Vitamin C

[PooMother]

Me again. Do any of you use vitamin c in either tablet or powder form and if so where do you get it in bulk at al please? I have only been able to find tablet form in small bottles. Is there anywhere online?

Cheers

[pomquest]

Hi cm,

We get Vit C from any health store in powdered form. You must make sure it is the Sodium Ascorbate one though. Then you can either mix it with water and give it orally or mix it in their food. In times of need you can also inject them (im) with it. You get that one from any good produce store. You can also get iv injectable Vit C but it is harder to get. Can I ask why you are asking?

[PooMother]

Thanks Pomquest. Asking as per breeders diet sheet should also be giving vit c, pup is a german sheperd. Am feeding raw diet aswell as some dry, not totally BARF.

Hi cm,

We get Vit C from any health store in powdered form. You must make sure it is the Sodium Ascorbate one though. Then you can either mix it with water and give it orally or mix it in their food. In times of need you can also inject them (im) with it. You get that one from any good produce store. You can also get iv injectable Vit C but it is harder to get. Can I ask why you are asking?

[pomquest]

Opinions vary so much on feeding extra C. That is why I asked. Most Vets tell you not to add C as dogs manufacture their own. That is true, but in times of stress or sickness they don't make enough to cope. As C is soluble, it is used really quickly by the body. Have you ever read this .....

Link

We found it really interesting reading even though it was written some time ago. Others subscribe to these same principles though so it may be worth thinking about.

I was adding C to my dogs diet daily until I got some Dr Bruces All Natural Health Booster. It has everything in it. I will still add extra though if they get sick or go through some major stress times.

[PooMother]

Will read the link shortly thanks again. Is that the same Dr Bruce that does Vets All NAtural food?

Opinions vary so much on feeding extra C. That is why I asked. Most Vets tell you not to add C as dogs manufacture their own. That is true, but in times of stress or sickness they don't make enough to cope. As C is soluble, it is used really quickly by the body. Have you ever read this .....

Link

We found it really interesting reading even though it was written some time ago. Others subscribe to these same principles though so it may be worth thinking about.

I was adding C to my dogs diet daily until I got some Dr Bruces All Natural Health Booster. It has everything in it. I will still add extra though if they get sick or go through some major stress times.

[PooMother]

Interestung reading indeed, I will have a look online as I dont have a car for the next few days. Thank you

[4 Paws]

I've purchased a lot of supplements from here when i was feeding barf http://www.callicoma.com.au/supplem1.htm

[pomquest]

I've purchased a lot of supplements from here when i was feeding barf http://www.callicoma.com.au/supplem1.htm

That looks like a great site 4 Paws. I will look in more depth shortly when I have a bit more time. At first glance though it seems to have most things you could want.

[PooMother]

Thank you for that link.. I really am learning so much since joining DOL :-)

I've purchased a lot of supplements from here when i was feeding barf http://www.callicoma.com.au/supplem1.htm

[The Spotted Devil]

Just a side note with regard to vitamins....the more you supplement the less the dog will tend to produce itself (same in humans apparently). The advice from my nutrition professor is to only supplement occasionally (e.g. when immune system needs boosting) rather than all the time.

[persephone]

I only use calcium ascorbate..and then only if dog is unwell or stressed. Me..I take it daily

I buy mine at the pharmacy..in powder form.

[pomquest]

I only use calcium ascorbate..and then only if dog is unwell or stressed. Me..I take it daily

I buy mine at the pharmacy..in powder form.

Are you stressed daily persephone? I am .... maybe I should get me some of that.

[Cavandra]

I use ESTER C which is a superior form in a much larger dosage than plain Vit C.........Ester C can prevent arthritis, Symptoms of Dysplasia etc. I get all my Vitamins etc online at Vitamin King or Natural City.

[Cavandra]

Just a side note with regard to vitamins....the more you supplement the less the dog will tend to produce itself (same in humans apparently). The advice from my nutrition professor is to only supplement occasionally (e.g. when immune system needs boosting) rather than all the time.

I totally agree with this .........I know many people especially on BARF diets that supplement with everything under the sun, when it is really unneccessary in most cases. I like to supplement with things as I think the dog needs it ie pregnancy, illness, lack of coat or whatever else I think could do with something to help the situation.....

[Flaves]

I use ESTER C which is a superior form in a much larger dosage than plain Vit C.........Ester C can prevent arthritis, Symptoms of Dysplasia etc. I get all my Vitamins etc online at Vitamin King or Natural City.

I use Ester C here too.

Powder ortablet form is what you can getit in.

I think 250 tabs is about $30

[sas]

I use tablet form as the dogs don't like the taste so powder form is out. We use occassionaly.

[pomquest]

Thanks for the tips on Ester C. It looks much better than the usual stuff.

[Flaves]

Yeah and more easily absorbed.

I have Daire on it and am happy with it

[PooMother]

Then my next queryt would be if one is feeding raw and dry why would we need to supplement at all?

IE My pups get the following

Dry food (Eagle PAck although looking into Vets All Natural) with the follwoing mixed in - brewers yeast, kelp, a bit of oil, weekly raw egg, yoghurt, veggie mix (celery, carrot, garlic, silverbeet sometimes a bit of cooked potato)

For the raw they either get weekly liver, heart, giblets, kidney

Daily is either lamb, beef, chicken

In the wild they would have eaten whole carcass so why do we add brewers yeast, kelp etc if the dry says it has it all? Confused.

[pomquest]

Everyone has different opinions I guess. We take a multi vitamin so why shouldn't our dogs? Because they are dogs and not humans right? But animals need and utilise Vitamins and Minerals the same as humans so why not err on the side of caution? JMO.The experts say that if we take a multi and our body doesn't need something it will just expel the unused vitamin/s. I give mine a daily vitamin boost just to be on the safe side. I am not feeding raw atm though (and I can hear the howls of indignation from here!). Mine get cooked roo/lamb/beef mix in the ratio of 50%/25%/25% + a small amount of finely diced liver, eggs & some veggies. All meat is human grade. They get a raw meaty bone for breakfast, mostly lamb riblets or beef tails and the occasional chicken neck. They only get the RC once or maybe twice a week if we are away at a show, I don't have any bones defrosted or am too lazy. They also get fish once or twice a week. Poms don't eat a great amount which makes it hard to mix additives into their food but the Dr Bruce's Vit Booster doesn't bother them at all. They also get Protexin every night in their food. I will give extra Vit C in times of need only. I will probably go back to feeding raw soon though. We just went through some bad times with some puppies and I got a bit germaphobic...especially with chicken.