Five Supplements That Benefit Our Senior German Shepherds

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Often times we receive emails and messages asking if we use supplements for Woody's Place resident dogs, and if so, what kind.

The answer is, yes, we do use supplements!

We use five different supplements that we swear by, but not every dog receives every supplement. Furthermore, if one dog is receiving a supplement, it may only be on an "as needed" basis. But I'll go a bit more in-depth about that as we go along.

Here are the supplements we use ll ll ll

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Alrighty...we'll go left to right, and I'll explain what each supplement is used for.

1) Maxxi SAMe Yes, this supplement is a bit expensive, and I will add that it doesn't agree with every dog at first, so you may need to only give half the recommended dose to start. But it's a wonderful supplement if you are looking for liver support as well as cognitive function support. For instance, if you have a dog who takes an NSAD, then you may want to consider this supplement because long term NSAD use can have negative effects on the liver. Likewise, if you have a dog with early signs of doggie dementia, this supplement can improve your dog's brain function. Additionally, Maxxi SAMe comes in an easily absorbed powder form, which can be measured accurately and sprinkled right over your dog's food. The current Woody's Place dogs take this daily.

2) K9 Tumeric Curcumin Bone Broth If one supplement had it all, this would be it! It's got collagen, amino acids, proteins, vitamins, and minerals, which are great for your dog's overall health, joints, skin, and coat. And it also has turmeric curcumin, which helps soothe achy joints, aids an unsettled digestive system, as well as boosts your dog's immune system. Furthermore, you can either sprinkle this directly on your dog's food or make a broth out of it and pour it over your dog's food. We make a broth for our home-cooked food, and the Woody's Place dogs go nuts for it!

3) Welactin 3 Omega 3 supplement We don't use this for every dog, just the dogs who are prone to dry, flaky skin and a lackluster coat, like Atticus, Champ, and Jensen, and at that, even they don't get it every day. Only as needed, This is an as-needed supplement because we have found it can cause diarrhea if used on a daily basis. BUT...it does add shine to their coats and cuts down on dander. This supplement can also be poured directly into their food.

4) Probiotics for Dogs It's good for people and good for dogs! Seriously, you can't go wrong with adding probiotics to your dog's diet. Still, it is important to select a high-quality probiotic that's not loaded with fillers and junk such as sugar, and also having more than one species is super beneficial as well. Over the years, we've tried several probiotics, but we stick with Pet Ultimates Probiotics for Dogs here at Woody's Place for several reasons. For one, it contains 22 species plus an enzyme for gassiness. Two, the company manufactures the product in small batches made here in the USA, Three, it comes in a tasteless powder that you sprinkle over your dog's food, so there's no giant fight to get your dog to take it. Four, it's not loaded with junky....defeat the purpose fillers. And most of all, the Woody's Place dogs truly do benefit from it. I mean, I never thought I'd grow up to be a dog "poop connoisseur," but their poop looks great, and they rarely have any GI upset. I personally attribute this and other factors to our dogs taking Pet Ultimates Probiotics for Dogs daily.

5) Missing Link Collagen Care Last but not least on our list of supplements is collagen supplements. I'm gonna tell you a short story. For many years my back hurt. It turns out I have arthritis and Spinal Stenosis. Great right.....I work with big, old dogs and have a crappy back. The doctors wanted to go their traditional route to help me reduce the level of pain in my back, but there was no way I was taking pain pills, so I opted to swim instead and started taking collagen. Now, I didn't feel better overnight, but in time I didn't hurt as much....especially during the hard Northeastern PA winter months, which eventually I'd like to be looking at in the rearview mirror, but that's another story. ;) Nonetheless, swimming and collagen worked for me, so I thought, why wouldn't it work for dogs like our Champ, who is loaded with arthritis and spinal stenosis himself. We tried to get Champ to hydrotherapy, but absolutely nothing is close here in rural NEPA, so we had to drive over an hour with a puking Champie, so we don't do that anymore because it's no fun riding with a dog who throws up six times one way just for hydrotherapy.... and that is WITH something to calm his stomach. Anyhooo, back to the collagen. We tried a few different collagens for dogs and settled on Missing Link Collagen Care. It comes in a chew form, which the dogs LoVe and doesn't cost a ton of money. Plus, it only contains natural ingredients, which are made in the USA. After taking it for several months now, we do see Champ wanting to go out and walk more, and even get a little frisky at times when we play. To me, that makes it worth it. The Woody's Place dogs take this supplement as if it was a treat daily.

Just a little side note..... I keep a journal of exactly what the dogs take every day, twice a day. This helps to see when they start taking the supplement, how often, and for how long. This way, if there is a negative change in one of the dogs, I can go back and see if they started a new supplement and if that may be the cause, or if there is a positive change that can be pinpointed to the start of a new supplement.

So there you have it! Some people have said we must have angels watching over us because the senior German Shepherds in our care usually arrive in bad shape, but then they go on to become beautiful and healthy and live much longer than expected. Well, it would be nice if angels were watching over us, but I also think our success with a large majority of dogs in our care comes down to proper medical care, a great diet, lots of interaction human and dog interaction for the dogs, appropriate exercise, making them feel safe and at home, and the right supplements to enhance their diet.

Tell your pup I said Hi!

Dawn