Supplements

Healthy dogs on good quality diets should not, in theory, require any supplements. However, commercial foods and fresh foods can also lose significant nutritional value through cooking and storage. And there can be differences in how well dogs digest their food, how well they utilise the various nutrients it contains, and what their individual requirements are. Dogs that are in poor health or that have additional requirements such as old dogs, working dogs, very active dogs or growing dogs may benefit from the addition of various supplements in their diet. Supplements and other natural products need to be used appropriately.

Kelp

Kelp is a seaweed supplement and is rich source of minerals and trace elements, particularly organic iodine. It is a good supplement for all dogs because iodine is needed for the correct functioning of the thyroid gland, which in turn affects health, skin, coat and metabolism.

Dose

Small dogs 1/8-1/4 teaspoon daily

Medium dogs 1/4-1/2 teaspoon daily

Large dogs ½-1 teaspoon daily

Wheat Germ

Wheat Germ is an excellent source of thiamine and wheat barn is an excellent source of manganese. 

Brewer's Yeast

Debittered, dried brewer's yeast is an excellent supplement. As a powder, it's high in protein and a rich source of vitamin B. Yeast can help with skin disease, heart disorders, nervousness and low energy.

Dose

Small dogs 1/8-1/4 teaspoon daily

Medium dogs ¼-1/2 teaspoon daily

Large dogs ½-1 teaspoon daily

Caution: Some dogs are sensitive to yeast and can show skin reactions!

Alfalfa Powder

Alfalfa contains calcium, potassium, plus all known vitamins. The minerals are in a balanced form, which promotes absorption. These minerals are alkaline, but have a neutralizing effect on the intestinal tract. Alfalfa helps with arthritis pain.

Dose

Small dogs ¼ tsp daily

Medium dogs ½ tsp daily

Large dogs 1 tsp daily

Vitamin C

Dogs produce their own vitamin C at around 200 mg/kg per day. However, stress can increase requirements considerably. Vitamin C is vital for wound repair, healthy gums and structures that hold the body together such as ligaments, cartilage and tendons. It's also critical to immune function and is a very important antioxidant. Vitamin C supplements come in powders, capsules and tablets. The powdered form the easiest to give and to digest and it should be mixed in food.

Vitamin C is also beneficial for dogs that are stressed and in treatment of allergies, cataracts, cancer, infections ( bacterial and viral), heart disease, liver disorders, arthritis, urinary tract infections, hip dysplasia, disc disease and spondylosis of spine, dental disease, wound healing, diabetes and canine distemper.

Dose

Small dogs 50-125mg twice daily

Medium dogs 125-250mg twice daily

Large dogs 250-500mg twice daily

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is an important fat soluble vitamin and antioxidant, protecting cell membranes against free radical damage. It's necessary for normal immune function and provides a protective effect in many health problems. Poorly stored dry foods or poorly prepared home-made diets can be low in vitamin E. Vitamin E requirements increase with an increasing fat content of the diet, so if you are supplementing with fatty acids, supplement with vitamin E, too. Vitamin E deficiency is associated with digestive problems, skin disease, skeletal muscle dystrophy, failure of gestation, poor fertility and impaired immunity.

Vitamin E is a beneficial supplement for any chronic disease, any degenerative disease and cancer to help increase resistance to disease and for dogs with immune depression, infections, inflammations, allergy, heart disease, skin disease, arthritis, cancer, periodontal disease, muscle problems, epilepsy and liver disease.

Dose

Small dogs 25-50 iu daily

Medium dogs 50-100 iu daily

Large dogs 100-400 iu daily

Salmon Oil

It's an excellent all-natural source of Omega3 and Omega 6. It's easier than capsules for a puppy to swallow.

Serving Instructions

Add to do's food daily and use on long-term basis for best result.

Body Weights Up to 12.5 lbs Pump Strokes

12.5-25 lbs ½ Stroke- 1 Stroke

25-50 lbs 2 Stroke

50-75 lbs 3 Strokes

Over 75 lbs 4 Strokes



One pump stroke is equal to o.12 fl oz.

Probiotic Supplements

Why use Probiotics?

