Can Anyone Recommend A Vitamin Supplement?

[trinabean]

Bruno has atopic dermatitis and has confirmed allergies to a range of plant pollens and insects. He is also intolerant of chicken, beef and lamb and possibly the prescription hypoallergenic foods (RC Hypoallergenic and Hills ZD).

As such he has been on an elimination diet for almost a year. He may need to stay on this diet indefinitely, and a nutrition consult has shown that we need to supplement his diet. His diet is deficient in B vitamins, plus vitamins A,D,E,K, calcium, selenium, and linoleic and alpha linoleic acid. My vet organized the nutrition consult via a US university and they have recommended a supplement called 'Balance IT canine.' I have yet to find an Australian supplier and it seems that I would need to order it from the US. It will work out to about $80 for each month including shipping.

I'm searching for a cheaper alternative, preferably available in Australia. I emailed Dr Bruce Syme of Vets All Natural about a couple of his products. He kindly and promptly replied but unfortunately there is some lamb liver and dairy in the product I enquired about.

So, hit me with your ideas people. Does anyone know of a product that will cover these deficiencies?

Bruno's current diet consists of goat, quinoa, sweet potato, sometimes kangaroo tails, plus fish oil and safflower oil.

Edited January 13, 2014 by trinabean

[blakkjackal]

Try human grade products. :) I buy mine from supermarkets, a bottle of about 50 pills is only around $5-10. No point in spending heaps of cash in pet grade products when you can get the same effect (or even better in some cases) for cheaper. For calcium I use dried & ground egg shells, the absorption rate is supposedly quite good when finely ground and there's up to 2000mg of Ca in a single egg shell.

[Steve]

Aloe Vera Juice and a child's multi vitamin and mineral. If you tell me his size I will give you dosages

[Tara8430]

My girl had itchy skin issues, I contacted canine vitality and she prescribed some herbs and Abbey has never been better. Canine Vitality might be of some assistance to you.

http://caninevitality.com.au/

[Guest hankodie]

I'd also be interested to hear if there is an Australian equivalent. I have to order Balance IT from the states to supplement Odie's diet (home cooked, she has liver shunting). It does work out very expensive each month, especially with shipping.

[Yonjuro]

Maybe have a look at the Augustine Approved products.

http://www.naturalpetstore.com.au/d/ASBR2/18/supplements/augustine-approved-augustines-superboost---220g/

[Guest Ams]

Could you get a compound chemist to make it up cheaper than you pay to import it?

[Erny]

Maybe have a look at the Augustine Approved products.

I've had a lot of luck with the Augustine Approved recommended diet - this was after I had tried about every recommended commercial diet including Veterinary lines (prescription and otherwise) and commercial raw.

[trifecta]

When our Shep x had cancer I was giving him a Vit A,D & E supplement. I used to buy it from my holistic vet who bought it in bulk & then decanted it into smaller bottles. From memory it was a sheep product, it was given orally, not by injection, & only a tiny amount was administered, measured with an insulin syringe.

[trinabean]

Try human grade products. :) I buy mine from supermarkets, a bottle of about 50 pills is only around $5-10. No point in spending heaps of cash in pet grade products when you can get the same effect (or even better in some cases) for cheaper. For calcium I use dried & ground egg shells, the absorption rate is supposedly quite good when finely ground and there's up to 2000mg of Ca in a single egg shell.

Thanks Hockz, do you know what the average daily dose of calcium should be? It's unclear if Bruno can tolerate egg, so I'm not sure if the shell would be a problem. I'll chat to the dermatologist though. Thanks.:)

Aloe Vera Juice and a child's multi vitamin and mineral. If you tell me his size I will give you dosages

Hi Steve, that would be great. Bruno is a lean Boxer. His weight fluctuates between 28-29kg. He's 29kg at the moment. :)

[trinabean]

My girl had itchy skin issues, I contacted canine vitality and she prescribed some herbs and Abbey has never been better. Canine Vitality might be of some assistance to you.

http://caninevitality.com.au/

Thanks Tail_Wags_the_Dog :)

I'd also be interested to hear if there is an Australian equivalent. I have to order Balance IT from the states to supplement Odie's diet (home cooked, she has liver shunting). It does work out very expensive each month, especially with shipping.

Yes Hankodie, whilst the Balance IT looks like a good comprehensive product, It is very expensive and the shipping is a large part of that. The recipe I've been given prescribes the dosage in US tablespoons. If I can find an equivalent local product, I'll have to do a bit of converting to work out the correct dosage for the vitamins etc. I have a bit of reading up to do, but will let you know what I end up doing. :)

Could you get a compound chemist to make it up cheaper than you pay to import it?

