Steph M Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Hi! Gus has just turned one and is pretty fit and healthy, though I feel like he isn't as shiny, bright, healthy or energetic or strong as he could be sometimes. No specific problems, I just want him to be as good as he can be. He's a flat coated retriever for those who don't know, any supplements you would hands down suggest as an all round health maintenance and booster? He eats mostly raw, eggs, bones, sardines, the odd veggie and some table scraps. I worry that he sometimes misses out on things being new to raw feeding and a supplement might do him good. He swims and runs whenever he gets a chance and is always good to go, and I'd like to keep him that way too! Whatever it might be, our other dog, a whippet x koolie would have some too. Any and all suggestions would be fab! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Some things i still wouldn't expect from a 1 yr old large breed. Strong comes with age he is still very young. Energy some have it some don't Coat depends on how well you brush out the dead coat Swimming is great but depending on where it can play havoc with coats especially if the water isn't washed off . He may also be changing coat at present & getting a thicker undercoat for winter but im not a believer in supplements would sooner address what i feed & the products i use first off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 What about something like K9 Show Stopper? If you weren't philosophically wedded to raw feeding, I'd suggest you try 2 months of adding some kibble to his diet to see if it made a difference. Friend of mine feeds RC Maxi junior to her dog and is very happy with the results. I know a lot of folk who've switched to RC from other diets and have seen improvements in coat and muscle condition. Sometimes you need to experiment a bit to find out what your dog does best on. What ever that is is what I'd be feeding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
❤LovesPoodles❤ Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 I give my girl flour flax flaxseed oil for dogs about 8ml each night with her dinner & I also feed RC energy along with chicken wings/legs & bones. I'm extremely happy with the condition my girl is in & always get compliments on her coat condition. If we ever go into a pet shop with her we always get asked what we feed her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Steph - talk to his breeder about his lines too. I know some Dally boys that look mature at 12 months but I always understood that Zig was from late maturing lines. He looked skinny and lanky for aaaages. He hit 4 and I just went WOW! I swear he continues to look better with age and I'm really not doing anything differently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yonjuro Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 I have been adding Augustines Approved to Ronin's food for a few months now. He seems to be glowing in health, can't say if it is this supplement that is helping but it is sure not doing any harm. The Vet said whatever I am feeding him - don't change it. He get one third raw - which goes against my previous views on the the matter of mixing. My breeder recommended the mixing right from the start so I followed her advice. He was on RC Maxi Junior at the very beginning as this is what the breeder used. I got him off that pretty quickly as he was itchy and I don't personally don't like foods with corn and grains. He has been on Taste of The Wild since then and the itchiness has all disappeared. I was having a chat with our breeder the other day and interestingly she has changed over to TOTW too. I used K9 Puppy gold for his 8 - 16 weeks and found it to be very good, but I used it at just less than half the recommended dose. I think K9 Showstopper is quite calorific so if your went down that path I thing a one third does would be more than sufficient - but others will be able to advise you better on that. I use the Augustines Approved at half dose as I know the foods and treats I give him are very good, either way it is quite economical at 1 tsp per cup of food at full dose. So for me, based on what you have said I would try the Augustines Approved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph M Posted May 15, 2014 Author Share Posted May 15, 2014 (edited) What about something like K9 Show Stopper? If you weren't philosophically wedded to raw feeding, I'd suggest you try 2 months of adding some kibble to his diet to see if it made a difference. Friend of mine feeds RC Maxi junior to her dog and is very happy with the results. I know a lot of folk who've switched to RC from other diets and have seen improvements in coat and muscle condition. Sometimes you need to experiment a bit to find out what your dog does best on. What ever that is is what I'd be feeding. He was raised on RC but changing from puppy to adult didn't work for him, he got dandruff and itchy and it just didn't seem to work for him, we have tried a few since then but after a month or so on each nothing has suited, be it that he didn't like it or it stank out the house etc, that's led us to raw food. I could go back and give it another go, but the farts!!! Haha. I was thinking showstopper or similar, wasn't sure what was good for all round though. Some things seem to be for particular issues and I don't want to treat what's not there, so to speak. Edited May 15, 2014 by Steph M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph M Posted May 15, 2014 Author Share Posted May 15, 2014 Steph - talk to his breeder about his lines too. I know some Dally boys that look mature at 12 months but I always understood that Zig was from late maturing lines. He looked skinny and lanky for aaaages. He hit 4 and I just went WOW! I swear he continues to look better with age and I'm really not doing anything differently. That's a good point, I assumed it was something we are doing but he is from slower to mature dogs. I'll have a chat! Zig does look great though. What a charmer. Haha. Its how he gets the ladies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leah82 Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Collie's skin was getting pretty dry and flakey towards the end of last year. I started them both on coconut oil and now there's no flakes at all when I brush him and his fur is nice and soft Not sure if it's the change of season or the coconut oil but it's supposed to be really good for them either way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 I give my girl flour flax flaxseed oil for dogs about 8ml each night with her dinner & I also feed RC energy along with chicken wings/legs & bones. I'm extremely happy with the condition my girl is in & always get compliments on her coat condition. If we ever go into a pet shop with her we always get asked what we feed her. Flaxseed oil should not be fed constantly but in rotation with other oils. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 Augustines Super Boost may be helpful. Both my guys get a t spoon sprinkled in their evening meal. Might suit your Gus :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
❤LovesPoodles❤ Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 I give my girl flour flax flaxseed oil for dogs about 8ml each night with her dinner & I also feed RC energy along with chicken wings/legs & bones. I'm extremely happy with the condition my girl is in & always get compliments on her coat condition. If we ever go into a pet shop with her we always get asked what we feed her. Flaxseed oil should not be fed constantly but in rotation with other oils. Really why is that? What other oils should be fed? The bottle says daily supplement. I usually have a break between new bottles as I can only get it at certain shows I go to unless I buy online. Is it ok to give to pregnant bitches? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 (edited) I would definitely go with Showstopper, amazing supplement and what I use for Daisy (for Wiz I use Super Fuel) and suggest for a great general all round supp. It is a skin and coat optimizer and I have tonnes of showies who swear by it. I've seen great results with it many times. Edited May 16, 2014 by huski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 Vets All Natural Health Booster if you want to make sure the diet is balanced as that is what it was invented for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dory the Doted One Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 Vets All Natural Health Booster if you want to make sure the diet is balanced as that is what it was invented for. I use this for my dogs. I'm very happy with it. I did use Augustines a couple of times, and it was okay. I like the Vets All Natural, better though. I only give half the dosage and both dogs are few raw. Skin and coat on both of them looks great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denali Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 I would definitely go with Showstopper, amazing supplement and what I use for Daisy (for Wiz I use Super Fuel) and suggest for a great general all round supp. It is a skin and coat optimizer and I have tonnes of showies who swear by it. I've seen great results with it many times. I have just recently started using both Show Stopper and Super fuel. I use the SS with Henry and Kokoda, and the SF with Deniki. Henry and Kokoda are looking awesome now coat wise I am seeing results with Deniki but his coat isn't as shiny or soft, thoughthe super fuel is working in that he has more energy and is bulking up a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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