to go out of their way for “special frou-frou dog food” or anything they’re unused to.
WHEW. Ever so sorry to unload all that frustration here. Any advice, recommendations, or assistance that anybody ever feels like dropping would, of course, be most appreciated.
I just noticed a clear string of slime hanging between my dog’s legs as she was walking outside. I am in the middle of changing her food so I am not sure if this could be a side effect of that? She was just in the vet’s office a couple weeks ago for a blood test and everything was fine. I have had her off and on Proin recently because of her incontinence. I started her on a natural supplement a few days ago so I don’t know if that is effecting her at all or not. I know a UTI could pop up at any time but could discharge also just be a normal issue for a senior dog?
Hello All. My still active, not over weight, 10 and a half year old Pit/Boxer, Nefertiti, is going through some changes & I am Hoping to get some advice on what to feed her. She was on Wellness Lamb & Barley until I discovered DFA, & I have since changed her to Wellness Core Original because of it having a Five Star Rating, however, she doesn’t seem to like it as much/that much, & I would like to change it. I thought that maybe she wasn’t eating as much/as often because she was getting more nutrients from the Core, but I think that we can find a food that she enjoys & can get all the needed nutrition as well. Decisions. . . Decisions.
Recent Happenings. . .Upon taking Nef to the vet, we fear that the swollen lymph nodes under both sides of her chin, & her hind legs may be lymphoma. She had a biopsy on Friday, May 8th & we are expecting the results soon-Possibly today.
Now, I have no basis, proof, or reason to believe (really) that the swelling (whatever it may be) is a result of switching her to the Wellness Core, but in the thread of what I interpret DFA to be at it’s core, I am mentioning that the swelling occurred only AFTER doing so. Again, I don’t want to sound like I am blaming it on Wellness, I am merely stating the timeline in which these events happened.
After a lot of research, I am leaning toward a kibble that is HIGH IN PROTEINS (that are easily bio-available), but is also LOW IN CARBS, possibly supplemented by some Home prepared meals. Orijen is my first choice, but faced with the daunting reality that costly treatments (such as chemotherapy) may be in the future, I am Hoping to find something that doesn’t exceed the price range of Wellness, but will also achieve a balance of her Health & Happiness.
These are some foods that I am considering & I would Appreciate & Value any insight into this uncharted ground of mine & Nefertiti’s continuing Journey>>>
Thank You For Your Time,
-James
-Evo Grain Free Senior
-Merrick Grain Free
-Castor & Pollux Natural Ultramix Grain FreeLazaro. If you are feeding a high quality dog food from a company you trust then no, I see no reason to add any vitamin supplements to their food. If you have a dog that is a senior or ill, then the only vitamin supplement that I would recommend is from Standard Process. Canine Whole Dog Supplement.
I’m a commercial raw feeder to my three dogs. The only one that gets a vitamin supplement daily is Hannah, my Maltese. She’ll be 16 years old in September.
Topic: Feedback on my recipe
Hi all –
I made 2 huge batches of dog food this weekend, and I wanted to consult with the experienced folk to be sure everything is balanced and I’m adding the right things.
First recipe:
-Meat mix – 50% chicken 50% beef. I bought whole chickens and cut them up. I ground the breasts without bones and then half of the wings, legs and necks bones and all, and I saved the backs and the rest of the wings and legs for RMBs which I feed 2-3 times a week. The beef was lean stew meat and some freezer burned steaks.
-Organ mix – Goat liver and kidneys. I couldn’t find any other organ meats aside from liver and kidney, so I’ll have to order some for the next batch.
-I did some maths and made sure I was using 10% bone, 5% liver, 5% kidney.
-Fruit/veg (makes up about 15-20% of the entire recipe) – banana, blueberry, pumpkin, carrots, zucchini, mango, and a handful of collard greens – all steamed and pureed.
-Herbs – turmeric, fennel, parsley, and mint.The second recipe was exactly the same as the first except in place of the chicken and beef I used fish – whiting and mackeral with 2 cans of pink salmon with bones. I also added spinach to this one because I was making some for myself š
Daily supplements – At breakfast, I mix in Dr. Harvey’s Formative Years supplement and a bit of coconut oil and at dinner I do the Grizzly salmon oil and Healthy Dogma Flee Flea Flee.
He also gets a can of sardines here and there and RMBs alternate between chicken backs, turkey necks when I can find them, goat chops sometimes. Just a couple times a week for chewing/teeth. I’d love to do more RMBs, but I don’t often have the time to give him completely undivided attention.
Am I missing anything?
Topic: Supplements
Hello,
Two weeks ago I switched my 5yrs old shar-pei/beagle mix and my 4 month old puppy to all raw food, but my 5yr old refuses to eat food with added supplements mixed into it. Can I give them store bought vitamin/mineral chews, and if yes, since I feed them ground meat/bone/organ will I be giving too much calcium?
Hi jake’s mom-
I don’t have any older animals (dog is 1 yr old on Monday, kitten is 7mo), but I do give them the Honest Kitchen’s Perfect Form for their digestion and also because I want to get my dog’s stomach healthy enough to transition dry foods without blending.
I was highly considering giving him Dogwell’s Healthy Hip treats with Glucosamine or some type of supplement for it because of my fear of him getting hip dysplasia. He comes from a bad breeder and I know I wasn’t feeding him food with proper calcium levels and he is a large breed dog. I don’t feel like preventitives can hurt, but thats just my opinion. I’m still fairly new to proper animal care. When I was younger we always had cats but neither my mom nor I really knew anything about animal needs health wise. Now that I’ve got animals that I am soley responsible for I’m trying to do the right thing by them.
