[scottNY]

Thank you, both. I appreciate the suggestions.

@zcRiley, I’m sure I am not explaining this properly, but we caught it very, very early. One day after a bath, I was playing with my baby and felt a lump in his neck. I went to the other side and there was one there, too. My heart stopped beating, I’m sure.

The next day we went to my vet, who sent me to a veterinary oncologist. After doing an aspiration, it confirmed very early stage lymphoma. Since my dog was otherwise healthy and young, they decided to wait and see if the body could heal itself. The lumps went away!

We’ve are coming up on a year and monitor every few months – so far, so good, no lumps. We go back in about two weeks, which are always very stressful appointments!

[scottNY]

Thanks, C4C and LM. My friend is feeling kind of doomy and gloomy at the prospect of having to put his best friend through more painful [and expensive!] surgeries down the road. I am trying to help get him some more ideas and, hopefully, a more positive outlook. I did read that article you mentioned above, C4C, and although informative about cystine stones, it doesn’t talk much about day to day management in terms of food, good treats to use, etc. This is the type of advice I am hoping to get here from the good, animal loving people in this community.

LM, some good advice, too, thanks. His stone pathology showed all were 100% cystine, but I think the specialist is a good idea if my friend can afford it.

Thanks again!

[scottNY]

Hi All,

I am helping a friend whose 5 year old Jack Russell/Chihuahua mix just had bladder stone surgery. Unfortunately, he is part of the 1% that has the rather rare Cystine stones. We have both heard and read a lot of negative feedback about the Hill’s Science and Royal Canin prescription foods. Does anyone have any experience with using quality commercial food, mostly wet, mixing in some quality kibble for texture? If so, what do you recommend? My friend would like to stay grain-free, but it is so hard to know which foods use low-purine proteins, etc. I have gotten great advice for my dog from all of you here, so any input would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[scottNY]

Any more thoughts on this? I want to buy a “fortifier” to use in place of a multivitamin, but Aimee brings up a good point. It would also be much easier to mix something like kibble in to his food than a powder.

[scottNY]

Late response, sorry, but thanks Losul and others. Before I buy the Iceland Pure, which would be my next option, I want to get your opinion and direction on what I am doing now. I personally take NaureMade Fish Oil. I chose that brand after reading reviews, seeing that they are USP/GMP approved and are a very economical choice. Each 2 capsules provide:

Omega-3 EPA – 360 mg
Omega-3 DPA – 240 mg
Omega-3 Other – 120 mg

I take 3 a day, but have been giving my 70 lb, 1 yr old Pit mix 1 capsule a day. I mix it in with some wet food [I rotate between 5 Star canned foods from the HDM food list] and he just swallows the pill right down.

So:

1 – is this a good option?
2 – if so, is this the right dosage?
3 – is the Iceland Pure a much better option? He is a very picky eater so I am concerned that it could turn out to be another waste of money.

Thanks!

• This reply was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by scottNY.

[scottNY]

Has anyone gotten an update on this? I use three Vetri-Science products, including their probiotic chews. If their quality has fallen off and seems to be less of a slip and more of a trend, I would like to know so I can stop using them.

[scottNY]

Patty – would you believe I tried that and the little devil wouldn’t go near it? He just barely likes the Grizzly, but I notice it does have a different smell, possibly because the Omega capsules I use aren’t intended to be opened. I may try alternating to see how he handles it. I would be much less expensive if I could give mine. Maybe now that fish oil isn’t so unusual to him, he will be a little more flexible.

[scottNY]

Well folks, my puppy doesn’t like the smell of coconut oil. Can you believe it? Any ideas about how to get him to eat it?

Also, after doing lots of research here and on Whole Dog Journal, I bought him Animal Essentials Organic Green Alternative for his green food needs. It is a powder and guess what? He doesn’t like that either. Ironically, he doesn’t mind eating my Hawaiian Spirulina that I take and I don’t have to hide it, so I guess I am better off giving him that, too. It is hard enough to hide his enzymes since he only gets a little wet food with his kibble. Any ideas anybody?

