# puppy supplements?



## Emz (Feb 25, 2013)

Hi would like some opinions on if and what i should be adding to my puppies diet.

Currently hes eating what the breeder was, royal canin large breed. Im planning on switching to something better, prob acana.

His skin is quite dry and still is after flea tx, baths etc. Vet said no fleas and his skin is just dry. 

My question is should i start giving himsome fish omega oils? Im thinking they are high in fats so do i need to cut food back if im giving it!
Also anything else i could give to help him out heath wise,i want him to live a long healthy happy life!


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## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

No supplements should be needed if you're feeding a food with an appropriate fat content. What makes you believe the pup has dry skin? (flakes?)


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## Emz (Feb 25, 2013)

Swampcollie said:


> No supplements should be needed if you're feeding a food with an appropriate fat content. What makes you believe the pup has dry skin? (flakes?)


He was and still is itchy itchy scratches alot. When we were at the vet said he had dry skin


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## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

Royal Canin isn't a bad food, although a little more fat may help. He looks pretty fluffy in the photo, make sure you thoroughly rinse all the shampoo out of his coat when he gets a bath. Just a tiny bit of shampoo residue in the coat can cause the symptoms you're seeing.


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## Emz (Feb 25, 2013)

Swampcollie said:


> Royal Canin isn't a bad food, although a little more fat may help. He looks pretty fluffy in the photo, make sure you thoroughly rinse all the shampoo out of his coat when he gets a bath. Just a tiny bit of shampoo residue in the coat can cause the symptoms you're seeing.


Thanks. We did dilute the shampoo to make help. There was none left for sure. And hes just as itchy as he was before the bath


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## Tuco (Jan 3, 2013)

Personally not a fan of royal canin and I often hear that people tend to see a big improvement in those areas (skin, coat, energy) when switching to higher quality proteins. If money is tight I would by all means choose a higher quality food w/o supplements then a lower with. I do not believe supplements are needed however they can make a nice difference in increasing the quality of life IMO. I personally try to take a as natural as possible approach to the supplements so I mostly give all natural supplements when possible and ideal.
Here are some great supplements to give

Salmon/krill oil WITH ADDED VITAMIN E

Coconut oil

Those two are the best ones for your particular situation however these are all great affordable supplements below, some for occasional use and some for more regular use

Kefir 

Green tripe

Diatomaceous earth as a colon cleanse or natural deworming

Marmite

Beef liver as a mild laxative or a tiny piece for vitamin A




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## Emz (Feb 25, 2013)

Tuco said:


> Personally not a fan of royal canin and I often hear that people tend to see a big improvement in those areas (skin, coat, energy) when switching to higher quality proteins. If money is tight I would by all means choose a higher quality food w/o supplements then a lower with. I do not believe supplements are needed however they can make a nice difference in increasing the quality of life IMO. I personally try to take a as natural as possible approach to the supplements so I mostly give all natural supplements when possible and ideal.
> Here are some great supplements to give
> 
> Salmon/krill oil WITH ADDED VITAMIN E
> ...


Thanks alot! Yah im not a fan of royal canin really want to switch soon :crossfing i will try some oil then since i have to wait a bit before switching foods


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## sabrinamae12 (Mar 22, 2013)

Kuyani used to have itchy skin problems and sores when he was on a Pro Plan food. Within a week of switching back to the brand I had previously been using, it stopped. On top of the food switch, I started using an oatmeal shampoo for sensitive skin. I don't plan to switch either food or shampoo for a long time. Maybe an oatmeal shampoo would help yours? And don't bathe too often either. Bathing removes the natural oils from the skin and with dogs prone to itchiness, it could end up being a problem. Fish oil seemed to help Kuy as well. And he had a gorgeous coat while on it. It could also be an allergy. Some dogs are very sensitive to grains. You could try a food with no grain or one with grain way down the list. My sister's mastiff is sensitive to grain and gets very itchy on anything besides our current brand

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## sabrinamae12 (Mar 22, 2013)

Adorable baby by the way 

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## Emz (Feb 25, 2013)

sabrinamae12 said:


> Adorable baby by the way
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Thanks for above help,and thanks again i think hes pretty cute too:


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## sabrinamae12 (Mar 22, 2013)

Emz said:


> Thanks for above help,and thanks again i think hes pretty cute too:


No problem and you should! He looks like such a sweetheart 

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## dogloverforlife (Feb 17, 2013)

Just want to add it should be virgin organic coconut oil. I bought the brand Spectrum from Hyvee's health food section. 

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## Tuco (Jan 3, 2013)

Yea it should be extra virgin cold pressed organic


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## stealle (Nov 12, 2012)

Best prices I have found is from vitacost. I pay about half the cost of my local health food store. They sell several brands including their own "vitacost" brand. I've tried many many brands of extra virgin cold pressed coconut oil. They pretty much all look and taste the same. So now I just stick with the cheapest vitacost brand. I've found that for many supplements vitacost has very high quality supplements and reasonable prices. I know I sound like a commercial, but really you should check it out.

Also, the typical dose of coconut oil is one teaspoon for every ten pounds of body weight daily. So I give my goldens about 2 tablespoons per day split between the two meals.

For those new to coconut oil, start off with half the dose for about a week. If you go too fast or too much, you could induce cannon butt.


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## CITIgolden (Mar 9, 2013)

My dog had the same issue while he was growing up, I started him on omega 3 and it improved pretty fast. The average caloric content of a pill is under 20cals so you can continue feeding normal amount. 

You probably know this already but Royal Canin has had a few too many issues with recalls in the US and Europe.


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## Tuco (Jan 3, 2013)

Yea it is pretty fatty like most oils so pace yourselves with the adding to diet 


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