Hi jakes mom. I give all three of my girls 1/4 tsp. once a day of organic virgin coconut oil (I like the brand CocoTherapy best). I’ve seen big differences in their skin and coat with the coconut oil.
Once a week or so I split a can of sardines packed in water with no salt between the three of them. Hoping to help balance out or at least give them a little extra omega 3’s.
Hannah who will be 16 in September gets Standard Process Canine Whole Body Support, Standard Process Enteric Support, SP Canine Hepatic Support, and SP Flex Support once a day. I can’t really say that I see all the benefits from these supplements but I know at her age things may be starting to break down or at least not as efficient as they once were. The Enteric and Hepatic are for liver and kidney support.
Vitamin E soy free (Mercola). I give Hannah 200 i.u. every morning in her breakfast. Katie and Lola get 100 i.u. Monday, Wednesday and Thursdays. I pinch the capsules and squirt on their food. The vitamin E was suggested to me by one of her specialists. Figured it couldn’t hurt the other two girls to get a little three times a week now that they are 5 1/2 years old.
Hannah is also on Denamarin once a day approx. 1 – 1 1/2 hours before her dinner meal. Also for liver support. (Denamarin is a chewable and it’s a combination of SamE and Milk Thistle also prescribed by two of her vets. (In case you don’t remember Hannah has a tumor in her bladder and a mass on the lobe of one of her lungs…both inoperable not that we would have put her through it at her age anyway). Her liver levels as of last months blood work are back to normal. High end of normal but at least not sky high as they were last year.
I believe that these supplements, and most especially, her commercial raw frozen diet in rotation with brands and proteins is what has kept her symptomatic to these cancers even though she was diagnosed and confirmed by two other specialists a little over a year ago.
I also diffuse a few different essential oils in the house that are suppose to be good for tumors and cancers. Are they really working???? Don’t know. But they certainly can’t hurt her. Neither of the tumors have grown since they were diagnosed. She likes to lay near the diffusers so at least she likes the scents.
Sorry for editing so many times but I just remembered that you asked how old our dogs are. Hannah is 7.3 lbs., Katie is 6 lbs. and Lola is 5 lbs.
Topic: general supplement question
Could someone just speak generally about supplements, what they give their dog (or cats, I have both) and why? There’s so much info out there! If you’re not giving a medicine, supplement, etc for a specific problem ( and see an improvement) how do you know it’s helping and worth giving? Just believe the literature and hope it’s helping? Heartworm season is upon us, and I’ve been hearing about milk thistle after hw meds. I hear about supergreen capsules, coconut oil, fish oil, on and on. With no FDA oversight, how do I even know if it’s got what the company says it has and I’m not wasting money? I’d like to hear from people who regularly give their pets supplements, what kind and how much (per # of animal), and what companies you trust. Right now dog gets joint supplement and also RMBs and dog and cats all enjoy some coconut oil. They’re all seniors. What would you be giving them if you were me? Thanks in advance!
Topic: Milk Thistle after HWP
Hi! I have been reading much about Heartworm medications and have found myself very confused. I would prefer to put as little through my dogs’ systems as possible as far as chemicals go. I have never had an issue with fleas or ticks on any dogs, so I am not necessarily concerned with a preventative, but if anyone has any natural, ingestible suggestions just to be safe, I would appreciate it!
Anyways, from my readings, Inceptor and Heartgard are preferable. I would prefer Inceptor, I think… :,). I have read that supplementing with Milk Thistle afterwards can assist the liver and am interested in when to begin dosing and how much I should dose my dogs. I have three dogs at the following weights: 46 lbs, 64 lbs, 71 lbs. Thank you for all your help in advance!
Topic: More anal gland issues :(
So some of you may remember that Lily was having some anal gland/allergy issues a few months back. (More info here: /forums/topic/anal-glandfood-allergy-issues-tmi-warning/)
Anyway, we decided to put her on Acana Pork and Butternut Squash as her elimination diet. The infection came back a few weeks into the diet, so she was on Metronidazole for another 20 days.
We also got her tested for environmental allergies, and she does have some pollen allergies, (mostly 2/6) so we have been wiping off her paws when she comes inside. She also sometimes eats grass, despite our best intentions to not allow it, so that could be contributing. The vets are still convinced that food allergies are playing a part here though. Once off the Metronidazole, she still seemed to be doing okay, and wasn’t scooting any more.
We decided to introduce beef, (she hasn’t had much beef) so we have been feeding her THK Love for the past 2 weeks. Yesterday morning she started scooting again. She had also had some times of scratching her ear, though it wasn’t really an ongoing thing. Today we took her to the vet, and they said the infection had come back, and that she also had a minor ear infection. They proscribed more Metronidazole, and also drops for her ears. The vet suggested Cultural, a probiotic, and also trying the elimination diet again. She was suggesting prescription diets (this is a different vet from last time,) but I said I didn’t really want to do that except as a last resort. I asked her about an anal gland supplement such as Glandex, and she said she hadn’t heard of it but that we could send her the ingredients. I looked at it and it has beef in it, so maybe not. I’m really not thrilled with all the antibiotics, and I would like to look into other options. At this point our options are:
1. Try the probiotic and see if it helps.
2. Try another novel protein diet.
3. Try an anal gland supplement. (Ideas?)
4. Try a prescription diet.
5. Regular expression of the anal glands.
6. Managing environmental allergies. (shots or meds.)
7. The vet mentioned surgery to remove the anal glands as the absolute last resort.Ideas anyone? We have also been giving her pumpkin with her food, with seems to help with digestion, but not really with the anal gland issues. Thanks!
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