Supplement for dogs: What is enough but not too much? - Page 1

Would anyone care to give me an indication of the amount in doses/ mls/ grams/ ratio to body weight for the following commonly used supplements:
- Glucosamine - Chrondroitin - Vitamin A - Vitamin C - Vitamin E - Ester C (vit c equilvalent) - MSM - Omega 3EFAs/ Salmon Oil - Kelp - Alfafa

and Other Medication when required: - Aspirin ( I once foolishly gave my dog ibuprofen which I later found toxic to dogs) - Imodium

Are there any contraindications to the above?

I find the ready combined mix for some of the above supplements are so costly and I was figuring whether it would be more cost effective to get them individually and prepare the mix myself. Thanks.

I can just say DHA to 0.1% dry weight of food for growing pups. To 200 grams of food, about two cups, add one one-gram fish oil capsule, which has about 0.2 grams of DHA. This will be about 0.1%.
 
For an adult I would use just one capsule per day.

I always use molecularly distilled fish oil advertised as mercury-free.

"Glucosamine - Chrondroitin"

They are in the joints of chicken parts, such as neck etc. and any other spinal column etc I still don't know if these stuffs are destroyed by the heat in cooking. I always extract as much of the soft cartiledge in the large joints and feed to my dog before I discard the large chicken bones.

In this sense, a dog food with chicken meal or chicken by-product meal as the first ingredient is bound to have a fair amount of these stuffs, but again only if they are not destroyed by the heat in processing.

Do they disintegrate at 120-130C? Anybody knows?

It has now been established that supplements, including vitamins, in humans are essentially without merit except in rare cases of illness or disease. If you feed a quality diet, I suggest you forget giving supplements. You do not need to do so. Further, with something like Vitamin A, you can make the dog very sick if you give too much.  Vitamin C essentially has been shown over and over to NOT have the qualities and benefits that so many wish to attribute to it.

Save yourself some money and just be sure the dog has a good diet. I have many GSDS and have had hundreds over the years. NONE received supplements and they all look/ed fine, with nice, glossy coats, clear eyes and lots of energy. It is simply a racket and a way to part fools from their money.

Aspirin can be given to a dog, but, like in humans, it is not without risk either. It makes every stomach bleed, although usually this is minor and not even noticed. IF you need to give ASA,. give 375 mg once a day or, perhaps twice a day with food. NEVER give ibuprufen or other NSAIDS used in humans. You could end up with a dead dog if the dose were sufficiently high enough or given for long enough to cause severe problems.

"It has now been established that supplements, including vitamins, in humans are essentially without merit except in rare cases of illness or disease."

Who says?

Many people are lacking Omega 3.

I have been feeding my dog "GOOD DOG" a german made highly digestable kibble 6 days a week and on raw diet one of the other days in a week.  I am hoping to switch to a complete raw diet but have read somewhere that supplements can beneficial to ensure a healthy balance.  Also being a working dog, I figure giving joint promoting supplements are essential (not harmful).

Recently my dog hurt her leg chasing after a fox and was limping abit.  I did wonder if I should give aspirin to relieve the pain.

I understand that fat soluble vitamins like A & D can be harmful if given in excess.  Just like to know the various recommended doses to be on the safe side.

The only supplement I give my raw fed dogs is salmon oil, and then only when they're not eating fish regularly. For Salmon oil, the dosage is

Maintainence: 1000mg for every 20lbs of dog
Theraputic:1000mg for every 10lbs of dog

Most fish oil, not fish (cod) liver oil, has about 18% DHA and 12% EPA. 180 and 120 mg per one-gram capsule.

A study use 0.1% DHA dry basis for pups as the high end, and produces the most trainable pups. Mid range is like 0.06, low is like 0.03%

Thanks guys for all your input.

I guess I really need to research the individual quantities depending on which supplement I decide to give so as not to overload the dog.  Quite a few supplements I have listed above already have certain elements in them.  Which is obviously why it is expensive to buy the ready mixes :-)