• To provide a source of live, naturally occurring microorganisms
  
• To maintain a healthy microbial balance in dogs
  
• To supplement desirable organisms to newborn puppies
  
• During incidences of diarrhea
  
• To help maintain appetite
  
• As part of a health maintenance program
  

When to use Probiotics

Dogs are exposed to many stresses that can result in lack of appetite, diarrhea and other intestinal upsets. These stresses may include:

• Transportation ~ Some dogs can become extremely agitated when traveling by car or plane which
  
• Intensive Training ~ Training for Obedience, Schutzhund, Agility, Personal Protection, and Police Service puts considerable stress on the dog.
  
• Competition Dogs ~ The excitement of the competition, along with traveling, and exposure to strange dogs and people, can create a nervous stress in dogs, frequently manifested by reduced appetite, vomiting and diarrhea.
  
• Boarding ~ Lack of appetite or nervous diarrhea are common in some dogs when boarded in a strange kennel.
  
• Antibiotic Therapy ~ Antibiotics can destroy pathogenic microorganisms as well as the beneficial bacteria that are normally found in an animal's digestive tract.
  
• Post-Parvo Virus Infections ~ Parvo virus infection in dogs is a devastating disease of the small intestine in susceptible dogs causing enormous stress on the dogs digestive system.
  
• Post-Surgery ~ High doses of antibiotics are often used to reduce the possibility of heavy contamination during surgery. This frequently lowers populations of beneficial bacteria as well. In addition, antibiotics are used after surgery, which can alter the physiological activity of the gut and allow the intestinal microbial population to become unbalanced.
  
• Chronic Diarrhea ~ Many times, the etiology of chronic diarrhea is unknown, and the animal won't respond to usual therapy.
  
• Post-Whelping ~ To maintain appetite and good milk flow, give Probiotic to bitches, especially "nervous mommas" and first time whelpers.
  
• Newborn Pups ~ The neonatal period for the newborn pup is a critical time for survival. Normally, newborns quickly acquire bacteria from their mother and surrounding environment, many of which are potential pathogens such as E. coli. Therefore, it is desirable to establish early colonization of the intestinal tract with beneficial bacteria, especially if the pups become orphaned.
  
• Geriatric Dogs ~ Digestive problems are fairly common in older pets, including reduced appetite, diarrhea and constipation. Probiotics helps reduce the occurrence of digestive problems due to old age.
  
• Other Uses ~ There are many other situations in which dogs may benefit from Probiotics, such as excessively nervous or "high-strung" breeds, injured animals or during exposure to weather extremes.
• 
  

Third week of our rehab on dog to dog aggression

Our third week...in the past few days my two males did absolutely great!!! There were no signs of any aggression at all!!! We've been running a lot, taking long walks, playing ball fetch games, and Nero did his protection and obedience training. During the training Nero was super fast and furious!!! And very focused, too!!!
On Thursday, I have allowed them for the first time during the regimented step by step pack structure training, to be off lead for few minutes. They were not let free to run together but one at each time. The one that was on lead had to walk with me, while the other was running loose. Then , I will call the dog that was off lead to me, put leash on him and let the other go free. In the past, there were issues with this, and most fights broke up near me. It was Nero, that always launched the attack on Tyson whenever he came too close to us. Now whenever Tyson would come back to me, Nero wouldn't react on it at all! Well, he actually did by taking a sniff at Tysons face in a happy manner. That is a huge progress  for this week!  Another new step forward is, that on Friday both males came very close to each other, had a sniff at each others rear, and Nero tried to invite Tyson to play!!!
Today, both males were allowed to run free for an hour after completing their usual 45 minutes walk on leash together. They were running and playing together. For now both males still muzzled. Whenever I called them  they would come back together and never minded each others presence while being near me.

During this week, they were also allowed out of their crates in the house to rest on their designated spots, one in each room.They would both have long lines attached to their collars if needed quick correction. They were on the best behaviour and very calm and relaxed, too. Today, they were both together in the livingroom, just resting and chewing on some bones. Of course with a quite bit of distance between each others, and while closely watched by me.


Dinner times are trouble free..:).
 

