Supplements for puppies? - Poodle Forum - Standard Poodle, Toy Poodle, Miniature Poodle Forum ALL Poodle owners too!

Ryker-&-Canyon · 12-20-2012, 11:49 AM

I am planning to rotate between Fromm (dry), Evanger's (canned), and Honest Kitchen (if the puppies agree to these). Should I also use any supplements like multivitamins and/or skin and coat? If yes, what should I get? What brand/brands are best?

I also want to thank everyone again for answering all my questions so far. This is a wonderful forum and very, very helpful. I so appreciate all of the help I have gotten and all future help I will receive. Thank you!

Ladyscarletthawk · 12-20-2012, 12:26 PM

I don't know what is best per se but I started to give my toy Eve NUPRO ( not Nutro) joint supplement when she was 2-3 when a vet told me she had a grade II and grade III patellas. There were other joint supplements she mentioned but I saw it at a feed store and decided to try it since it was a powder and liver based( yummy). My toy was still picky but loved this stuff and I figured it had more supplements than Missing Link and all natural from what I remember. Hey if the Fromm didn't fill her need this will and help her joints.
Long story short she acquired food allergies during her liver dysfunction and I had to find something else.. The Cosequin she is on now. I really didn't see a difference in her behavior but another vet said her knees improved to a grade I and II. Not long after I stopped feeding her this that I did notice how much she slowed down.. She preferred not to get on the couch, bed, or up the stairs and relied on us to pick her up altho she was still bright eyed. Once on cosequin she returned to her old self. I now give joint supplements to this active breed (says for active dogs, older dogs, and dogs with joint issues)and all my dogs are on some form or another as a preventative or in her case treatment. NUPRO works for me as I don't see it as a strong joint supplement big guns if you will and you have a maintenance dose to use and seems pretty safe.

I am currently trying salmon oil on my babies to see what improvement I see in their skin and coats.

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Ryker-&-Canyon · 12-20-2012, 02:25 PM

Ladyscarletthawk, thank you for sharing what you do! You will have to let us know what you think of the salmon oil after some time has gone by.

caroline429 · 12-21-2012, 04:35 PM

I would stay away from any type of multivitamin for a number of reasons.

As long as the foods you're feeding are for "all life stages" or puppy foods, they will contain all the vitamins and minerals a growing puppy needs. With some multi's, you run the risk of upsetting the balance of the overall diet and you don't want to feed an unbalanced diet to a growing puppy.

At the other end of the spectrum, a lot of pet multivitamins contain really tiny amounts of vitamins and minerals. This is because these manufacturers know that any substantial amounts could actually cause harm when fed with a commercial food. Since the foods you're going to feed are already balanced, why waste your money on tiny amounts of unneeded vitamins and minerals?

Ryker-&-Canyon · 12-21-2012, 05:13 PM

Thank you so much, Caroline!