That is an excellent idea Ams, and one that the dermatologist also suggested. Thank you. :)

Maybe have a look at the Augustine Approved products.

I've had a lot of luck with the Augustine Approved recommended diet - this was after I had tried about every recommended commercial diet including Veterinary lines (prescription and otherwise) and commercial raw.

Thank you Yonjuro and Erny. Some more reading for me to do. :)

When our Shep x had cancer I was giving him a Vit A,D & E supplement. I used to buy it from my holistic vet who bought it in bulk & then decanted it into smaller bottles. From memory it was a sheep product, it was given orally, not by injection, & only a tiny amount was administered, measured with an insulin syringe.

Thanks Trifecta, there is a holistic vet near me. Might be worth a shot. :)

Edited January 15, 2014 by trinabean

[blakkjackal]

The recommended minimum calcium intake for an adult dog is about 130mg/MEkg/day so depends how heavy your dog is. :) As an example a 30 kg dog would have a metabolic weight of 12,81 and therefore requires around 1667 mg per day so 1 teaspoon should cover that. It's also better to use raw shells instead of boiled ones as the calcium is more "accessible" to the dog in raw form.

/Just realised you mentioned his weight above. My example is quite fitting then. :)

Edited January 15, 2014 by Hockz

[trifecta]

It could be beneficial to start a relationship with a holistic vet, trinabean, but the vitamin supplement should be available through your regular vet :)

[trinabean]

The recommended minimum calcium intake for an adult dog is about 130mg/MEkg/day so depends how heavy your dog is. :) As an example a 30 kg dog would have a metabolic weight of 12,81 and therefore requires around 1667 mg per day so 1 teaspoon should cover that. It's also better to use raw shells instead of boiled ones as the calcium is more "accessible" to the dog in raw form.

/Just realised you mentioned his weight above. My example is quite fitting then. :)

Ok, thanks for that Hockz. Maths isn't my strong point, so I'm glad you calculated it for me. :laugh:

He gets a couple of roo tails a week, or goat bones when I can get them. This is mainly to keep his teeth clean, but I figure he gets a bit of calcium from digesting some bone.

[blakkjackal]

The recommended minimum calcium intake for an adult dog is about 130mg/MEkg/day so depends how heavy your dog is. :) As an example a 30 kg dog would have a metabolic weight of 12,81 and therefore requires around 1667 mg per day so 1 teaspoon should cover that. It's also better to use raw shells instead of boiled ones as the calcium is more "accessible" to the dog in raw form.

/Just realised you mentioned his weight above. My example is quite fitting then. :)

Ok, thanks for that Hockz. Maths isn't my strong point, so I'm glad you calculated it for me. :laugh:

He gets a couple of roo tails a week, or goat bones when I can get them. This is mainly to keep his teeth clean, but I figure he gets a bit of calcium from digesting some bone.

Yep, roo and goat bones are both good for calcium and he'd get plenty on the days he eats them. Dogs only need a very small amount of bone a day (think 30 odd grams) to fulfill their Ca needs as it's very rich in calcium. I only give my dog ground eggshells on bone-free days.

[sas]

We use Anitone for one of our dogs that is on a weight loss diet that is not balanced.

http://www.greenpet.com.au/products/ANITONE.html

Anitone is a natural organic liquid mineral and trace element supplement for all animals. A liquid, organic, nutritional supplement providing over 6o minerals and trace elements in a highly bioavailable, chelated form to supplement the diets of all domestic animal.

Anitone is derived from a careful manufacturing process that involves the fermentation of mineral rich plant extracts.

[trinabean]

We use Anitone for one of our dogs that is on a weight loss diet that is not balanced.

http://www.greenpet....ts/ANITONE.html

Anitone is a natural organic liquid mineral and trace element supplement for all animals. A liquid, organic, nutritional supplement providing over 6o minerals and trace elements in a highly bioavailable, chelated form to supplement the diets of all domestic animal.

Anitone is derived from a careful manufacturing process that involves the fermentation of mineral rich plant extracts.

Thanks Sas. Anitone looks like it would cover the minerals and trace elements very well. I like that it is sourced from plants, so many supplements include animal proteins (like colostrum) that Bruno can't have.

It doesn't list any vitamins though, so I'd still need to add those via another product I think. Thanks again. :)