Making the switch to raw diet

There are probably as many ways to do this as there are people and their pets. The following general guidelines and specific ideas should get you thinking in the right direction and help you make decision as to how you will go about the switch with your pet. The switch can be rapid, straightforward and trouble free. An important factor to consider is the diet you are switching your pet from. Where a pet has some experience of eating a variety of home produced foods, both cooked and raw, there is usually more acceptance and less likelihood of gastrointestinal upset on the part of the pet. With kibble fed pets, the change is much more dramatic for their system.
There are two ways to switch. The first being cold turkey. This method seems to work best for healthy adult dogs. You can fast them for a day or so if you wish before you switch, but the way I would recommend is to throw away your kibble, and start feeding raw. It's that simple! Keep everything very simple for the first couple of weeks, I would suggest chicken necks/backs ONLY for the first 3 or 4 days. Make sure the dog is digesting everything properly (no diarrhea or vomiting) before you add another type of food to the meals. Hold off on all supplements for several weeks. I would also wait several weeks before adding richer foods like liver, eggs or canned mackerel.

The second method is the gradual switch. Basically you add a bit of raw food to the dog's meals each day, in increasing amounts while decreasing the kibble. This may work for some dogs, but it takes longer for the dog to adjust and there are more frequent bouts of loose stools. I would recommend cold turkey for most adult dogs and some puppies.

If you decide you will be feeding veggies, wait until the dog is eating a variety of RMBS and different meats before you add them to the diet. Remember, veggies need to be thoroughly cooked or pulped in order for dogs to digest them at all.

BARF DIET (continue)..

OFFAL

In the wild, wolves eat the stomach content and organ meat from the animals they prey upon. Internal organs form a vital part of the wolves diet. Modern dogs have similar requirements. Although organ meats are valuable dog food, they are not required in huge amounts. They are concentrated source of many essential nutrients and are particularly valuable during times of growth, reproduction and stress as a source of concentrated nutrients.

LIVER

Liver is the most concentrated source of vitamin A and should be fed in small amounts on a regular basis. It also contains vitamins E, D, and K in substantial quantities. Liver is an excellent source of the minerals zinc, manganese, selenium and iron. It also contains all the B vitamins. Liver provides a source of good quality protein and the essential fatty acids, both the omega-3 and omega-6 type. It's fantastic food for your dog!

KIDNEYS

Kidney supplies good quality protein, essential fatty acids and many vitamins including all the fat soluble vitamins A,D,E and K. Kidneys are rich source of iron.

HEART

Heart as dog food is an excellent source of protein, B vitamins and iron. Heart contains appreciable levels of taurine which is important food..for the heart.

GREEN TRIPE

Green tripe is the edible lining and accompanying content of a cow or other ruminant's first or second division of the stomach. Both wild canines and domestic dogs benefit from eating tripe as it contains a very diverse profile of living nutrients including enzymes, omega-3 and 6 fatty acids, probiotics and phytonutrients. It has long been quoted as being "the finest of natural foods".

VEGETABLES

Dogs have actually eaten vegetables the whole period of their evolution. As such, vegetables, particularly green leafy vegetables should form part of the domestic dog's diet. Dogs need vegetables because they contain many important health promoting nutrients.

FRUIT

Fruits are mostly water. Ater that, the major nutrient in fruit is soluble carbohydrate. That is simple sugars. Energy foods. The enzymes present in raw fruit, also make it important as part of your dog's diet.

WHOLE EGG

Eggs are absolutely brilliant nutrition for your dog. Eggs are a whole food, and often the perfect protein. Eggs contain a full compliment of minerals, including excellent levels of calcium. The shell is included as a further source of calcium. Egg yolks are essential food for a dog with skin problems.

FISH

Fish are an excellent source of high-quality proteins with sufficient amount of all the essential amino acids. The most prominent fats in fish are omega-3 fatty acids. Fish oil is also one of the few natural food sources of vitamin D. However not every fish is safe to feed to your dog. The most common fishes, that are safe to feed is salmon, sardines and mackerel. You can feed the whole raw fish with bones, or you can feed the canned version instead.  The fish bones work as a natural cleaner for your dog’s stomach.

