Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,
I have a 4 years old mini golden retriever (40 lbs), healthy, and is currently taking Pettabs. My dog has two settings: he is very low energy when it is not play time yet, but once I take him out to play he runs around like crazy and is very agile

I would like to switch him from pettabs to something better, and am currently looking at the Wellness line. There are a lot of products in that line, and I am not sure which combinations work. I am also considering of starting him on glucosamine and antioxidants while he is young, along with other vitamins and supplements. There is no 'everything in a basket' product that I could find so far. Please let me know if you have suggestions on what to purchase.

thanks,
juliana

Have you tried Missing Link? There's a type of it with glucosamine and I think chondroitin already in it. It's made especially for dogs, and it doesn't have vitamin C (which can cause some issues). I agree that glucosamine would be a good idea. I've read that goldens can have joint problems, so that could prevent them from happening.
-----
Kadee Sedtal
home of old lady Lucy (boxer/lab/garbage disposal), pretty girl Fancy (beagle), the rats- Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Pachebel, and Fillmore, and the mice- Vivaldi, Brahms, Schubert, Bartok, Rasputin, and Chaminade... I really ought to stop getting more rodents every time I go out, huh?

I'm a bit out of the loop on dog supplements since my dogs mostly get versions for humans. However, I do give a dog vitamin. I use Vetriscience's Canine Plus -- I get it at www.kvvet.com. I've tried several, and my dogs clearly do best on this one. I'm sure that there may be better ones out there, but I haven't found them yet that does what I want it to do.

Missing Link is a great product if your dog isn't allergic to any of the ingredients. I actually have my mom taking the human version....

For my own dogs, I consider a multiviatamin, some additional vitamin C (I don't megadose), a B-50, and a quality glucosamine/chondroitin supplement a base supplement program. For the gluco/chond I use either cosequin or osteobiflex because I trust that it gives what the label states. Because joint problems are so common, I prefer to give a separate supplement for that. Vetriscience also has a product called Cell Advance and I give that for the antioxidants, but at a lower dose than the label states because they aren't kibble fed and don't need as much support.

Thank you for the information, I really appreciate it. I purchased Missing Link Plus, but after doing some research I returned it, since there are sources saying that the research on omega 3 supplements were conducted mostly using fish oil, so we don't know the effectiveness of Flax Seed. So now I am giving him the human version of fish oil capsule, he likes it if I puncture the capsule.

My dog is on Wellness and Canidae dry kibbles and I give him Old Mother Hubbard cookies. I switch between these two brands every 3 months or so in order to prevent food allergies. Occasionally, I give him lactose free milk as a treat He doesn't drink much water unless I exercise him. I got him from the shelter, so I am trying to make up for whatever bad diet he might have had in the past.

I am interested in trying the products that you mentioned, so here is my shopping list:
- human version of fish oil for Omega 3 supplement
- Vetriscience's Canine Plus (liver flavoured)
- cosequin or osteobiflex, liver flavoured
- Cell Advance for antioxidants, is this palatable? Otherwise, how do you get your dog to eat it?
- some additional vitamin C (on top of Canine Plus and Cell Advance) and B-50. Any advice on brand, flavour?

Please bear with me, a learning doggie mom, and thanks a lot

there is tons of research showing the benefits of flaxseed. One problem is that there is a conversion that has to take place in the body. My dogs don't tolerate fish oil, but they do well on flax -- same for me actually, whatever that means.

>>- human version of fish oil for Omega 3 supplement

Be sure to read the label so that you find a product with a high amount of 0-3's with respect to the mg of oil

>>- Vetriscience's Canine Plus (liver flavoured)

I've tried lots of different vitamins, this may not be the best, but mine do the best on it.

>>- cosequin or osteobiflex, liver flavoured

cosequin has the liver flavored pills. the osteobiflex is cheaper since I get it at sam's club and the dogs don't seem to mind -- I cut the pill in half and throw it in their food

>>- Cell Advance for antioxidants, is this palatable? Otherwise, how do you get your dog to eat it?

it's a capsule. I've opened it and mixed it in their food, but have also dipped it in yogurt and they just swallow it.

>>- some additional vitamin C (on top of Canine Plus and Cell Advance) and B-50. Any advice on brand, flavour?

ester C is recommended to minimize stomach upset. country life has a yeast free B-50 which I prefer.

>>
>>Please bear with me, a learning doggie mom, and thanks a lot

I haven't been back to the board -- I'm not sure you'll see this!

I got your message! Thanks a lot, Lisa! Newton does very well with his new supplements. I still need to get him the Ester C. I am currently using Costco's version of B-complex for human, Newton is 40 lbs so I give him 1/3 of the human daily dosage.

I wish he were not so picky, he wouldn't take the liver flavoured pills from me. Right now I have to melt some cheese twice a day, and wrap the supplements with the cheese. Sometimes he eats the cheese and spit out the tablets. But usually he eats them all in the second attempt. In the morning he sometimes eat the tablets if I snap them to two and soak them with fish oil.

There is one co-worker whom he likes so much, and he assumes everything he receives from her is extra yummy. So, sometimes I take him to her office and give her the tablets. He begs for them!

cheers,
Juliana and Newton

It can take some time and many trials to find the right supplement. What works wonderfully for one dog may not be the prefect match for another dog.

We have tried Missing Link, Solid Gold, and a bunch of others. Here's what we finally settled on about 1.5 yrs ago. This works wonderfully for all three of our dogs. (We have an 11yr old RR mix, a 3.5yr old PH, and a 1.5 yr old RR.)

We feed primarily a raw K9 grind diet. With this we supplement with:
Wholistic Canine Complete Joint Mobility
Salmon Oil

When we do feed kibble on occasion (EVO for the PH, California Natural for the RR, and either for the RR mix) we supplement with:
Synovi G3 Granules
(granules formula as it has the highest levels of Omegas)

We also give the 11yr old a supplement for the osteoarthritis in her left wrist (it was injured when she was 1 yr old) - Dog Gone Pain. I was skeptical of this when I first heard of it, then The Whole Dog Journal did an article on it. She's been on it for about 3 months now and it's been great, she's back to doing zoomies because she's just so happy and feels great.

Hope this can help you out. Good luck!

.

-----
tabitha
Kayo, Kahla, and Dante'

Thank you, Tabitha! I looked at the Wholistic Canine array of products, they look good. I think I will try the salmon oil, and combine it with vetriscience' canine plus and cell advance. I also purchased the cheweable Cosequin. Someone suggested that I give Newton the human version of B-complex and vitamin C, and just put it at the back of his tongue. Newton is still four years old, so he doesn't have joint problems yet, but I think it doesn't hurt to start him on glucosamine early. He likes running

cheers,
juliana and newton