Thanks!

[scottNY]

Hi All,

Sorry for the delayed response. To answer HDM’s question, I have been giving my puppy, who isn’t much of an eater, a daily multivitamin for the same reason I take one; it is extra insurance that, hopefully, I am getting all the nutrients I need.

I use the Vetri-Science Laboratories Chicken Canine Plus Supplement, which he likes chewing, and it has the NASC seal of approval. As I mentioned, he is not much of an eater [8-month old 65 lb pit-mix eats two cups of kibble per day or less] but he looks and acts healthy and certainly isn’t boney, so it just seems to be his way. I use a 5 star kibble from the HDM list and occasionally mix in some wet food, also a 5 star from that invaluable list. Is the multi really unnecessary? If I do want to use one, is the one I am using good? I struggle giving him human supplements because they don’t taste good to him and after awhile, I feel that disguising food for him is a bad habit. I prefer to save that for things that I need him to eat.

Any additional thoughts or ideas?

[scottNY]

My puppy does not like to take pills, disguised or otherwise, so I started giving him Grizzly Salmon Oil – All Natural, which I get at a good price from amazon.com. He seems to be okay with the smell and taste and being that he has a sensitive digestive track, I don’t have the worry of him burping up fish oil. Has anyone used this product and what do you think of it?

Thanks!

[scottNY]

Hello – maybe this is elsewhere, but can anyone recommend a good dog multivitamin for a 65 lb, 8 month old pit mix? I currently use the “Vetri-Science Laboratories Chicken Canine Plus Supplement for Pets” which seems good and he only needs 2 per day, but I would appreciate some advice.
Thanks!

[scottNY]

Hi Duke – here is the link Patty was referring to:
/forums/topic/what-is-necessary/

[scottNY]

Wow, thanks HDM. I guess this is the last box of Greenies for this house. I can’t do raw bones [no outdoor space and I don’t want mice or roaches] but I will certainly look in to the natural chews. Does anyone have any feedback on the Smokehouse brand?

[scottNY]

Thanks, HDM and Patty. I think I will use the same Omega 3s for my puppy I use for myself, the Nature Made Fish Oil Omega-3s. I can get 300 of them from amazon.com for around $12 with my monthly subscribe & save shipment. For the record, I researched and then chose that one because it is GMP [Good Marketing Practices] approved, meets USP purity standards and is sold at a very reasonable cost. The only other thing I can say is that it has worked well for my health – my cholesterol numbers improved greatly after a few months of regular use. I hope my puppy will benefit, too. Thanks again!

[scottNY]

To SadieGirlsMom, I am so sorry to hear Sadie is suffering. She is very lucky to have you, though.

I have a 7-month old pit mix rescue and although he doesn’t have those issues, he is a very picky eater and I have been told that is somewhat typical of pits. I regularly add shredded cheese, green bell peppers or carrots to his food just to get him to pay attention to it. It hasn’t mattered what brand or flavors I have given him – he just seems to be picky. I will say, though, he is more likely to eat after a walk then before. [Make sure you don’t feed her right after strenuous exercise, though!]

There are quite a few other pits at the dog park we go to regularly and we always swap stories. A few things we all seem to agree on are that pits do better with a good, grain-free food. [Since at 7-months my puppy is already at 60 lbs, I just switched to one of HoundDogMom’s 5-start large breed recommended foods.] At the first sign of any stomach issues, we also mix in varying amounts of cooked, plain white rice, depending on how severe the issue. If it is really bad, we just use rice, some shredded, boiled, unseasoned chicken breast and some no-sodium chicken broth added for flavor and smell. I also have been giving my puppy a probiotic daily since he was 2-months old. He also gets a good, canine multivitamin. At the advice of others on this forum I intend to add enzymes and likely green food supplements.

Once you get the right food and the probiotic in her, hopefully the problems will begin to fade. I also found the grain-free food helped the stools and the gas tremendously.

