at the end of my rope...

[davetgabby]

Originally Posted by Suzi

Linda funny you just wrote about the cranberry. I started the sisters on vitamins. Its called springtime Fresh Factors. I bought it over a year ago and Bob didn't like me giving them vitamins but I figure what can it hurt.

hi Suzi, vitamin adding really isn't needed with kibble feeding. But be aware certain vitamins can be overdosed. here's a quote from Dog Food Project

Toxicity: Excessive vitamin D supplementation can result in increased calcium absorption from the intestines. This can

cause increased calcium resorption from the bones, leading to elevated levels of calcium in the blood. Elevated blood

calcium may contribute to calcium deposition in soft tissues such as the heart and lungs. This can reduce their

ability to function. Kidney stones, vomiting.

Toxicity: None known, but high levels of vitamin E can adversely affect the absorption of vitamins A and K, causing

deficiencies. In the case of vitamin K this can interfere with normal blood clotting

Toxicity: None, vitamin C is water soluble and excess is regularly excreted by the body, but overconsumption may cause

diarrhea since vitamin C is a natural laxative. Recent studies have shown that excessively high doses of vitamin C may

contribute to the formation of kidney stones, and in very rare cases anemia caused by interference with vitamin B12

absorption

[krandall]

Originally Posted by motherslittlehelper

Augie also received an antibiotic injection - a long acting one, called Convenia. After reading on it, it made me a bit nervous, but when I brought up my concerns to our vet, she was surprised, said she has never had any problems using it and it is highly effective in treating UTI's.

The two times Kodi has been on antibiotics (both times for skin infections, once when he was a puppy, and once exactly a year later) they gave him that shot. In our case, they were going to give him an oral version of the same class of drug... cephalosporin. But I am severely allergic to it (anaphylaxis) and we didn't want to take a chance that in trying to get a liquid med into him, he'd manage to fling it into my mouth or eyes. By giving him the long-acting shot, he got the antibiotics he needed, and I wasn't exposed to something dangerous for me.

It worked quickly and completely, and he had no side effects from it at all... Not even loose stools. (though we did put him on probiotics too, just in case.

[rokipiki]

Yesterday I had a cofee with vet I know and I told him whole story from this tread. He said that UTI is extremely rare condition in dogs here if you do not count those who are spayed and neutered. He told me that altered dogs seem to be more prone to UTI - girls because uterus is holding and protecting their bladder, and boys because the whole system is functionig worse without sexual hormones. I never had any kind of UTI, but after ovarectomy I had last summer, I have constant problem. I am keeping that under control with cranberry stuff and some other herbs. it seems that it has something to do with hormones!

[Missy]

7 years into dog ownership... I finally figured out that at least for my boys, less is more as far as vitamins go. The only thing they get daily is acidophilus. Fish oil when ithink of it. Food too. I stopped For the most part doctoring their food... With extra veggies, and Cash's stomach issues seemed to have resolved. He is allergy free (but itis also wi ter) They do still get to enjoy what ever it is we are eating for diversity

There is a dental product by vetri science that you sprinkle on their food however that does have cranberry in it and zeolites, and lots of probiotics... I wonder if it would also help with female uti issues..

[Suzi]

Originally Posted by davetgabby

hi Suzi, vitamin adding really isn't needed with kibble feeding. But be aware certain vitamins can be overdosed. here's a quote from Dog Food Project

Toxicity: Excessive vitamin D supplementation can result in increased calcium absorption from the intestines. This can

cause increased calcium resorption from the bones, leading to elevated levels of calcium in the blood. Elevated blood

calcium may contribute to calcium deposition in soft tissues such as the heart and lungs. This can reduce their

ability to function. Kidney stones, vomiting.

Toxicity: None known, but high levels of vitamin E can adversely affect the absorption of vitamins A and K, causing

deficiencies. In the case of vitamin K this can interfere with normal blood clotting

Toxicity: None, vitamin C is water soluble and excess is regularly excreted by the body, but overconsumption may cause

diarrhea since vitamin C is a natural laxative. Recent studies have shown that excessively high doses of vitamin C may

contribute to the formation of kidney stones, and in very rare cases anemia caused by interference with vitamin B12

absorption

thank you Dave I have three bottles because I got by one get two free. it has 12 different ingredients. the largest one is Biotin 700 mcg I have no idea what that is. and next is a yeast culture 350 MG . and i'll have to look up everything.

[Thumper]

I really hope Tillie gets better, I think home cooking for a few months would be agreat way to see if it is being caused by something in her food, additives, gluten, etc. There are some symptom specific threads in the dog homecooking group I joined a few years back, I think it was google or yahoo groups (a very large group) where people were venturing into it because of various illnesses/ conditions, etc.

i can't imagine your husband asking you to rehome her if he knows you love her as much as you do. And kids, I think kids can get jealous and the thing is, if they are mad at her, frustrated with her or have a bad vibe in general when they interact with her, she will immediately pick up on that and respond accordingly, they should try play acting happy and see how Tillie responds..I do think she is just sensing their feelings towards her and feeling the vibe of something being wrong in the house can cause some anxiety.



hang in there,

Kara

[krandall]

Biotin is a joint supplement and I suppose the yeast culture is to aid digestion. I don't like "shotgun" supplements. If your dog has a specific need, address it. Just giving them "stuff" in small amounts isn't useful. Also, the kind of supplements you get on sale like that can be of questionable quality. Unlikely to hurt them, but also unlikely to do anything positive either. To be useful, a supplement has to be in the proper amount for the size of the animal, it has to be high quality, bio-available, and FRESH. If you bought these over a year ago, I wouldn't be using them just for that reason alone.

[krandall]

Originally Posted by Thumper

I really hope Tillie gets better, I think home cooking for a few months would be agreat way to see if it is being caused by something in her food, additives, gluten, etc.

Kara, Tammy home cooks for Tillie already... a recipe Sabine helped her formulate based on Tillie's many allergies.

[TilliesMom]

Originally Posted by krandall

Kara, Tammy home cooks for Tillie already... a recipe Sabine helped her formulate based on Tillie's many allergies.

yup, been home cooking for close to 2 yrs now...

Although I really wonder about both my vet AND Sabine saying her urine crystal issues aren't related to food....??? Her protien is ground beef. with purre'd veggies and her starch is sweet potato.

[Suzi]

Originally Posted by krandall

Biotin is a joint supplement and I suppose the yeast culture is to aid digestion. I don't like "shotgun" supplements. If your dog has a specific need, address it. Just giving them "stuff" in small amounts isn't useful. Also, the kind of supplements you get on sale like that can be of questionable quality. Unlikely to hurt them, but also unlikely to do anything positive either. To be useful, a supplement has to be in the proper amount for the size of the animal, it has to be high quality, bio-available, and FRESH. If you bought these over a year ago, I wouldn't be using them just for that reason alone.

Okay I'll throw them out.