# Do you feed supplements daily?



## MercyMom (Dec 19, 2011)

As a matter of fact I do. The breeder recomended them. I give Mercy Glycoflex 1, Ester C, and liver powder. She seems to be in great health!


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## Sheldon (Feb 27, 2013)

Our neighbors always gave their collies one Shaklee Vitalea (multi) once a day and they were super healthy. I guess it would depend on the food you feed, as many of the higher end manufactures now add a vitamin pack to their foods to insure proper supplementation.


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## Claudia M (Aug 8, 2012)

IMHO - if you are feeding good food to your pup it is not necessary for supplements until the pup is 1.5 years old. During this time the pup should also not have excessive outdoor activities due to their growth. Once their growth plates close then you can also do more with your pups and also have a PENN HIP or prelim OFA to determine the status of their hips and elbows. Based on those results I would start the glucosamine supplements.
At Rose's age of almost 10 months we only give salmon oil supplement and regular food. 
All our past dogs we had on GlycoFlex I at about 2 years of age in addition to the fish oil. Since one dog had Lupus and the other had seizures we also gave Milk Thistle (no dandelion) for liver protection and Ambrotose (antioxidant).


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Well.... our first golden had zero supplements given to him in his life, was just fed his regular food.... and he died from kidney failure. So of course I am concerned about feeding my any food with too high a protein level and so forth because without doing a preemptive ultrasound of each and every dog to see what kind of kidney they were born with - I do not ever want to go through that again. 

The other thing too as far as having a growing puppy - I received two completely different messages as far as supplementing calcium and not. I was told to give 500 mg to a puppy to support their growing bones. I was told that giving calcium can CAUSE joint/bone issues. I decided to take the safe route and dropped the calcium supplement for my puppy. 

Beyond that -

Glycoflex III <- I give to both dogs. I will get a weight on my puppy on Saturday if I can get him and his brother in for an appointment (heartworm test for one, ear check for the other), but he likely weighs between 50 and 60 pounds now. My other golden was about 75 pounds when he was 2 and I discussed supplements with my vet. She gave me a "prescription" showing the levels of supplement that a medium sized dog should be getting for it to be therapeutic. The amount of glucosamine for a 75 pound golden retriever is 1200 mg. The amount you get in dog food is about 200 mg. When Bertie was between 20 and 40 pounds, he got only 1 pill a day, which is about 500 mg of glucosamine. As he's gone through a growth spurt (he's 22" at the shoulder), I bumped up to 2 pills a day.

If you are concerned about costs as far as providing a good joint supplement for your dog, I absolutely recommend buying from someplace like Entirely Pets. I bought the current tub from them last time and am banging my head about the $40 difference in price between them and where I've been getting the tubs from previously. >.<

Salmon Oil (Grizzley) - I primarily give in winter. This winter especially since we've been sun starved pretty much the past 6 months. Both dogs get 2 pumps per meal. It is good for their immune system. 

Cranberry Juice (100%) - My vet recommended 3 tablespoons or so. I generally soak a piece of bread in 1/4 a cup and give to the dogs. I started doing this back when Jacks was about a year old and started having UTI issues. 

And that is it. As far as other vitamins - they are taken care of in the regular dog food or other food that you may be giving your dogs. I definitely give my guys DARK GREEN veggies to eat (brussel sprouts, broccoli, spinach) and fruit like apples. They also get organic peanut butter as treats, and that has benefits as well (as long as you don't buy the overprocessed stuff).


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

I give glycosomin/chrondian/msm pills, fish oil pills and 1 vitamin e pill. 


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

Yes, I supplement daily with fish oil with a high content of DHA/EPA, glucosamine/chondroitin, and Ocu-Glo for Penny and Maggie which is a lutein/antioxidant endorsed by their ophthalmologist.


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## MyBentley (May 5, 2009)

For a dog with no identified problems the vitamin/mineral pre-mix in kibbles should be adequate. Adding a vitamin supplement could potentially boost certain vitamin percentages in too high of a zone.

