Supplements that really work: Whats your experience - Page 1

I know that there are many supplements out there that fall way short of their claims and the credibility of many of the reviews are probably suspect as we.ll I recently used two supplements on my dog which produced a distinct difference in a short time.The first product Pet Organics sea kelp whitened her teeth without us having to do anything at all; my wife was very surprised and was asking if we can use it ourselves. The second product was Wholistic pet complete organic supplement; the dog's coat distinctedly thickened with a clear demarcation between the black and other coloring. The entire coat became very soft even the hairs on the the tail , which tend to be slightly coarser. Pro plan Fortiflora is also very good.

What has been your experience with supplements that really work?

Human grade animal protein and fats fed raw ... the dogs enjoy eating it and they live longer, healthier, and more productive lives. I put all of my supplement money into high quality food because with high quality human grade food the dogs don't need or respond to supplements. Put another way feed the food that contains the nutrient ... salmon instead of salmon oil.

Bubba
I was looking for experiences where people have been able to isolate the observable effect of specific supplements on a dog's well being.

I have tried supplements when I fed dry kibble from a bag ... they are hit or miss helping some dogs and not others. Feeding kibble and supplements costs more when vet bills are included than feeding raw animal protein and fats. Human grade animal protein and fats fed raw help every dog over the long term achieve longer life and a healthier life ... few vet visits too. I have many dogs 4-8 years old that have never been to a vet except for rabies vaccinations or hip x-rays which I have now stopped. Human grade animal protein and fats is the rising tide that lifts all boats. Supplements are hit or miss and work best on dogs not eating good food.

is there something wrong with getting hip xrays

As far as supplements go I think it depends on what you want or need to accomplish; if you have health issues I think its a hit or miss predicament; over all good health I have to agree with Bubba, you cannot beat a fresh raw meat diet as long as you have the know how and financial means to balance that diet you should not need maintenance supplements.

My deleama is my gsd cannot cope with a raw diet. Wished I could change that but so far I have not figured out how to do that.

But for general maintenance I do not care what you feed I feel you should be able to accomplish good health with that diet and it should not lack in anything. However, we all know what works for one dog does not necessarily work for another and sometimes you have to supplement especially with aging dogs. Great days, Nan

 

PS:  as an afterthought regarding the supplements I try not to overload any dog with extras as it can be very hard for them to assimilate extras filtering through kidneys and liver.    Nan

Since I started feeding raw from birth to death no bad hips. Hip X-rays usually cost $200 - $400 which I now put into food. X-rays are usually done with anaesthetic which can only harm and never help your dog. I feed my dogs beef ribs at least once and usually twice or more a week to help with teeth cleaning and jaw strength as well as being a treat. Better to spend money on food than spending $800 or more to have your dogs teeth cleaned under anaesthetic. The use of an aesthetics repeatedly can only shorten your dog's life unless used for some life saving procedure. I chose to spend my money on good things to benefit my dogs lives not for the benefit of drug companies, the OFA, SV, or veterinarians.

I feed my dogs beef ribs .... bubbabooboo

I have often contimplated feeding these a few times a month but have been hesitent as one of my dogs is an agressive chewer. Are these bones/ribs soft enough to not damage teeth???

Before i understood that I should not give things like femer bones, i use to fill them with peanut butter, Creme cheese and kibble and let them have at it all day. Needless to say, there K9's are ground down a we bit and now i am weary of anything other than softer bones like Chicken and Turkey necks

Don't chew on tootsie pops .... impossible to know if an individual dog will cracking or break a tooth. My GSD seem to deal with store bought beef ribs just fine. They have broken teeth on kennel locks and kennel panels, some will carry rocks around in their mouth for fun. In the spectrum of things they can screw up teeth for my dogs beef ribs are not near the top of the list. I pick up the rib bones not eaten before they get white and sun hardened after a couple of days.  My dogs crush and eat most of the ribs.  Pork ribs are much softer if beef ribs are a concern. ... 

CPN Vertex. I will swear by that stuff now.

I learned of it through a few friends in my IPO circle. My dog has bad elbows, and arthritis had set into them pretty badly a couple years ago. She was limping constantly at that point. I tried Adequan shots and they seemed to make it worse after awhile (plus administering them was no fun for either of us), as well as diet changes and other Glucosamine-rich supplements. No luck. I then decided to try out Vertex, and she rarely limps now, only after extreme exercise, and even then it's unlikely. She is doing great on it.