Am I getting there?

[gooeydog]

So, I went to switch Goo to the Duck and Potato by natural balance last week, they were out of the dry, so I just got a bag of the regular formula, and 2 cases of the canned (1 lamb, 1 duck&potato, they only had one case of the lamb). She was on Nutro canned food before (1/2 can a night), but after a couple ear infections, I wanted to try all NB and see if it cleared it up (she was also on meds for those). Only a week so far, but looking good.

I also talked to the guy at the training place they go to, and he said they order in some brands of food as well, the Chicken Soup food, and will be getting Canidae in a few weeks (maybe one other brand too I think, but don't remember), so I think after we're done with this (should last 2 or 3 months), I'll be switching her over to one of them. Any ideas on which might be better for an allergy prone, sensitive stomach older (but still pretty active and not at all fat on "regular" dog food) girl?

I also got a bottle of the wellness vitamin/enzyme supplement, WellTabs.
She gets two pills a day (20-70 lbs), so that equals (lines between are just to keep the things from bunching up):
1800iu- Vit A_____________________150iu-Vit D3 supplement
15iu- Vit E supplement______________Menadion (vit k1)- .006mg
Absorbic acid (vit C)- 37.50mg_______Thiamine (vit B1)- 15mg
Riboflavin (b2)- 7.5mg______________d-pantothenic acid- 15mg
niacinamide- 15mg________________pyridoxine (vit b6)- 7.5mg
folic acid- .006mg_________________biotin- .006mg
vit B12 supplement- .006mg________choline- 15mg
calcium- 150mg__________________phosphorus- 75mg
potassium- .750mg_______________magnesium- 75mg
iron- 9mg_______________________copper- .009mg
chromium- .01mg_________________cobalt- .12mg
linoleic acid- 7.5mg_______________para-amino-benzoic acid- 7.5mg
lecithin-15mg____________________inositol-7.5mg
betaine HCl- 15mg_______________Pepsin- 13.5 USP units
Bromelain- 2.7 GD units___________Proteases- 80 HUT units
Lipases- 7.5 USP units
Amino Acid levels (for her dose):
Lysine- 84mg_________________Methionine- 22mg
Leucine- 92mg________________Isoleucine- 52mg
Valine- 66mg_________________Tryptophan- 16mg
Threonine- 50mg______________Phenylalanine- 50mg
Arginine- 64mg_______________Histidine- 28mg
Tyrosine- 38mg_______________Cysteine- 14mg
Serine- 48mg________________Glutamic Acid- 148mg
Alanine- 66mg_______________Aspartic Acid- 106mg
Glycine- 64mg_______________Proline- 44mg

Goo weighs 55 or so lbs, so do those amounts sound about right, or should I be adding extra of anything?

I've also been doing the Salmon oil/Flaxseed Oil and Vit E supps, it's ok to give them with the other supplement, right (no fish or flax oil listed anywhere in the ingredients)? Right now she gets 2000mg salmon oil & 200iu Vit E one night, 1000mg salmon oil, 1000mg flaxseed oil & 200iu vit E the other, alternating. I'm doing it this way right now to get the flaxseed oil used up, but after it's gone, would it be better to do all salmon/fish oil, or to continue alternating a bit? Her coat is super soft and shiny, even after only a couple weeks of the higher levels of oil (TDG suggested increasing it because of her allergies).

[TDG]

i think you are doing excellent. :) and obviously the benefits of your supplement regimen are showing too.

both chicken soup and canidae are good quality foods, i don't think you can go wrong with either one. just see which one your dog (or dogs) prefer and go from there.

overall the fish oil is the better choice, but it really comes down to if your dog can utilize the flax oil. it depends on the enzymes a dog produces or lacks, see here: [url]http://www.mordanna.com/dogfood/index.php?page=efas[/url]

the wellness supplement looks good too. :)

[gooeydog]

Read that page (and am working on the rest of the site), that stuff is confusing :-? , but I think I may have gotten it. Basically it's a trial and error thing to see if your dog can process the inactive oils, right? Is there a benefit to feeding different types of omegas if your dog can process them, or is omega 3 the most beneficial?

And one more question I forgot last night.... I'm thinking about putting Goo (mayeb Annie as well) back on MSM, is there anywhere I can find a guideline as to what normal dose would be for dogs of varying sizes? And do you know if anything should be fed in conjunction(sp?) with it to help them process it?

[TDG]

yep, trial and error is right. :)

there are different types of omega 3s as well as omega 6s, and as you can see from the listing on that page, there are active and inactive sources of both. both are important for the body and need to be present in a specific ratio. excess amounts of omega 6s are harmful (see side bar), that's why it is so important to increase the content of omega 3s in the diet.

a normal, balanced diet will usually have enough omega 6s in it already, as they are very common in a variety of foods. it's the omega 3's that are very limited.

to confuse you even more, here's a list of all of them [url]http://www.nutritiondata.com/fatty-acids.html[/url] - the omega 6s contain a n-6 and the omega 3s a n-3. :) nutrition is so much fun! lol

as for the MSM - one very, very important note: make sure you get medical grade, not industrial grade. if in doubt, ask the manufacturer. it is best used with
- b complex vitamins, so look into nutritional yeast ([b]not[/b] brewer's yeast), which is a great source for that and
- glucosamine hydrochloride, a compound found in cartilage. if you can, find this as a liquid supplement, tablets and powders aren't nearly as effective because they aren't absorbed well by the body.

daily doses depend on the content strength of the supplement, for a 70 lb dog i'd say half the human dose, and scale it down from there.