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What and why do you add or supplement?

StateOfMine

StateOfMine

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I occasionally read here and there that some of you add or supplement something to your dog's food. Growing up, our dogs only ever ate exactly the kibble we bought them, as is, unless they were sick. My knowledge is very shallow in this subject so I'd love to know what with and why you alter or enhance the diet of your dog.

Victor Professional is what Flint's breeder was feeding him so I continued feeding him that. In addition, I give him vitamins with probiotics: Zesty Paws 8 in 1

For training treats he gets Full Moon Training Treats. I love these because of how many you get in one bag and it's human grade meat. He also gets an occasional chew consisting a mix of pig ears, beef knuckle bones, edible teething rings, or a small amount of peanut butter or pumpkin in his kong. The kong he only ever gets as we are settling down for bed. A simple "crate" command and he sprints to the crate knowing his reward is coming.

Anyway, I'd love more knowledge on this subject. Cottage cheese? I read someone uses that. Why? Any and other additives and why is welcome too!
 
I give both of mine Canidea kibble, Primal freeze dried raw nuggets, Stella & chewys beef stew, and sardines....I buy Lifeway "Kiefer" and use a dollap of that every day, instead of cottage cheese...I used to use cottage cheese, but found the Kiefer lasts a long time.... I try and use less kibble, and more add in's. I also add fresh cooked chicken occasionally, and poached eggs at least once a week.
I use Dr. Jones Ulimate Canine vitamin mix, Veterinary Recommended Solutions Omega's, and Clarke gets heart supplements, because he is on pimobendin for DCM.
 
I used vit C until finishing posting because my breeder recommended it. I have added a probiotic of one sort or another on & off all her life - mostly on. Use the liquid Kefir a lot for that. Kefir doesn't have the dairy reaction (too much milk/cheese/dairy can cause soft stools). ANY time they have to have antibiotics for anything, up the probiotics and prebiotics to offset the good bacteria being killed by the antibiotics. I also feed one or two cans of sardines per week, packed in water (better yet w/out salt, but that's hard to come by where I live, so I'd have to order it). Fish oils are good for all sorts of things, and I'd rather give the actual little fish than extracted oil out of a jar. I always soak my kibble in water or broth before feeding, and use Fresh Pet as a topper in the morning and a Frankie-Meal raw patty as a topper in the evening. When the hens are laying I feed 2 - 3 raw eggs a week, shell included. You can probably tell by reading this, I'm a big fan of variety. The first year or two training I used so much food reward I used much of her kibble meal ration for daily training. I also use the Full Moon treats and Bill Jacks for high value treat training, but Asha is so food motivated she will kill for plain dry kibble. All the dogs are different when it comes to training, so use your judgement there. If you use tons of treats in training, doesn't matter how good the quality is, they aren't balanced for life or for growing pups. Easier to get them to kill for their kibble ration and get occasional sticky good Bill-Jac treat than get spoiled on treats and refuse to work for kibble. But all that depends on how and what you're training. I fed her entire breakfast in a twenty minute training routine many times. Great question, and lots to glean from the answers here!
 
Ravenbird said:
I used vit C until finishing posting because my breeder recommended it. I have added a probiotic of one sort or another on & off all her life - mostly on. Use the liquid Kefir a lot for that. Kefir doesn't have the dairy reaction (too much milk/cheese/dairy can cause soft stools). ANY time they have to have antibiotics for anything, up the probiotics and prebiotics to offset the good bacteria being killed by the antibiotics. I also feed one or two cans of sardines per week, packed in water (better yet w/out salt, but that's hard to come by where I live, so I'd have to order it). Fish oils are good for all sorts of things, and I'd rather give the actual little fish than extracted oil out of a jar. I always soak my kibble in water or broth before feeding, and use Fresh Pet as a topper in the morning and a Frankie-Meal raw patty as a topper in the evening. When the hens are laying I feed 2 - 3 raw eggs a week, shell included. You can probably tell by reading this, I'm a big fan of variety. The first year or two training I used so much food reward I used much of her kibble meal ration for daily training. I also use the Full Moon treats and Bill Jacks for high value treat training, but Asha is so food motivated she will kill for plain dry kibble. All the dogs are different when it comes to training, so use your judgement there. If you use tons of treats in training, doesn't matter how good the quality is, they aren't balanced for life or for growing pups. Easier to get them to kill for their kibble ration and get occasional sticky good Bill-Jac treat than get spoiled on treats and refuse to work for kibble. But all that depends on how and what you're training. I fed her entire breakfast in a twenty minute training routine many times. Great question, and lots to glean from the answers here!
Click to expand...

