Right now I am feeding my dogs that have IBS Victor grain free which contains montmorillonite clay. I use a small amount of frozen raw beef nugget topper. To that I add the supplement Gastriplex by Thorne that includes slippery elm and L-Glutamine in its ingredients. So far, it’s the best they have done as far as their poops go. I have also used The Honest Kitchen’s Perfect Form and Vetri Science’s Vetri-Probiotic BD supplements with success. I never thought my world would revolve around my pup’s poop, but sadly it does. lol!
Hi assirak2313,
Kibble is the worst thing you can feed a dog with kidney disease. Please do consider canned or home prepared.. And do some research before deciding on a diet (or ask around).. The protein and phosphorus amount in the food needs to be adjusted to the stage of the disease. In the early stages it is usually not necessary, and sometimes problematic, to reduce protein. And the quality of the protein, how well the body uses it, is vital to ongoing health.
The site that RescueDaneMom linked to is an EXCELLENT source of info on diet, supplements etc. When I found out my one year old pup had congenital (from birth) kidney disease, dog aware was one of the most informative sites I found. My kd pup is now seven and a half years old and still going strong. Her vets gave her one year after diagnosis to live..
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This reply was modified 12 years, 4 months ago by
Shawna.
That’s probably the case.
Thank you for the links. It helps a lot !
Now we’ll let her try dr.harvey’s first.Then see if she could take the vegetarian ones.
Thank you so much for helping. ^^
My friend’s yorkie had PLE. She went to so many specialists and her poor dog was on so many drugs. Finally, she went on yorkietalk and a lot of the people in that group worked with the nutritionist on http://www.AskAriel.com with good results. She gave it a try along with a few of the supplements for digestion and IBD and her yorkie seems to be feeling a lot better.
My vet suspects that my 7.5 year old Great Dane, Max, has arthritis so he put him on Rimadyl (200mg/day). He’s been on it for about 2 months now and I have noticed that it’s helping. He doesn’t take as long to get up from laying down anymore. However, I know that Rimadyl can have very nasty side effects if used long term. I want to take him off Rimadyl and put him on something else. First question is: can you stop Rimadyl cold turkey or do you need to wean off it like you would Prednisone? Second question is: what supplements would help him like Rimadyl does?
Max is already taking the following:
4500 mg Glucosamine HCl
3000 mg MSM
1200 mg Chondroitin sulfate
300 mg ASU
My understanding is that Rimadyl lessens inflammation. I was told by a friend that I should slowly wean him off the Rimadyl and start giving him Dog Gone Pain (aka DGP). I did buy a supplement from Swanson’s that has boswellia and tumeric in it (300mg of each). I also bought Actiflex 4000 on recommendion (from pugmomsandy I believe), which has boswellia in it. I’m still waiting for the delivery.
Max is my first dog so this is my first experience with a senior with arthritis. Any suggestions or tales of experience are welcome. Thank you in advance. 🙂
-Caroline
A lot of glucosamine is sourced from shellfish. Do you think she could have a shellfish allergy? They make vegetarian glucosamine and joint supplements. http://www.swansonvitamins.com/q?kw=vegetarian+glucosamine+-+shellfish+free
I don’t think any supplements will conflict with kibble. You should be fine adding whatever supplement you decide to try right into her kibble. Sometimes herbs can have a strong smell (and taste I’m guessing) so you may have to add a little canned food or something else yummy to mask the smell/flavor.
i hv found this products at a pet shop nearby. http://www.azmira.com/products/supplements/grape-seed-extract/
i know grapeseed is benificial for human,but does it work for dogs?
what i curious about is that dogs can’t have grapes, is grapeseed products mean to be helpful for them. And also same wonder if dogs can take supplement contain garlic?
Hi, everyone, thanks for helping.
She been taking glucosamine+chondroitin tablets for over a year, it works for her. But then, she could take it no more. At first we thought she does not like the taste, as it’s bitter. We tried all other brand, instead of giving tablet, we brought glucosamine in powder or liquid form, and we found there is something she could not tolerate in glucosamine products. her tounge wouldn’t stop licking like getting choked,utill it went white, it happened whenever we gave glucosamine to her , either instantneously or later of the day. If we not giving her that, it does not happen at all.
To maintain her joint health, we still give that to her for quite awhile , untill our dog refused to have it anymore.