BARF DIET

kkiiiiGetting down to ingredient specifics 

BONES

Bones are living tissue composed of living cells. Because bones are living tissue, just like any other part of the body, they are a complex source of a wide variety of nutrients. Bones contain minerals which are embedded in protein. They also contain fat. If the bone is from chicken or pork, then the fat will be very high in the essential fatty acids. Along with the fat are fat soluble vitamins. The central parts of most bones contain marrow which is a highly nutritious mix of blood forming elements, including iron. Raw bones also provide natural antioxidant/anti-ageing factors including enzymes.

Bones are nature's storehouse of minerals for your dog. If meat is added to bone, then methionine and most of B vitamins are supplied. Puppies and adult dogs fed bone rarely if ever suffer from indigestion or diarrhea. Bones play a similar role to fiber, that is, a role of bulking out the food, thereby removing toxins and promoting general bowel health. Bone fed dogs are long lived and healthy. Their whole system is designed for and in fact needs a bone to function properly.

Lamb ribs bones

MEAT

Many people assume that a dog's natural diet is a meat only diet. Unfortunately this is untrue as a meat only diet is highly unnatural and unbalanced. Meat should form only a part of the over-all diet, which should include bones, fruits and vegetables as well. For example, the muscle meat eaten by wild wolves forms a small part of the diet that consist of a wide variety of other foods, including bone.

Meat supplies protein. That is its major role in nutrinion. It also supplies varying amounts of fat, water and some vitamins and some vitamins and minerals. Because it supplies fat and protein, it also supplies energy. Meat is first class protein. It contains all the essential amino acids necesarry for dogs of all ages, including growing dogs, pregnant dogs, female dogs feeding puppies and of course pet dogs too. Many belive that only working dogs should be fed meat. That's not true, all dogs of all breeds should be fed meat.

There are no carbohydrates in meat. That is no starch, sugar or fiber. With rising level of fat content in the meat ir rises the energy supply for your dog. Chicken have the highest level and beef and lamb are both low. Raw meat is low in sodium and high in potassium. That is good for dogs with heart problems. The meat with the lowest sodium is beef. Chicken having the lowest potassium level. Beef, lamb and chicken meat are very low in calcium and moderately low in magnesium. This lack of minerals requires bone material in your dog's diet.

Frozen minced lamb, chicken and beef

To be continued...................................................................................

Beggining of our third week into dog to dog aggression rehab..Day 15

Day 15....opening day for the third week of our pack structure training program on sloving dog to dog aggression. Nero, my Malinois male is back to continue his obedience and protection training, from today. He came back very strong and full of drive!!! We carry on our pack structure training program and after each protection trainings, Nero will go on walks with Tyson. It will help him to remain his position within the pack, because during training the dog's self confidence grows. In the past, that was one of the element for creating fights. So we gotta keep it under control.

Rehab Day 14

Day 14...yesterday we completed second week of our pack structure training program on solving dog to dog aggression issues. It was a pretty tough journey with plenty of challenges along the way. Both mentally and physically exhausting, but worth it's every moment. The long hours spent on our daily walks have brought us together. We slowly starting to co-exist as a pack, where each member becoming to understand and respect his position within the hierarchy. I'm starting to see more respect from them towards me. Seems like they have been asking permissions for almost everything now. What a good boys!!! It has also made them more focused on me during obedience and protection work. So with that said, none of the needed working drive has been taking away from them, as many people are worried about when it comes down to rehabilitation of aggressive working or competition dogs.

Before we started our mission, the relationship between my two males was very tense. They couldn't be or do anything together. They would fight through crates in the house as well as in the car. Getting the slightest chance to get closer to each others, they would launched attacks and fought to blood. Tyson, my male Labrador would refuse to eat and at times refuse to come out of his crate. At that point I have decided to sent Tyson to K9 rehab centre, where his fears and stress could be cured by spending time with the balanced pack of dogs and become to be himslef again. He stayed for almost 3 weeks. In the meantime, I have undergone pack structure training program alone with my Malinois and made few visits to the centre, where he would be introduced to the pack as well as to Tyson. Once I started to see changes in both dogs, I brought Tyson back home and from day one I trained them according to my pack structure program.

Two weeks later, I'm proud to say, that many issues of the past are slowly becoming to change.They are walking together, eating together, travel in the car together, waiting at the doors together before being called in or out, are relaxed in their crates and both are able to interact with me during play. From this point on, we still have a long journey ahead of us, but we have set off to a good start.