Natural all round supplement/oil for health?

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sonjafoers

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My boys are fed mainly raw although they get a handful of Arden Grange biscuits when they get fish. I have also been intermittently feeding a TopSpec vitamin supplement for good health as they are not big fans of added veg :rolleyes:

However I'm starting to think the supplement may be making them feel a bit poorly - I only feed them a scoop here & there instead of the recommended 3 scoops daily, but recently I have been giving them a scoop every day as their coats have been looking very dull. They are feeling a bit sicky I think & are constantly asking to go out & eat grass so I'm wondering of this is coincidence or if there's something in the supplement causing it.

Is there an oil or a natural supplement I can add to their feed now & then for overall health & wellbeing? Seaweed maybe? Oil? I'm just thinking along horsey lines :D

Feedmark do a K9 Shine powder which is purely micronised linseed & starflower oil but I want something that will provide all round vitamins etc without any fillers that may make them feel sick.

Thank you
 
If you are feeding a balanced raw diet you should be okay without supplementation. Do you include sardines in oil??? They are superb for shiney coats.

What do you feed over, say, a month and what type/age is your dog? A raw diet doesn't have to be balanced on a daily basis.....some would say over a week, overs over a month or anything up to.

PS I guess you pulp your veg? If so, mix in with abovementioned sardines in oil and the strong taste will generally overcome anything from the veg. Experiment with different fruits as well. My guys pick their own blackberries/raspberries/tomatoes/strawberries!
 
Gunnergundog thank you for your reply.

I have 2 rottweilers, aged 7 & 8 and they have been on 'raw' for about 2 years now. I put raw in inverted commas because they are not on a true BARF diet and I guess I am not feeding a true raw diet as some devotees would want them to be fed.

I buy meat & offal & from the supermarket and I also buy blocks & nuggets from Prize Choice feeds. From Prize Choice they get a combination of chicken, turkey, tripe, poultry necks & chicken wings. They cannot tolerate beef in any form.

I did try blending my veg but it just seemed to go straight through them even when I experimented with very tiny amounts & only fed twice a week. I now buy them Natures Menu blocks sometimes which is raw meat, rice & fruit or veg. This gives them a very slight runny tummy but nowhere near as bad as when I was trying to do veg myself.

I also feed them a variety of fish: pilchards in brine, pilchards in tomato sauce, pink salmon, sardines in oil, mackerel in oil and white fish. I have to cook the white fish and they will only eat it with a handful of biscuits.

At times their coat is very dull so I guessed they were missing something hence the TopSpec supplement. Do you think they may be missing something from their diet?
 
It doesn't suit every dog. I'd think about switching back to a good quality complete food. There's nothing wrong with using them!
 
Hi....firstly, I would cut out the pilchards in brine. If that is all you can get then you need to wash the fish VERY thoroughly before feeding. The fish in tomato sauce is OK; some prescribe to the thinking that tomatoes can exacerbate arthritis, so (not being rude), as your dogs are approaching middle-age, I personally, would be looking to limit that to the minimum and focussing more on fish in oils.

I would also add raw eggs in their shells to their diet.

Finally, re the veg....which veg are you feeding? Try with individual veg to find something they like and build from there.

Alternatively, if you are brave, try and source some green tripe! :D That way you kill two birds with one stone (meat & veg), just put some vicks under your nose first! :D

You also need to broaden your protein sources if you can; you appear to be concentrating primarily on chicken. I appreciate that beef is a no-no, but consider pork, lamb, venison, duck etc.

The Yahoo group Britbarf is a good source of expertise!
 
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meandmyself I tried a variety of dry feeds ( eukanuba, hills, arden grange ) over the years but my original 2 would not eat any of it on it's own so I was then adding a wet dog food in small amounts to get them to eat it! I was using Forthglade or a similar one ( Natures something??) and then my pet shop suggested I cut out the biscuit and just feed the wet block. I did this for a while but they started going off it & leaving it some days so my pet shop then suggested the prize choice meats plus a mixer biscuit & their diet sort of evolved from there! I have to say that rotties seem to be very fussy eaters with surprisingly sensitive tummies & they also get bored easily. I've tried being strong & leaving food down if it's untouched but they would go days without eating.

Gunnergundog, interesting about the brine - is it very bad for them? I always drain it very well of course but I've never really given it much thought. I started adding the ones in tomato sauce to try & get some veg in them!

Yes they do get mainly chicken or fish so I will try & add a bit more but I think the green tripe may be a no no - the normal tripe is bad enough so I don't think I could face it!!
 
Yes meandmyself and the turn their nose up - however if they manage to pinch them from the horse feed that seems to be a different story & they devour them like there's no tomorrow!
 
sonjafoers said:
Gunnergundog, interesting about the brine - is it very bad for them? I always drain it very well of course but I've never really given it much thought.
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Yes!! :D Don't know if you've ever had a dog on the beach that has been running around and then drunk out of a rock pool and then barfed on the way home!!! Salt, not good.

Good luck.
 
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