Healthy Dog food Supplements - Page 1

Hi Everyone,
I am looking for information about healthy supplements (fillers) to use with my Orijen Senior dog food. I currnetly use canned Fruitables Pumkin and Oatmeal supplement (which she Loooves) but it's $4.00 a can and she goes thru a can every three days. Any recommmendations?

I feed the fruitables to her because she is  a senior and a bit of a fatty. I would like to stay with the Orijen because she likes it and it has done wonders for her energy levels, coat and old dog aches and pains.

Thanks, I look forward to hearing from you.
C

Are you more interested in the "filler" aspect or are you looking for vitamins/minerals/extra fruit? It's a lot cheaper to just add canned pumpkin and cooked oatmeal. I just looked it up on their website and there's not much more in it than pumpkin and oatmeal anyway.

 Often, you can feed less food if it is processed better. Try something like Wholistic Canine Complete or Nzymes or Prozyme, etc. You may be surprised what happens after a while on something like that. Also, carbs (oatmeal) tend to make you want to eat more carbs...happens to the best of us, lol. Try adding something w/more protein. Toss her a few chicken wings at night or in the morning (opposite of when you feed her the kibble). 

Something I always add in especially for old dogs w/aches and pains is wild salmon oil and vitamin e. KILLER anti-inflammatory properties and I guarantee you will see a difference in a month, probably way sooner depending on her current condition. Make sure it's BODY oil, not liver oil, and you HAVE to add the vitamin e into the diet with it and cannot under any circumstances skip it. This won't make her skinny, but it's a must-have regardless;-)

Here's another good old dog natural supplement.  It really helped my two old dogs lead a pretty carefree old age.  They liked the flavor.  A veterinarian recommended it to me many years ago.  It has a therapeutic dose of glucosamine and chondroitin unlike most of the pet supplements.

Ark Naturals Super Strength Joint Rescue 90 chewables

www.vitacost.com/Ark-Naturals-Joint-Rescue

This is a good price-some places sell it for twice as much.

Supplement Facts
Serving Size: 0.5 Chewable
Servings per Container: 90
Amount Per Serving % Daily Value
Glucosamine Sulfate (99+%) 500 mg *
Boswellin Extract (standardized to 60% boswellic acids) 200 mg
Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) 200 mg
Curcumin Extract (turmeric) 100 mg *
Vitamin E (mixed Tocopherol) 100 mg
Chondroitin Sulfate 50 mg
Methionine 50 mg
Bromelain Extract (120 GDU per gram) 40 mg *
Yucca (standardized to 14% saponins) 25 mg
Calcium (Ascorbate) 20 mg
Zinc (l-monomethionine) 15 mg *
Magnesium (ascorbate) 10 mg
Manganese (Ascorbate) 10 mg
Pyridoxine (B6) 10 mg
Pantothenic Acid (B5) 5 mg
Copper (glycinate) 1 mg
Selenium (chelate) 10 mcg
Vitamin A (ascorbate) 3000 IU
*Daily value not established.

Good luck with your dog.
Michele

I totally agree with the salmon oil and vit. E.  Everyone here receives them daily.  I use the sockeye salmon oil by Vital Choice (3000 mg).  Vitamin E (200 IU) is made by Solgaray.  For a healthy animal, I don't recommend enzymes of any kind unless you know exactly what nutrients are in your food and what the source of the enzyme is.  You run the risk if imbalance and illness without proper research and knowledge.

Why do you feel that you have to feed supplements if the food is doing a great job?
Supplements can cause deposits in arteries and on joints and too many vitamins can be toxic.
You're feeding a complete kibble that doesn't require any supplementation.
If your dog has very specific issue, determined by a blood test, then there might be one or two very specific supplements that would benefit your dog.

Enzymes taken with food are generally very short-lived and most food (kibble) is devoid of them, and it's commonly accepted that older animals do produce less of the necessary enzymes for optimal digestion. 

How hard is it to know what's in the food and where the enzymes come from? I see more ills from lack of enzymes than surplus.

I wouldn't give less than 400IU  vitamin E to a medium/large dog. Over 100lbs, I'd give 500-600. Of course how much vitamin E you need is largely dependent upon how much salmon oil you are feeding.

Again, I will stress DO NOT FEED SALMON OIL WITHOUT VITAMIN E.

Jen...well, here is an example what lack of research will do.  I was going to give enzymes to my dogs, all of them to spite the fact that I absolutely believe that they aren't necessary unless there is a problem.  Nonetheless, I was going to feed a joint support formula without any good reason for doing so.  Fortunately, I asked the question of what the chondroitin is made from.  Well, to my amazement, they told me it is made from shark cartilage.  The company also informed me that shark cartilage will target all tumor cells, which I knew.  They further told me that it will see a fetus as a tumor and target them, as well.  So, for breeders, this particular product is not recommended to spite the fact that I had to dig for that information.  Nowhere is that stated on the label.  I will not mention the name of the product here.  Also, per Dr. Schultz and per Dr. Dodds...3000 mg of salmon oil and 200 IU of Vit E is what is recommended.

Thanks Everyone for your replies,

Prior to swiching to Orijen she was fed Wellness Core Weight and Cosaquin Joint supplement. The Cosaquin did not really have much of an affect and the Wellness did not do much for her energy levels.

The Orijen has a much higher protein at 40% and lower fiber content at 6% than the Wellness. But it also has a higher fat content at 15%. The Orijen also has 1400mg of Glucosamine and 1200mg of Chondroitin vs the 250mg and 200mg found in Wellness. So while the Orijen is better for her it requires additional suppelmental (low calerie) fillers to satisfy her hunger without adding body weight.

To answer a couple of your questions.
I am more interested in the filler (like pumpkin) that will satisfy her with out adding to many calories to her diet.
Not sure if it would be a good idea to and the salmon oil and vitamin e to her diet in addition to what is provided in the OS kibble. Will have to look into that.

C

 What else would you expect chondroitin to be made from? That's neither here nor there...but I don't see what chondroitin and say, amylase or cellulase or protease have in common at all. As to the dosage of e, that's probably sufficient so as not to cause a deficiency, but again, it depends on the size of the dog...you cannot say that for my 2lb Chihuahua puppy that the dosage listed is correct, nor is it correct for my 240lb English Mastiff. That's a good starting point or even a proportional guide, but it will need to be adjusted for weight and with the dosage of the oil, IMHO, since it literally depletes the body's reserves of it. Regardless, I hope everyone does their due diligence and pays attention to what they're giving their dog and doesn't just blindly follow everything they read on the internet. 

And people, you need to get over the idea that kibble provides all a dog needs to thrive, especially in old age. I know it sounds nice and feels good to think that it does, but by the time food is processed and bagged, it retains just about NOTHING in the way of PUFAs, enzymes, etc. This isn't directed at any one person, but more of an ongoing observation that there are still people who think that everything that went into the bag at manufacturing actually is viable and usable by the dog by the time it gets there, and this thread was just an opportunity to interject that sentiment. I've read a few shocking assumptions but can't remember where they were, hence my making this statement here. 

Kibble is kibble is kibble..............better kibble is better, but still kibble...devoid of much of what nature intended canids to eat.