# vitamin supplements



## susan tuck (Mar 28, 2006)

I feed raw & supplement with Wild Norwegian Salmon Oil & Berte's Naturals Daily Blend. The "Berte's" contains (per tablespoon) Vit A @5,000 iu; vit C @ 2,000 mg; vit D @ 400 iu; vit E @ 400 iu; vit B complex 75 mg; Selenium @ 75 mg; Bioflavinoids @ 100 mg; Kelp @ 500 mcg; Alfalfa @ 50 mcg

Does this seem like the right vitamins to be giving my pup, and if not can you advise me what to add or remove? (14mo male intact GSD)
Thanks,
Sue


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

susan tuck said:


> I feed raw & supplement with Wild Norwegian Salmon Oil & Berte's Naturals Daily Blend. The "Berte's" contains (per tablespoon) Vit A @5,000 iu; vit C @ 2,000 mg; vit D @ 400 iu; vit E @ 400 iu; vit B complex 75 mg; Selenium @ 75 mg; Bioflavinoids @ 100 mg; Kelp @ 500 mcg; Alfalfa @ 50 mcg
> 
> Does this seem like the right vitamins to be giving my pup, and if not can you advise me what to add or remove? (14mo male intact GSD)
> Thanks,
> Sue


How much of that Berte's do you give?


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## susan tuck (Mar 28, 2006)

I was giving one tablespoon a day, but I just noticed the doseage for large dogs is only 1/2 tablespoon per day.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

susan tuck said:


> I was giving one tablespoon a day, but I just noticed the doseage for large dogs is only 1/2 tablespoon per day.


Yes, that's why I asked. 

I'm not a fan of regular mega-doses of any supplement, unless it's for a specific purpose (a deficiency or an ailment that responds to vitamin therapy). But practically, it would be very hard to supplement A (an oil-soluble vitamin that isn't excreted when it's unneeded) in amounts to cause toxicity without giving a lot of fish LIVER oil or a lot of liver, plus supplements........ and then it would have to be over a long time, with the excess accumulating in the dog's liver (where it's stored).

If he eats about a pound or a pound and a half of food a day, that would go along with about 2500 IU of Vitamin A (the amount in that half tablespoon).

The kelp and alfalfa are good things, IMO. I give both. When I learned in a class about all the trace minerals in kelp, especially, I started to see why the raw-feeding authors recommended it.


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## susan tuck (Mar 28, 2006)

Thanks! I KNEW I could depend on you. I will reduce his dosage to 1/2 tablespoon per day. 

On the Norwegian Salmon Oil, it is cold pressed & no metals, etc., however, the company has switched from Norwegian to Alaskan (also checked) because Norwegian Salmon are no longer considered a sustainable resource - over fished. 

Last thing: What is your opinion on Esther C & are you feeding it & if so, how much?


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

susan tuck said:


> ... On the Norwegian Salmon Oil, it is cold pressed & no metals, etc., however, the company has switched from Norwegian to Alaskan (also checked) because Norwegian Salmon are no longer considered a sustainable resource - over fished.


Well, from the point of view of the person or dog ingesting it, the distillation and/or certification about mercury (and all metals) is more important than the fish's geography (IMO).

From the point of view of using sustainable resources, did you know that small fish are sources of oil with almost exactly the same amounts of DHA and EPA (the really beneficial Omega 3 EFAs)? For example, anchovies and sardines are the source for the oil produced by Nordic Naturals.

Salmon is one of the low-mercury oily larger fish and anchovies and sardines are among the many low-mercury oily small fish.

If it's on this list (companies voluntarily subscribing to a high level of fish oil quality): http://www.crnusa.org/o3group.html
and is from sustainable sources, then (IMO) you have all bases covered. 8) There are a lot of companies there to choose from, and there are others of very high quality, too. If I were choosing one not subscribing to that voluntary monograph, my top question would be whether it's metal-tested/distilled. (Also, everything I have read has led me to conclude that fish body oil, not liver oil, is preferable.) 

All JMO!


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

susan tuck said:


> ..... Esther C & are you feeding it & if so, how much?


I'm not, myself.

There has been a recent thread in PMs about this very subject, and the forum member who brought it up and I read a lot of material on the subject.

Here is what I took away from it all: Since I feed produce, I don't supplement C, which dogs produce for themselves (unlike humans) but which they might need some "extra" of in the diet as an antioxidant against pollution, pesticides, etc.

If I did not feed any produce, or if I had a dog with HD, I would re-think it.

This is absolutely JMO; many people do supplement Vitamin C.

If you want, I can give you the links to all the stuff I/we read. (And the books were Schultze, Lonsdale, and Merck.)


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## susan tuck (Mar 28, 2006)

Thanks, I remeber reading the threads, but sometimes the threads on supplements get a little too technical for my little brain............me get dizzy.........so I appreciate your summing it up for me.


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## Tammy Riley (Oct 26, 2006)

I feed whole sardines that I get at the fish market to my dogs 2x a week


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