I've found supplementing with some unrefined virgin coconut oil can help dogs with dry skin and salmon oil can help reduce inflammation for arthritic dogs.

I'm not aware of any studies that indicate giving glucosamine to young dogs with no presenting problems is helpful. It's probably not harmful, but you're spending a lot of money that's not needed. Keeping a dog trim and exercising appropriately for the age are valuable. Here is a link to an article on a site composed of independent physician and veterinarians. I've also included one passage.

Science-Based Medicine » The Top Ten Pet Supplements: Do They Work?

_The biggest name in the veterinary supplement world by a large margin is glucosamine. It is sold alone or in combination with chondroitin, MSM, green-lipped mussle extract, and a zillion other ingredients. It is sold over-the-counter and through veterinarians and as an additive in commercial pet foods, and it is ubiquitous. It is also widely believed by pet owners and veterinarians to be an effective treatment for osteoarthritis. 

Glucosamine for arthritis in humans has been discussed at length here before. There is some reasonable plausibility to the underlying theory, but decades of clinical trials have failed to find any consistent benefit, and the balance of the evidence strongly suggests it is no better than a placebo in treating arthritis in humans. Given the subjective nature of pain and the multitude of ways biologically inert interventions can influence people’s perceptions of their own discomfort, this placebo effect might be of marginal value in humans, but the same kind of psychology does not apply to dogs and cats, though it certainly does apply to their owners.

There is very little clinical research on glucosamine as a treatment for arthritis in dogs and cats. In preparing a recent brief literature review, I found only two clinical trials in dogs. One found no benefit for glucosamine and the other, which had a weaker design, showed little benefit. Both showed far greater and more predictable benefit to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) therapy, which is a consistent feature of clinical research on glucosamine.

Because cats are poorly tolerant of NSAIDs, there is particularly great interest in glucosamine and other nutraceutical therapies for osteoarthritis in this species. Nevertheless, I have found no published clinical trials studying this supplement in arthritis cats. The closest is a study of a diet containing glucosamine, chondroitin, and a number of other supplements purported to have benefits in managing arthritis. I have addressed this study in detail elsewhere, but in brief there were not consistent differences between the experimental diet and the control diet even on subjective measures of comfort and no differences at all on objective measures of activity. And, of course, the role of glucosamine, if any, in any effect that might have been seen would not be demonstrable in a study of a diet with many other ingredients._


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

MyBentley - have you discussed glucosamine supplementation with your vet?


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

Megora said:


> MyBentley - have you discussed glucosamine supplementation with your vet?


Megora - i know this was not addressed to me, but i would like to chime in. When we first got Bear, our vet said we could if we wanted, it couldn't hurt, but he tends to ask clients to wait until a problem shows up to save them money. (Though, at this point I wonder if adding them earlier would have prevented or mitigated the migraine we have now. But that is pure speculation with no basis in science fact. I cannot draw a cause-effect with so little data). Now at 7 months with his questionable knee issue the vet said even though his joints are GREAT and theoretically should not NEED joint supplements, to give them because a) it cannot hurt and b) it might help with whatever is going on with his knees. So we supplement. 


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

@Brave - I just wanted to make sure people are talking to their vets vs going off online sources only. 

Talking to agility people (including members here) who DO go over the top with supplements because their sport is so injury prone.... 

I kinda am happy giving what I am, because while it's not as much as they do, it will at least give me that "I did my best" feeling if anything should show up later on. And yes, what I give my dogs is exactly what my vet recommends. 

I asked if I should put Jacks on a joint type kibble, but she immediately told me that the levels in kibble are absolutely nothing and meaningless. It's just a sales point.

Keep in mind with Jacks I was just peeping at his hip xrays at 2, he wasn't then and still has never shown clinical symptoms of having HD. Talking with my vet, they said some dogs are like that. They do not walk on their xrays. You will have some dogs who are falling apart and hobbling all over, who have very mild hip dysplasia. And you will have dogs with pretty bad hips who never show a sign a day of their life.