She is having dry kibble for meals, and i wonder if it’s right for us to add the herbal medicine to help her with it. I mean most herbal medicine seemed made intend to be added to whole food.Would it be in conflict with commercial dog food?
i would also like to try all the products you guys recommend.
thank you for helping without you guys, all i know i could give her is glucosamine and herbal medicine, now we got wilder choice. i believe there must be something suitable to maintain her joint health from what you guys recommend.
thank u guys !
Generally speaking, we don’t recommend senior foods. Many of them are based on bad science. Seniors can have difficulty in utilizing the protein in their food and actually may require as much as 50% more protein than a younger dog, yet most senior foods decrease protein. They also don’t have a therapeutic dose of joint supplements in them, but they advertise as if they do, which keeps owners from giving their dog what it needs in that department. Senior foods are a marketing gimmick, not a need.
My doggie LOVES “salmon pops” that I make with a can of Wellness 95% salmon mixed with a can of organic pumpkin. It’s a pretty easy consistency for spooning into ice cube trays and they pop out smoothly for rebagging after a minute on the counter. I give her one or two a most days for the benefits to both skin & coat and digestion. She dances all the way from the kitchen to her special mat that she has to eat them on because a] they smell pretty bad on the fingers [so don’t want it on my carpet] and b] because they could be messy [if they lasted long enough to thaw]. I honestly don’t know how she doesn’t get a brain freeze from holding and chewing a whole cube down to nothing in less than a minute. They get an amazing response from my generally picky eater. It would probably be pretty easy to hide supplements or liquid meds in them as well. I think they may even help her teeth a bit since she chomps and gnaws with her back teeth more than she licks at them.
I have also thrown a few to the neighborhood cats who are starting to look a bit skinny this autumn. They definitely lick at it, but it is usually gone within a few minutes.
I have used Dasuquin with MSM for large dogs by Nutramax for years. It works really great for my dogs but it’s expensive. The last time I bought it on Amazon it was around $80 for a bottle of 150 chewable tablets. I was giving my Dane 3/day so it lasted me about a month and half. I have recently switched to buying all of the components in Dasuquin separately from swansonvitamins.com: glucosamine, MSM, chondroitin, and ASU. It costs me around $25/month. I also just ordered Actiflex 4000 from Amazon. It is a joint supplement made for horses. It was recommended by a member on this forum. It will be much more cost effective for me. I’m hoping it will work for him. I’ve tried Liquid Health’s K9 Level 5000 on two separate occasions and it didn’t work for my dogs. I’ve also heard that Springtime Inc makes good joint supplements. I want to try theirs next. Nupro and The Wholistic Pet make powders that you add to the food that have joint supplements in them. I believe that Glucosamine HCl works better than Glucosamine sulfate for my Dane.
Here are some article on joint health and treatments:
http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/knowledgeBase/knowledgebasedetail.aspx?articleid=169&SubjectId=13261&SubjectName=Arthritis+%2f+Joint+Support
http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/knowledgeBase/knowledgebasedetail.aspx?articleid=46&SubjectId=13261&SubjectName=Arthritis+%2f+Joint+Support
That probably gives you a lot to think about. Every dog is different and some things work better than others. Good luck! I hope you find what works for your pup. 🙂
I use Springtime Inc advanced joint care for my dogs and one of mine has luxating patella and she limped at times and since giving her Springtime once a day it is amazing the difference. She can run like when she was young. Great product.
I buy plain cetyl-myristoleate (Now or Jarrow brand) from swansonvitamins.com.
I would try raw chicken or turkey necks. They are mostly cartilage, so they have all those cartilage building nutrients in a natural form.
What do you mean by not tolerating the glucosamine? Is it not working? Does it make her ill? I have a Great Dane so I really have to support his joints. I have never used glucosamine by itself. I’ve always used it in a combination formula with MSM, chondroitin, and ASU. I’ve just recently started adding in herbs as he has arthritis now that he’s an old man.
Some herbal formulas for dogs that I know of are Dr. Harvey’s Ortho-Flex Joint Ease, Herbsmith’s Soothes Joints, and The Honest Kitchen’s Lithe Tea.
For more info on using herbs for joint care see this article: http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/herbs-for-canine-joint-care/
Other things that help joints are cetyl myristoleate, hyaluronic acid, perna mussel (green-lipped mussel) powder, and eggshell membrane.