Good luck and please keep us posted.

[scottNY]

I have to agree with Ninantank. My vet recommends them, my 7-month old pit mix loves them and so do almost the 1500 people who gave them four or five stars on amazon.com. I don’t give one everyday, but at least 4 or 5 times a week. I am new at all this. Are the ingredients really that unhealthy compared to other snack products?

[scottNY]

That is absolutely the truth. I should have specified I was referring to high-quality grain-free, for example only those that get 4 or 5 stars from DFA. I just switched from TOTW, which is 4-star, to Instinct Grain-Free Rabbit Meal Dry Dog Food based on what I read here. Since my puppy will be at least 75-80 lbs before he is done growing, I followed HDM’s advice from her spreadsheet for large-breed dogs.

[scottNY]

Thanks, Patty. A few follow-up questions for you and/or others:

1 – Can you recommend any good, not too expensive Omega-3 products? I know human supplements are often cheaper, but not necessarily okay for a dog.
2 – I just ordered a coconut oil I use on my skin in the winter time. It is edible, so I assume that will be fine to give my puppy a little here and there.
3 – Again, can you recommend any good, not too expensive “green food” products?
4 – Same as above. I would appreciate suggestions.
5 – As I said in my post, I ordered the Dr. Stephen Langer’s Ultimate 15 Strain Probiotic I read about here and he starts it tomorrow. Can I open it and give it every other day? Is every day too much?

Thanks Patty!

[scottNY]

Hi Hopp,

Did you see Hound Dog Mom’s list of top large-breed dog foods? That is what I would give your lab and I am sure it would be good for your pointer, too. Here is the link:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwApI_dhlbnFTXhUdi1KazFzSUk/edit

[scottNY]

I’m a newbie here, but my understanding is that with grain-free food, more of the food is digestible as dogs don’t digest grains. If more of the food is digested, I would think there would be less poop. My 7-month old pit mix poops twice a day and for 60 lbs, it seems a lot less comes out than from some smaller dogs I see at the dog park who I know do not eat grain-free. I hope this helps and good luck!

[scottNY]

Hi all and thanks for all the info. I am a little overwhelmed, but hopefully my “summary” question will help others.

I am the proud parent of a 7 month, 60 lb pit mix puppy who came from a rescue. After following this thread, I have just switched his food from TOTW grain-free puppy to the 5-star Nature’s Variety Instinct Rabbit. Thanks, HDM, for the Recommended Large Breed Puppy Foods spreadsheet. It was a wonderful tool!

Now here is where I am confused. I am trying to not go overboard on supplements [limited income] but want to make sure my puppy grows in to a very happy and healthy dog. Now that he is eating five star food, what else does he need? He already takes the Vetri-Science Laboratories Chicken Canine Plus Supplement for Pets, which he loves. He will also be taking the Vetri-Science Glyco-Flex for joints since when he plays and jumps very rough, he sometimes limps a little for a few hours – better safe than sorry. I want to make sure his joints have what they need as he grows.

Also, since following this thread [or a similar one here] I ordered the Dr. Stephen Langer’s Ultimate 15 Strain Probiotic, which amazon.com will deliver today and he will begin it today. So here are my questions, although comments on what I wrote previously are more than welcome, too!

1. With the Stephen Langer’s Ultimate 15 Strain Probiotic, does he get one capsule daily? Open and sprinkled on food or closed?

2. How important is coconut oil? If I give it to him, how often and how much per day?

3. My puppy now eats the recommended grain-free Nature’s Variety Instinct Rabbit, along with occasional pieces of allowed fruits and vegetables twice daily.
A. Does he need an enzyme?
B. I see several people commenting on the Swanson enzyme for humans. I certainly like the cost and I know it is a quality product. Should I get him that, too?
C. If so, again, how much and how often? Is it fine to take out of the capsule if he won’t swallow the capsule?

Thanks in advance HDM and others. I am trying to find that elusive middle ground and I appreciate all your help!

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