Essential Supplements for a Healthy Adventure Dog

My dog means the world to me. Anna is one of the most important things in my life, and that’s not an exaggeration. When I first adopted her, I thought I knew everything when it came to pet ownership. I had been working in a veterinary hospital for several years already, and really believed I knew the ins and outs of pet nutrition. The veterinarians where I worked believed that pet foods were essentially all the same. The Purina’s out there were just the same as the high-end boutique foods. I knew I wanted something better than Purina Dog Chow, but I figured I would find a mid-level food and was happy with my decision.

That is until Anna got sick.

I essentially spent every mealtime coaxing her just to eat a tiny bit of food. She spent her mornings vomiting several times before breakfast. She would go days on end without eating a single bite. I always knew about the “tough love” method we taught to our clients so they didn’t breed picky eaters. This wasn’t a picky eater situation. So I switched to a kangaroo based novel protein diet in hopes of fixing her revolting gastrointestinal tract. No luck. I switched to the best food I could possibly buy, at almost $130 a bag. Price wasn’t an issue, as I just wanted my poor sweet dog to be able to hold down her food.

I did everything I could to work her up. We went through numerous blood tests, radiographs, allergy panels, the works. I finally made an appointment for an abdominal ultrasound with an internal medicine specialist. He came to the conclusion that what she was experiencing was likely an allergy of unknown origin, and we would have to switch to a prescription hypoallergenic diet. I would literally do anything I could to make her better, so I immediately looked into it. But when I read the label on these diets, my own stomach turned. The first ingredient was cornstarch, followed by a mix of chemicals, preservatives, and ingredients that didn’t even resemble food. I knew in my heart this just couldn’t be safe or healthy for a growing pup. Seeing the rise in cancers and diseases over the past ten years in the veterinary profession, I just couldn’t consciously feed my beloved pet such horrible ingredients. If she was going to develop some kind of cancer or disease down the road, I couldn’t bear the thought that it may be from something I could have prevented.

So we made the decision to switch to a raw diet. We haven’t looked back since.

Within 24 hours, the vomiting stopped. In 48 hours, she was begging for food every meal. I was soon able to wean her off of all the oral and injectable medications I had her on. I just kept thinking, “could this seriously be for real?!” But it was. It was very real. My dog made an absolutely amazing transformation once I stopped feeding her all the chemicals and fillers and started feeding real, fresh food.

The raw diet has been so amazing for us, and there’s an incredible amount of information I have learned that I want to share with anyone and everyone. But with so much information, I would like to make a separate post for such things. For now, I would love to share with you guys the supplements that I’ve grown to love which have made a huge impact on the health of my girl. I’ll link all the products I use here in this article in case you’re interested in making some healthy additions to your dog’s diet!

What I believe to be one of the most important supplements are Glucosamine and Chondroitin. Why is this so important? In the veterinary world, one of the most common reasons for euthanizing large breed dogs is mobility. Dogs often get to the point where they literally can’t move anymore because of the amount of arthritis in their joints. Unfortunately, supplements only help if you start them while your pup is still young and still has healthy joints and cartilage to lubricate. Once that cartilage is gone, it’s gone forever, so its never too early to start. I started Anna when she was 6 months old. I use this brand of glucosamine and chondroitin because it’s made in the USA, developed with natural ingredients, minimal fillers, and it’s fairly cost effective for a large dog.