What I have learned in my search to find what works for my dog is that every dog is different. I have tried products because people tell me how great they are and how they worked for so and so; however, they didn’t work for my dog. It is all trial and error. You have to try everything. Try something and give it a couple weeks to see if there is any notable difference. If it doesn’t work, scratch it off the list and move on to the next thing. I wish you luck in finding what helps your pup. I hope I was at least a little helpful. 🙂
vet recommend us giving glucosamine to our senior dog on daily basis.
But her body could not tolerate glucosamine in any brand any form after taking it for over a year.
In order to maintain joint health , and her achilless tendon, what supplement can i give her now?
herbal form joint supplement good for dogs?
kms-
Here is an article on GI issues: http://www.holvet.net/slippery_soup.html
It has info on slippery elm bark and how you use it.
The Honest Kitchen makes a supplement to help with digestion and intestinal health that has slippery elm in it called Perfect Form.
http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/supplements/perfect-form
I hope this helps. 🙂
-Caroline
My vet is suggesting a food trial for my 5 yr old cocker spaniel. He has unidentified allergies(chews his feet, and “goobery” eyes). We’ve tried several allergy meds, and he is presently eating “GO” salmon. He recently had crystals in his urine, so he’s taking a supplement for stone prevention. He will have to stop taking supplements during the food trial. He also has a sensitive stomach, he takes Pepcid to control acid production. Are there any foods that deal with more than one problem?
She has suggested Hill DD potato venison. She feels the protein level is low enough to avoid bladder stones. This sounds reasonable to me, just interested if anyone else has the same issues, and possible feedback.
What kind of dog is he? I have a Great Dane that I rescued at 2 years old. I put him on a joint supplement as soon as I got him. I had to up his dose as he got older when I noticed his joints starting to pop when he got up. The vet just diagnosed him with arthritis (he’s 7.5 now). I tried switching joint supplements once and his joint popping got really bad- the new supplement wasn’t working well. When I switched back to the old supplement the popping stopped. So that was a long way around telling you that it could be a joint problem. He might benefit from a joint supplement (something with glucosamine and chondroitin). I also have a pit bull in the house that does that stretching you are referring to. He does it ALL the time. I thought it was just a personality quirk. He’s 5 yrs old and 70 pounds and his joints never pop.
If you are really worried, you could take him to the vet and have them do an xray to see if there are joint issues going on.
You can find a similar food to Life’s Abundance for less $$ like Nutrisource grain inclusive line small/med breed puppy formula (yes, for your 8 yr old). If you’re willing to feed something better than kibble though, look into some dehydrated/freeze-dried foods like The Honest Kitchen or Grandma Lucy’s or Dr Harvey’s Oracle. These are less processed than kibble. If you can home cook for your dog, then those brands I just mentioned have a Pre-mix where you just add your own meat and some oil. I give my dogs probiotics, sardine/krill oil, super greens powder supplement, colostrum, Springtime’s Bug-Off/Longevity and some joint supplements. Mine also get fresh food like raw meat, scrambled eggs and raw sardines and leftovers of meat/some veggies.
Hi, I am at the stage where am obsessing about the health and longevity of my dog.
He’s a short haired Russian Toy Terrier. Almost 8 years old. Not neutered. He has always been healthy with very few issues. The occasional constipation/diarrhea followed by anal gland infections when he’s fed fatty fresh chicken. However recently I’ve noticed his skin/ coat changing. He has more bald spots and white hairs and has finer hair especially around his ears, neck and feet. He doesn’t itch nor seem bothered by them. His energy levels are great and his weight has always been stable(5.5 lbs). He’s been eating Royal Canine for chihuahuas and the occasional greenies and Macs&buddy treats. Not taking any supplements.
Now I’m wondering if I’m doing enough for his health. Was thinking of switching his food to Life’s abundance. Any advice/recommendations?
This is my first forum convo. All advice would be much appreciated especially since it’s from others who love their pets as their children like I do.
Thanks a bunch.
A 5 yr. old German Shepherd (breeding bitch) has been rescued. 6 litters in her lifetime. Lived in a 4×4 pen with 3 other adults. Tip of ear frozen off. Couple of cracked teeth but no gum disease. Suffering from pancreatic insufficiency. No strength yet in the rear to jump into the car but now can get her front feet up – we lift the rest of the way. Can jump up to a fence at daycare now but can only sustain the position for 25-30 seconds. Fast trotted at dog park for first time yesterday. Timid but no aggression towards either canine or human. Extremely curious. She is getting regular walking exercise and is at daycare 2x per week for socialization (huge strides in becoming ‘one’ with the pack).
