Wednesday, December 22, 2010

The products I use on my dogs

I'm occasionally asked for advice on dog food or supplements by my clients. I thought it might be helpful if I listed all of the different products that I use with my dogs, and why I use them...so here it goes.

Food: Emma (my old lady) is on a prescription food because she forms struvite crystals. She gets 1 cup twice a day and weighs a healthy (for her) 68 lbs.
Murphy and Leeloo eat Fromm's Family Classics Adult dog food (mainly a basic chicken and rice dog food). Murphy gets 3/4 cup twice a day and Leeloo gets 1 cup twice a day (Murphy is a little heavy at 58 lbs; Leeloo is just right at 52 lbs). Murphy and Leeloo also get a spoonful of pumpkin once a day - I find it helps keep their feces firm.

Supplements:
Pre/Probiotic: Emma and Leeloo get a pre/probiotic (powder form) once a day; as Emma has aged, her stomach isn't quite the iron stomach it used to be. Leeloo has always had a sensitive digestive tract, and has never really done a good job of keeping enough good bacteria in her gut. The probiotic we use is called Opta-gest. 
Fish Oil: The whole gang gets one large fish oil capsule once a day. We use Omega-Caps ES. They have always gotten a fish oil supplement.
Arthritis supplements: Emma gets 2 Cosequin DS a day plus 1/2 of a Glycoflex 3. I believe these two together amount to about 1500 mg Glucosamine and about 800 mg Chondroitin. She has been on these supplements (or something similar) for 10 years.
Acid Reflux: Emma has some reflux issues, so she gets 1 Pepcid AC (Maximum strength, 20 mg) in the morning, and 1 Prilosec OTC in the evening.

Medications:
Emma is on a lot of medications (she's a creaky old lady after all!) so here's a list:
Proin: This is a urinary incontinence drug that is commonly prescribed for dogs. Emma is on a VERY HIGH dose - she still leaks urine on occasion. There is another drug (an estrogen type drug) that we can try, although the side effects are worse than Proin. For most dogs, Proin works really well. We supplement with towels and pee pads wherever she lays down.
Enalapril: This is a blood pressure medication. Emma pushes too much protein into her urine, which is treated by lowering blood pressure. She takes 15 mg. two times a day.
Metacam: This is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory used to treat arthritis pain. It is in liquid form. Emma tolerates it very well, and I give it to her occasionally (for example, if she's over-exerted herself or slipped on the ice).

Other:
Emma has pretty bad arthritis in her spine, around her left knee (she had a TPLO surgery for a torn cruciate ligament several years ago) and in her right hip (hip dysplasia). To ease her pain and maintain mobility, she has acupuncture once a month, and "cold" laser therapy on the acupuncture points once a month (so she gets something done every 2 weeks). Both seem to really help, although she's not a fan of the acupuncture needles. But once they're in, she's very relaxed.

Emma has other problems as well but I'll discuss those in a later blog...as I said before, she forms struvite crystals in her urine. She also has GOLPP, which is Geriatric-Onset Laryngeal Paralysis and Polyneuropathy which is a whole syndrome. She recently had surgery to correct the laryngeal paralysis.

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