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## MyBentley (May 5, 2009)

i can assure you Megora that I talk and see my vet regularly as opposed to 'going off online sources only". The link I provided in my earlier post references hard copy studies. But this is the internet so I can't reach out and hand someone the actual journal articles.

And I doubt that your vet would be able to supply you with independent scientific studies that indicate asymptomatic dogs (or really any dogs) benefit from glucosamine supplements. NSAIDs? yes. Glucosamine? No.


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## stephsousa (Sep 26, 2012)

We give our dog a high dha/epa fish oil every day. This helps with lots of things...skin and coat for sure and eyes, heart, and joint health. We also giver her a hip and joint supplement as a preventative because she is getting older.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

MyBentley said:


> i can assure you Megora that I talk and see my vet regularly as opposed to 'going off online sources only". The link I provided in my earlier post references hard copy studies. But this is the internet so I can't reach out and hand someone the actual journal articles.
> 
> And I doubt that your vet would be able to supply you with independent scientific studies that indicate asymptomatic dogs (or really any dogs) benefit from glucosamine supplements. NSAIDs? yes. Glucosamine? No.


Just keeping you honest. 

My vet is an orthopedic surgeon and is the primary person at the practice who handles these issues. I highly respect her opinion and base what I do on what she says. As opposed to going by the study of the week (reference independent scientific studies on coffee, and you'll know my opinion on going off of whatever articles you can find online that backup what you wanna do). 

I also personally talk to people whose dogs are athletes or will be. Chris Zink is a good example, btw, of somebody who gets her puppies started on glucosamine, etc and recommends that people do the same.


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## stealle (Nov 12, 2012)

Most typical vets don't take a very proactive stance with supplementation. However, a holistic veterinarian usually will. A typical veterinarian is going to be most interested in treating a problem/illness as opposed to a holistic vet will take more interest in prevention. Most vets will recommend brands of dry kibble that is usually garbage (ie science diet, etc).

The key is proper nutrition not necessarily supplementation. I do give some supplements, but I try to stick with fresh foods as much as possible. For example, I give vitamin c, but not in the form you can find in a pill, I give acerola (cherry) powder, rose hips, cranberry powder, raspberry powder, and meeker raspberry seed powder. I consider fish oils to be food because it is natural; not synthetic. I also give coconut oil and virgin red palm oil every day. I give spirulina and chlorella. All these I just consider food. 

It is much easier to overdose synthetic vitamins whereas with highly bioavailable, natural vitamin sources/foods the dogs body will easily use what it needs and excrete the rest. High doses of synthetic vitamins/minerals can sometimes cause deficiency in other vitamins/minerals. Feeding your dog healthy foods makes it easier to keep things in balance.


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## vleffingwell (Jan 12, 2011)

I give NuVet Plus vitamins to my pup and senior dog and NuVet Joint to my senior dog. I feel that not all dogs or food is created equal and vitamins regardless of the age can't hurt. I know that some people disagree but thank god we live in a world where we can choose for ourselves! 
NuVet Plus was suggested by the breeder when I got my puppy and she loves it!


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## MyBentley (May 5, 2009)

Megora said:


> Just keeping you honest.
> 
> My vet is an orthopedic surgeon and is the primary person at the practice who handles these issues. I highly respect her opinion and base what I do on what she says. As opposed to going by the study of the week (reference independent scientific studies on coffee, and you'll know my opinion on going off of whatever articles you can find online that backup what you wanna do).
> 
> I also personally talk to people whose dogs are athletes or will be. Chris Zink is a good example, btw, of somebody who gets her puppies started on glucosamine, etc and recommends that people do the same.


I do not go by "the study of the week". If you would be willing to ask your specialist for independent studies on the benefits of glucosamine supplements for dogs and share it with us, that would be great. Even if you don't personally feel the need for it, it might be helpful for readers on this forum. But I don't think she/he would be able to provide you with that type of information. I think it's fine if people want to give glucosamine supplements, but it's not accurate for posts to give the impression that it's scientifically grounded to do so.