Reason for my topic post: Looking for advice on supplements eg glucosamine/chondroitin – would anyone recommend this and if so, brand/dose? What about massage? Anything else?
Unfortunately, I know exactly what you are talking about. My dogs have been treated 3 or 4 times for giardia. Our vet recommended not only pre and probiotics and digestive enzymes. He also suggested supplements to heal their intestines such as DGL, marshmallow root and plantain. I didn’t have a clue what they were. Lol! After research, I found that dogaware dot com has a great section on digestive orders with supplements that contained some of these. I’ve used Gastriplex by Thorne, Vetri-Probiotic BD, and Phytomucil by Animal Essentials with success. Also, make sure to get the dog retested because it often takes more than one treatment to get completely rid of it. Good luck. And, oh yes, of course, check with your vet first.
Bee pollen granules can be found at springtimeinc.com. They have awesome supplements and have great sales, too.
What size is Haley again? The Apple Cider Vinegar needs to have the Mother, it’s a cloudy bit of goo in the bottom of the bottle. That means they haven’t filtered out, cooked, and killed all the good stuff. I use 1/2 teaspoon of the ACV for every cup of food.
The kefir should be plain so you aren’t adding sugar to your dogs diet. They get about a teaspoon for every 10 lbs of body weight.
Look in the supplements aisle for a seaweed supplement. As far as how much, for your little guy, 1/4 to 1/2 a tablet daily.
Duke the Boxer, RescueDaneMom and PattyVaughn –
Thanks for responding so quick. I started to try to learn about the various probiotics and enzymes on the supplements thread and just got totally overwhelmed at all the choices (think my brain is full). So I ordered Mercola Probiotics and Digestive Enzymes, since that is what I’ve seen recommended the most here. But I’m going to try the Biostareq Terra Biota K9 and Dr. Langer’s also – sounds like supplements can be just as trial and error as the kibble.
PattyVaughn –
When I cut “back to a couple times a week” – do you mean cut back the probiotics AND the digestives enzymes or cut back probiotics only?
I saw on Mercola’s website where they recommend that you feed the Digestive Enzymes a couple hours after each meal, not at each meal. Is that what I should do or just give it with the meal?
As far as the pumpkin, I will up the dose. He’s 32 lbs now, so that’s 3 tsp pumpkin – is that 3 tsp per meal or per day?
As far as the 20%…. He eats 3 c kibble per day, so adding a 20% topper would mean a little under ¾ cup, right? And that means I should decrease his kibble by 20% to account for the topper, right? (I feel like I’m asking stupid questions, but I need to make sure).
Should the meat be raw or cooked? I use chopped cooked chicken for training treats, but he has never eaten anything raw – I’m worried it will upset his stomach.
Thanks so much to everyone – I finally feel like I’m getting somewhere!!!
New to this forum, I’m just skimming as I’ve been feeding and researching vegan dog foods since I decided to try V-Dog about 3-4 years ago, as there was a sample at the shelter where I volunteer. What I heard from UC Davis veterinary school is that dogs are OMNIVORES. Although related to wolves, they’ve been a separate species for MILLENNIA. They generally do not hunt, so they don’t get the vegetables and grains (and by-products, btw) wild canides get when they eat the entire animal they’ve killed.
Again, according to Davis & several sources ,including Nestle & Nesheim’s “Feed Your Pet Right,” dogs are biologically capable of digesting animal proteins.
I could cite many other sources, although there are veterinarians who disagree. But the facts are facts. Meat does not contain better “quality” protein; it simply contains complete amino acids. If you combine properly and add B12 and a few other supplements, the food is complete.
What I’ve found, in reading the arguments against, is that people have a ‘feeling’ dogs should eat meat for health because they are descended from wolves. But that’s a cultural bias, not a biological one.
Forgive me if I’ve repeated; I just skimmed for now.
Will give more citations on request!
Unfortunately rescue Dane mom I also tried the dr langers probiotic but it didn’t do anything for duke. Within a day or two of giving him the terra biota his stools firmed up more. Also he stopped having room clearing gas. But with dogs it’s just like humans some medicine and supplements work better than others.
