vitamins, fish oil, supplements in general? *prices*

[JenniferF]

We have a 12 week old German Shepherd pup and an almost 2 year old med/large mix. They both get fed Taste of the Wild.
What supplements would be best to give them. I cannot afford to give them everything but I do want to add something in, would fish oil, enzymes or vitamins be the best bet? (or something else?)
Also--- looking at our natural pet food store they are all so EXPENSIVE!! Is there somewhere online you go to get them cheaper? Can I get "people" fish oil from costco and give them the right dosage that way, and save money? Where do you get your supplements, prices and what do you give?

[Cheerful1]

I give Joey 400iu Vitamin E (always seems to be a sale somewhere).

I also give him Nordic Naturals Omega 3, but have been told that I can give him human-grade Omega 3.

There are usually places you can buy one, get one free.

[jocoyn]

I would take the puppy off of Taste of the Wild as the calcium content is too high for a growing puppy. (Unless it is the puppy formula) --- if you look in the feeding our puppy section you will see a sticky note that discusses high calcium foods and puppies.

My puppy is getting Grizzly Salmon Oil (using directions on bottle), vitamin E, and A glucosamine/MSM supplement with 1500mg glucosamine (vet supports this amount of that)

I started buying my stuff at doggiefood.com and am very happy with their service and costs. Now I decided to use acti-flex 4000 and adjust the horse dose down for dogs (the glucosamine) but you can also buy glucosamine at any store. The fish oil is where you want to cut open the pills and make sure they are not too fishy as they can go rancid and be worse than none at all. I keep my fish oil in the fridge. I have been pleased with the low odor in the Grizzly product but only switched to it a month ago. Main thing with fish oils is DHA and EPA content should be assayed as that is the important component.

[Lakl]

I agree. Definitely cease TOTW for the growing pup! The calcium levels can cause rapid growth and issues. The bag says "all life stages", but it truly is not.

[jocoyn]

Oh I capitalized "A glucosamine supplement" that is 'a supplement" not vitamin A.

[FG167]

I give Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Salmon Oil and Coconut Oil. I buy human grade gel caps at the store when they are on sale, either 50% off or buy one get one. MUCH cheaper :-)

[Cheerful1]

What is the coconut oil used for?

[rainy1023]

coconut oil is great for their coat and it also naturally contains antifungal properties. it is rich in mco's the good fats. great for humans also. My son has eczema and coconut oil daily cured it. I bought ever cream and prescription on the market paid 80. a tub for prescription cream. Now I buy at whole foods 10.00 extra virgin coconut oil and he is doing much better our dogs coat is beautiful. I get compliments all the time about my labs coat. I just started giving my gsd puppy today in her food.

[FG167]

I started using coconut oil on my labs - it helped clear up yeasty ears from summers spent swimming. It's a natural anti-fungal. I also can smell the difference in my dogs' breath and coat - they smell more pleasant to me on coconut oil. Along with the already stated reasons for using it

[Cheerful1]

How much would you give to a 6 year old GSD?