Do you happen to know the science behind vitamin C hardening ear cartilage? I keep reading that and I keep brushing it off because it sounded like nonsense. Does it work?
 
I'd never heard of it before my breeder suggested it. I have no idea if it made any difference or not. Asha's ears stood great with just the typical wobbly tips by 5 or 6 months. But also I'd requested a medium crop, and that helps, just being shorter. Who knows? But I did it and it didn't hurt anything. Google gets you any info if you ask it just right:

pureformpethealth.com

Vitamin C For Pets: Why It’s Important

Pets need the right balance of vitamins to keep them healthy - and vitamin C is at the top of the list. Find out why vitamin C supplements are so important for your furry friends.
pureformpethealth.com pureformpethealth.com
 
No supplementation here.

Back with my first Dobe, I tried several things because I dearly wanted his coat to get shiny. Nothing made a difference.
 
Ravenbird said:
I'm a big fan of variety.
Click to expand...
Same here. It helps create a strong stomach if they get exposed to variety.

Sardines are really the biggest secret to a shiny coat. Raw eggs and omega 3 help, but nothing makes Kaiser shine like the sardines. I supplement a lot, but not the same stuff all the time. I purée all sorts of fruit and veg to freeze as ice cubes so he can get whole food supplementation too. It sure helps that he loves to eat!
 
I give Vetriscience Glycoflex 3 to Ripley and Revel for joint support. Ripley because shes active in sports like agility and dock diving. Revel because he's working to be a service dog and I want to keep his joints healthy. Ripley takes a higher level than Revel, although right now I don't have her on any because she's pregnant and it hasn't been tested in pregnant animals so I don't want to harm the babies.

Ripley gets Nature's Farmacy Raspberry Leaf - supplement for prenatal and whelping. Supposed to help with those hormones and contractions. Also helps with false pregnancies.

Stavros gets Nature's Farmacy super c, a vitamin c supplement for ear support. It helps with joints too. I'll put him on light joint supplement likely in a few months.
 
Ravenbird said:
I also feed one or two cans of sardines per week, packed in water (better yet w/out salt, but that's hard to come by where I live, so I'd have to order it).
Click to expand...
Do you feed the whole can at once? I bought some to start giving to Remy but wasn’t sure how much to feed.
 
Ravenbird said:
I used vit C until finishing posting because my breeder recommended it. I have added a probiotic of one sort or another on & off all her life - mostly on. Use the liquid Kefir a lot for that. Kefir doesn't have the dairy reaction (too much milk/cheese/dairy can cause soft stools). ANY time they have to have antibiotics for anything, up the probiotics and prebiotics to offset the good bacteria being killed by the antibiotics. I also feed one or two cans of sardines per week, packed in water (better yet w/out salt, but that's hard to come by where I live, so I'd have to order it). Fish oils are good for all sorts of things, and I'd rather give the actual little fish than extracted oil out of a jar. I always soak my kibble in water or broth before feeding, and use Fresh Pet as a topper in the morning and a Frankie-Meal raw patty as a topper in the evening. When the hens are laying I feed 2 - 3 raw eggs a week, shell included. You can probably tell by reading this, I'm a big fan of variety. The first year or two training I used so much food reward I used much of her kibble meal ration for daily training. I also use the Full Moon treats and Bill Jacks for high value treat training, but Asha is so food motivated she will kill for plain dry kibble. All the dogs are different when it comes to training, so use your judgement there. If you use tons of treats in training, doesn't matter how good the quality is, they aren't balanced for life or for growing pups. Easier to get them to kill for their kibble ration and get occasional sticky good Bill-Jac treat than get spoiled on treats and refuse to work for kibble. But all that depends on how and what you're training. I fed her entire breakfast in a twenty minute training routine many times. Great question, and lots to glean from the answers here!
Click to expand...
Going try vit c with my Kira since she began her flying nun routine at 9 months for her ears
 
I use Keifer in the am 1 tablespoon DCF suggested this and she loves it. Breeder recommended 2 tablespoons of cottage cheese to harden cartilage, I do it and if it works idk. Her ears have always stood well when I repost them. Even had to let them out for a few days due to some irritation and they stood.
 
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