The super green foods are alkalizing, so if your dog’s pH is 8.5 which is extremely alkaline, you would want to add more acid foods: apple cider vinegar, beef, organ meats, salmon, sardines, turkey, flax oil, cheese, blueberries and cranberries (to name a few).
Are u seeing any problem with your Dog health if yes than you try any thing else, if no than why are you so worried about your dog diet. Once your vet says that their is no need of anything added to his food.
Hey gang i know this subject has been beat to death but i want to get a more current and updated list of the different omega supplements that you are giving your dogs. My local vet bottles his own supplement but i want some variety. Please comment guys. Ive seen Grizzley Salmon Oil mentioned a couple times.
I agree with Patti – I raise rottweilers have push protein whenever possible. I use all life stages most often – and lots of grain free. Don’t forget lots of raw meaty bones. It increases the calcium, supplements with the chewing needs and the protein in the marrow is great for their skin, coats and muscle growth.
Plavoie,
Go to the dog food ingredients forum here, on top, you’ll see a stickie with grain and white potato free foods. That might be a good place to start. Keep in mind, you’ll need to watch everything your dog eats, including treats & supplements. With one of mine, I have to be very careful….he gets one type of salmon oil because most others have preservatives that I don’t know if its soy based (he can’t have soy).
Also, you mentioned not wanting to go to the vets because they’ll put him on steroids. You are the dog owner, you can say NO.
Yes, my Cavalier that has allergies has anal gland issues as one of her symptoms. She can’t have poultry, at least chicken, but just to be safe I’m staying away from all poultry. I am using grain free, poultry free dry and canned foods. I also make sure any supplements or treats don’t contain offending ingredients. Since I’ve done this her symptoms are gone.
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This reply was modified 12 years, 4 months ago by
Mom2Cavs.
We started using Dinovite for our 14 yr old Chihuahua who was scratching excessively and developed bald patches on his skin. He also had moderate arthritis. After using the supplements, his symptoms got worse. I noticed his stool was very runny the first two weeks of use. I contacted a rep at the company and was told to try cutting back on the fish oil. I did. It helped his stool a little, however, his overall health progressively got worse. He has developed red bumps on the inside of his hind legs, and he recently started as his front paw is in pain. The bald spots still remain with no change. Took him to the vet last week and he said he has a staff infection, his arthritis has worsen, and he has warts. Lately, he’s not wanting to eat his food. Our little man has always had a very healthy appetite with a fair amount of energy. We have given these supplements a chance to work and it seems that our dogs overall health since using this product has decreased. Something is not adding up here. I think we should take him off the supplements for about a week or so and see if there is any positive change. Our little guy needs help.
Check into Missing Link and Nature’s Logic (supplements), and See Spot Live Longer Dinner Mixes and The Honest Kitchen Preference (Premixes that when combined with meat are complete and balanced). Of course adjust your fat amount.
Yes, I give my dogs table scraps. And it does vary from “good” to “bad”! Because frankly, my dogs eat better than I do. Their pantry is full of 4-5 star foods and my pantry happens to be full of the equivalent of 1 star products, unless I’m making steak and veggies or fish and veggies! They get pizza crust and chinese take-out. They usually get a bite or two of what I’m eating. I also make their homemade raw but of course with appropriate “dog” ingredients (meat/bone/organs/oil/supplements). There is actually a Paleo cookbook for dogs! LOL! Tonight will be a meat & veggie dinner to share.
good to hear that they have found out whats causing the problem…. hopefully they will recover soon. About the apple cider vinegar, i’ve been reading all about it online and it seems a good alternative supplements. any brands that you would recommend? I think i read some saying that the best one’s must be fermented and unfiltered. I Don’t think mine loves pumpkin too 🙂 they would just sniff on it and walkaway.
