Hello all. I feed Innova. I give salmon oil. I heard that kelp is the one supplement that is good to give.

Can anyone tell me why?
Is it ok to give with the salmon oil?
And if I give a multi am I giving too much?

And I have one dog on enzymes & probotics to help with the poo eating problem.

Sorry so many questions in one
thanks.

i have read that kelp is best given with alfalfa. 50/50 ratio. This is to maximize the absorption of nutrients.

Salmon oil will not bother the mix. My dogs hate it but many seem to use it.

As for a multi vitamin I think it is often over kill. A waste of money unless there is a specific reason but you are feeding a good quality kibble.

do you know if kelp & alfalfa mix is better for absorption of nutients than giving enzymes? I am giving enzyme & probotic mix for my poop eater. thanks

 Quote: stacy mcgrogan

Hello all. I feed Innova. I give salmon oil. I heard that kelp is the one supplement that is good to give.

Can anyone tell me why?
Is it ok to give with the salmon oil?
And if I give a multi am I giving too much?

Kelp contains many minerals, vitamins and enzymes. It has iodine, potassium, iron, magnesium, calcium, iron, and more. Kelp is really a food in my mind; it's a sea vegetable. I'm careful about tested kelp (or any seaweed), for heavy metals, like mercury and arsenic.

Alfalfa is similarly rich in micronutrients. Some dogs can be allergic to it, so you want to be aware that if you saw signs of itchiness, that might be something to eliminate first.

I would not give a multi unless I were supplementing a homemade diet with (for some reason) limited ingredients.

I wouldn't want to double up on the already-supplemented commercial food.

 Quote: stacy mcgrogan

do you know if kelp & alfalfa mix is better for absorption of nutients than giving enzymes? I am giving enzyme & probotic mix for my poop eater. thanks

I would give plain (no sweetener, no flavorings) yogurt with live cultures (it will say one or the other: "live" or "active"), and no problem with giving capsules of probiotics too if you want. I'd give them (either form) in the first meal at the time of the lowest stomach acid production to get as many of the cultures past the stomach as possible.

I'd train "leave it" and "drop it" with the poop eater. I have even marker-trained a dog with a strong poop-eating habit (she had it when she came) that was still strong at her age, which was probably close to senior.

You can also always have the dog on leash at poop time, always pick up all the poop in your yard, and otherwise control the environment.

My goal was to break the dog's habit, and I did. When the poop hit the ground, the minute she turned to check it out, I called her over with a new command (I wanted a new "don't eat poop but come over here instead" command so as not to maybe mess up our good recall at the time, with a new dog ) and marked/rewarded. She was eventually pooping and then looking around for the treat. Not the perfect training protocol, but it did the trick and stopped the habit.

She was put on a very good raw diet when I got her, so she was my first indication that excellent diet doesn't necessarily cure coprophagy.

just to confirm...you think kelp is better than giving a multi?

is the kelp on LB good, meaning tested for heavy metals?

thanks

I don't think a multi is a good idea, period, when you are giving a commercial food that already has supplements.

Real food that's rich in micronutrients is much different from vitamins in a pill. Pretty hard to overdo a vitamin from real food.

 Quote: stacy mcgrogan

is the kelp on LB good

thanks

I checked it out on the "bad" list at ConsumerLabs when I was reading about heavy metal contamination, and it wasn't there. I'd use it.