I didn't question the credentials of your vet, but it's good that you have found someone you have trust in. For what it's worth, my vet graduated from a top vet school in the country about 8 years ago and also has further training in rehab. But none of that has anything to do with what can be found in research studies to date.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

MyBentley said:


> I do not go by "the study of the week". If you would be willing to ask your specialist for independent studies on the benefits of glucosamine supplements for dogs and share it with us, that would be great. Even if you don't personally feel the need for it, it might be helpful for readers on this forum. But I don't think she/he would be able to provide you with that type of information. I think it's fine if people want to give glucosamine supplements, but it's not accurate for posts to give the impression that it's scientifically grounded to do so.


I actually asked Chris Zink if there have been any studies as far as injuries and dogs give supplement since day one and those not give anything. There haven't been any. She gives her puppies supplement on principle (that is can be helpful) and recommends it for the same reason as opposed to actual evidence. 

If you know who Chris Zink is, that's quite enough for me. 

There are a lot of people who I've spoken with who have looked into what the glucosamine supplements are supposed to do - and feel it can be helpful during the time that the dogs are puppies and filling out. 

My vet, btw, feels that hip dysplasia isn't something that miraculously happens at 2 years exactly. It is something the dogs are born with. That means that if you believe the the glucosamine supplements are helpful in preventing or delaying arthritis with dysplastic dogs... then there is no reason to hold off supplementing early on, especially if you have a puppy who goes through a loose hipped stage. 

I've been through all this before with my Danny who had elbow dysplasia, and likely other things going on (bone chips in his elbows and shoulders). That dog was thankfully allowed to live a normal life thanks to the same supplement which both my goldens get now. He started getting the pills around 7 or 8 months when he was injured the first time. And the rest of his long life. 

With people you can somewhat have more of a psychological "cure" when taking joint supplements (I take them myself for my hips and knees), but dogs are generally very honest when they are in pain or uncomfortable.


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## maggiesmommy (Feb 23, 2010)

I give Maggie fish oil and cranberry tablets...Maggie has a tilted vulva and is prone to UTI's...after someone on here recommended cranberry to me, I asked the vet treating Maggie's UTI and she said "it isn't going to hurt anything..." So, cranberry ever since and no UTIs for the past year.


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

I give our dogs Ester C, fish oil and/or coconut oil. 

Ester C is more for my piece of mind since there is anecdotal evidence from my long time breeder friends that it helps with joints, I figure it can't hurt


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## maxi (Aug 19, 2011)

i give my dogs are daily supplement and fish oil vitamin & hairless vit for max


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## GRANTM (May 4, 2013)

Yes............vital vites, vit c (for absortion), and MSM-G and C.


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## Michele4 (Oct 28, 2012)

Two tsp Coconut oil (organic) a day, ACV(one tbsp every time I fill the water dish), 2 fish oil/salmon oil pills a day, 1000 mg glucosamine a day ,one 300 mg of vitamin C with rose hips and two 400 i.u. vitamin E a *week*.


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## Tuco (Jan 3, 2013)

If money is tight a better food without supplements is better than a lower quality food with. 

That being said supplements can be a great way to improve upon an already ideal food, remember quality of supplements, that's something many forget to check. A natural source is often absorbed better than artificial pills too.

- organic cold pressed extra virgin coconut oil

- Alaskan salmon oil with added vit E

- green tripe
- turmeric
- greens powder including spirulina and kelp
- kefir
- Diatomaceous earth occassionally


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## dogloverforlife (Feb 17, 2013)

I give salmon oil, coconut oil, and ACV. I change the oil every day so they do not get them in the same day.

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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

I sometimes give Nature's Farmacy DogZymes/Gro Coat and sometimes fortiflora for a dog I want to grow show coat. Always give Nordic Natural Fish Oil at breakfast and coconut oil at dinner.


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