I ended up mixing foods because I couldn’t decide what food I wanted to use since there’s a million kinds out there! So after 3 years of trying things out, my staples are Nutrisource (grain free and small/med breed puppy), Nature’s Select (local) only the grain free or Hi-Pro formulas, Brothers Complete, Merrick (local), occasionally Nutrisca (some issues with their chicken from China and possible farmed salmon) so I just get their Lamb food, Vital Essentials freeze dried nibblets and I’ve thought about Victor because they are local too (made in Texas). For cans, I use Merrick, Wellness Stews, Weruva, Nature’s Logic, Hound and Gatos and sometimes Nutrisca lamb. Dehydrated foods I use are The Honest Kitchen, Addiction (with Big Dog Natural), Sojo’s (with Big Dog Natural) and I make my own raw food with duck, goat, tripe and organs and supplements and they eat whole raw sardines and sometimes RMB (raw meaty bones) like necks, pork ribs and chicken legs. All foods have their pros and cons and not all dogs do well on certain foods. For me, these work. I am thinking of boycotting Dogswell though. Too many issues with their treats and they use chinese chicken. Actually, I think I’ll scratch them totally off my list now… and Sojo’s uses some dried veggies from China so that’s going to have to go too when my bag is gone. It is frustrating sometimes trying to find good foods with good ingredients. I’ve probably used about 20 different kibbles in the past 3 or 4 years (my dog is 6 now). He’s such an inspiration for me to make homemade!! I lub him so much!! He has his own freezer full of goodies!
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This reply was modified 12 years, 5 months ago by
pugmomsandy.
I have several dogs. I have 2 or 3 bags open at once. So technically, they are eating 2 familiar foods when I open a new bag. I used to only have 2 bags at once, but with fosters, they allow me to open 3 bags (I use about 300 cups a month). Even using only 2 foods, you wouldn’t need to transition since one of them will always be something “old” when you add food #2 because I’ve never had 2 bags of food go empty at the same time, there’s always one “old” food in there. I usually make a “mixture” so I can make it how I want – the amount of “old” food and the amount of “new” food. It’s like always being in transition, I guess. When I’m too busy to make a “mixture”, they get a scoop directly out of one bag so that would be just that food, no mix. I also have fosters so they don’t get a food transition at all. I give probiotics/enzymes, ground psyllium for loose stools and they just have to eat what I give them which is 4.5 to 5 star foods. I just don’t want you to be discouraged if there is tummy troubles. A switch can be done, quickly or slowly. And poor quality foods can have sugar and MSG or other addicting ingredient which can make transitioning difficult when they refuse to eat the new food! You can do a mix of our old food with some new food until they can get off of the old food. I can’t seem to give up Ramen noodle with at least 5 sources of MSG in it!! Bad, I know!! My dogs have been eating mixes for at least 2 years so they can eat single foods any time. They actually eat different kibbles, different canned foods, raw food, dehydrated food, anything, no problem. That is (hopefully) what you can achieve by starting to rotate. I even got a 13 yr old foster that was eating Hill’s W/D when I got him and I put him straight to my regular food, supplements and he’s fine. He’s 14 now and still eats 4.5 to 5 star kibbles and wet food (canned, dehyrated). Seniors should get more wet foods BTW. Sometimes I give ground psyllium or chia seed with canned foods to make the stool more formed (solid formed vs soft formed). I have 5 fosters right now who did fine with no transition. BUT some dogs do have trouble with it.
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This reply was modified 12 years, 5 months ago by pugmomsandy.
Hi,
I have a beautiful 5 month old German Shepherd puppy, that has consistently had very soft stool/diarrhea since I got her. I was feeding her Orijen large breed puppy formula, and recently switched to Acana LBP, with no noticable change to her stool.
I’ve searched for advice but have not found an answer anywhere. My dog walker thinks her diet is too high protein and that Shepherd’s have sensitive stomachs. On her advice I’ve tried adding white rice and carrots, but neither has shown any effect.
Could you please help me with any suggestions for food or some kind of supplements that I can give her? Any help or advice is greatly appreciated!
Cheers,
Dave
BRT….Sounds like you have a good plan. Mine don’t seem to like the taste of pumpkin lol. I tried ACV years ago with my 2 mixed breeds and Lucy WOULD NOT take it in any way, so I gave up. Haven’t tried it since. I used to have to give my boy mixed breed, Desi, a joint supp. due to both rear luxating patellas. I gave Springtime Joint Health chews and they worked great for him. I like all Springtime supplements. But, Lucy doesn’t like Longevity at all lol. So I just use their chews and their Omega 3-6-9 (when I use an omega supp., that is). I started adding a little of the Beef Frittata in and so far, ok. But I am so worried it’s not gonna go as well as I hope with the Fromm. They really do well with the Pacific Stream, though I think Lucy is not doing as well as the Cavs with it. It could be the fish protein with her. My cat, Princess, does really well with Earthborn, Fromm, Tiki Cat canned food and loves Instinct, Orijen and/or Acana dry. I just bought a bag of Fromm Gamebird for cats and she is loving it! She is fed canned am and pm and the dry is left out for her to graze on.
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This reply was modified 12 years, 5 months ago by Mom2Cavs.
If you want to incorporate some raw into the diet, then adding 20% of it is ok without worrying about added vitamins and such. If you’re dog eats 2 meals and day then 2.8 meals (or 3) can be a RMB and maybe some organs (heart/gizzard/a little bit of liver). More than that, you’d need to balance the raw meals better. Make them closer to 80% meat/10% bone/10% organs (5 of that liver) and added supplements or give a premade raw. There are some sample recipes in the Raw Food topic. Another option is to make sure he eats a whole chicken (with heart/gizzard/liver), not just the back.
For me, it’s not who likes what. I’ve had lots of dogs, usually three at a time. I’ve never had a dog not like a food except one dog, years ago, who wouldn’t eat a NV medallion. They eat any kibble, canned, raw and dehydrated in their bowl. All meds /supplements go in the food as well and all gets eaten. I personally think some people cause their dogs to be picky but that’s another topic.
Anyway, I have one dog with allergies, another with no teeth and the last can eat anything.
Shawna, thank you again for the info! I will give those Bravo meats a try when we run out of Thrive. There’s a really great independent pet store 30 min drive from me that carries THK, Bravo, Primal, and other great brands.
My parents are usually the ones feeding Dozer. I don’t think they’ll go for the raw egg. I don’t know if Dozer would eat raw egg. We’ve given him eggs cooked over easy and he wasn’t overly thrilled. Max, on the other hand, LOVES eggs.
I just bought six cans of Tripett the last time I was at the store. Max loves it. Dozer does too. We gave Dozer some of the green beef tripe with duck and salmon to entice him to eat his food and pills after a rough chemo treatment.
I just started to try different supplements for Max’s arthritis. In addition to his Glucosamine, MSM, Chondroitin, & ASU combo, he is getting an herbal supplement that has boswellia, cat’s claw, tart cherry, and white willow. I was going to try a bromelain/curcumin combo next.
Marie, I didn’t know there was a ‘concierge club.’ I’ve ordered it from Chewy and Petflow. Recently I’ve been getting it from a reseller who also carries the Primal frozen grinds. She emails me when she’s ready to order and I give her my order and I get it the next week. It’s been pretty convenient. Plus her prices are better than the independent pet store where I used to buy it from. No overhead I guess as she sells it out of her house.
Thanks again for all the feedback. Y’all are awesome!!! 🙂
Hello. I live on an island in the Caribbean, and have a 4 year old, 75lb, female mutt. Two days ago she was diagnosed positive for heartworm…and yes, I cried. Luckily, she is in the early stages with no obvious symptoms of coughing, weight loss etc. I sought the advice of different vets and have been presented with 3 options. (1.) Do the 2 day adulticide treatment. (2.) Do a split treatment, where one dosage is injected and then a second and final dosage is given 3weeks after. (3.) Give her heartworm ‘preventative’ medicine over the next year, and assess if that reduces the quantity of adult worms present. While I make my decision, we started her on the “Pet Life Endolav Plus” pills. (She had not been given any heartworm pills prior).The pills were also given to my other dog, which is a 5 month old male mastiff. So my questions are:
1. Which option is the safest, while being most effective (I’ve gotten different responses from different vets).
2. For those living in climates where mosquitoes thrive all year round, what are the best heartworm preventative medicines and also methods? (I’ve noticed comments on this forum that advise against topical bug repellents, but mosquitoes are rampant here.)
3. Is there anything I can do to help prep my dog for treatment? Whether through addition of vitamins or a special diet? She currently doesn’t take any supplements. She was rescued as a puppy, and for the past 3 years has been fed Alpo/Pedigree/Beneful along with occasional cooked meals of rice and meat. I wasn’t aware this was potentially bad until recently, and have luckily found someone on island that distributes Sportsmix, ProPac and Earthborn Holistic Primitive. I went with the propac because it had lower calcium levels, which is seemingly better for the puppy. (Getting foods rated higher than 2 star here is challenging). I’ve started cooking meats and muscles to add to the kibble, and when I have the time on the weekend I cook full meals, including organs. (Still experimenting, as this is still new to me, having only just ditched the supermarket brands a month ago).
Grateful for any advice. She’s honestly the sweetest dog we’ve ever owned, and I badly want her to survive this. I would hate to have rescued her, only to have this as her fate. I also want to ensure that the 5 month old remains healthy.
Hi Cyndi and RescueDaneMom,
Usually I’m not able to log in to the forums but it let me today so….. 🙂
I REALLY like Dr. Dressler but really don’t like grains in a dog’s food.. I’d much rather see you feeding THK and adding high protein meat or canned toppers. If you want to add extra vitamin E I personally would use red palm oil as it has a form of vitamin E that is been researched to be more cancer fighting than alpha-tocopherol. You can buy the oil or can buy a supplement that utilizes the oil. HOWEVER, I’ve also read that high amounts of vitamin E can be detrimental in certain types of cancer. UGHHH Lymphoma seems to be one that supplemental vitamin E provides benefits for though (those that may read this dealing with other types of cancer need to check for their specific type of cancer) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8272150
There are foods that are known to kill cancer cells as well — garlic, turmeric and the enzyme bromelain from pineapples induce apoptosis and causes rogue cells to commit suicide as an example (because of the sugar content of pineapple, I would give bromelain as a supplement (away from meals) instead of pineapple itself). Turmeric is inexpensive but do use ONLY organic turmeric if you decide to use it as many spices are irradiated damaging the benefits. Turmeric can be added to other powdered supplements and sprinkled right on the food.
Certain foods also are known to cut off the blood supply to cancers and thus starving the cancer to death (this is called antiangiogenosis). Turmeric, garlic, blueberries, apples, certain mushrooms and more can all do this.. The more foods you feed that are antiangiogenic the better the outcome as they are believed to be synergistic and work better together. This is a list of foods that cause antiangiogenosis http://blog.ted.com/2010/02/10/dr_william_lis/ (some are not appropriate for dogs (like grapes)).
If you are interested at all in more data on antiangiogenosis, human oncologist Dr. William Li has an EXCELLENT Ted TV video on it. The title of the video is “Can we eat to starve cancer.” It can be found here http://www.ted.com/talks/william_li.html
PS — I’m in the group that think “synthetic” vitamins have minimal positive affect on the body. I’d much rather see foods high in nutrients and, if needed, whole food vitamin supplements be used. I don’t think the supplement your vet gave you will hurt, just don’t think it will help as much as those found in food. I would also give an enzyme supplement with each meal.
Dozer is certainly in all our prayers and thoughts for a speedy and full recovery!!!!!!
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This reply was modified 12 years, 5 months ago by Shawna.
My 8 1/2 year old labradoodle Boe was diagnosed with a Hepatic Carcinoma this past summer. It was operable so they removed the tumor and the right lobe of her liver (the left side of the liver was not yet impacted by the tumor). It’s been nearly 4 months since the surgery and she has recovered well, although her energy level is not quite where it was prior to her illness. I have two concerns. First, I am concerned that the food we are now feeding her is not the best option for her. Her vet has prescribed Hills Prescription L/D for hepatic health. Are there better, more wholesome options for her? I am concerned about the quality of ingredients and it doesn’t seem that the prescription food is satisfying her hunger. We feed her the recommended amount based on her ideal weight but she is constantly hungry. She is also experiencing some joint stiffness, probably associated with age but I am afraid to give her joint supplements because I don’t know if they may impact her liver function. Prior to her surgery, she was a very active dog. She would run on average 3 days per week (only 3-4 miles ea.) with us but she is too stiff and sore to really run any distance at this point. Any suggestions would be appreciated
I want to get my puppy off of Proin. Does anyone know if cornsilk is good? She has spay incontinence.
Hi Aleksandra,
Make sure you don’t make the same mistake I did. I bought this big, beautiful jar of lovely organic coconut oil, only to find out that it’s refined and as a result, basically worthless.
You want extra virgin or unrefined coconut oil.
Here’s some good reading on coconut oil and some other “alternative” supplements from what will be in the November issue of Whole Dog Journal, starting at page three (3): http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/16_11/features/alternative-treatments-updated_20861-1.html?pg=3
2 months, 1 week ago
