Supplements for the Big Dogs

Off Topic
1

I know I’ve read on this site years ago a thread where people were discussing giving their dogs fishoils and creatine, but don’t know where that thread is. Anyone here give their dogs supplements?? If so, how do you know how much to give them and how old are they when you start giving it to them.

I just got a bully pit, he’s 6 weeks old and 14lbs, pretty sure he’s going to be a beast (he was first pick and his parents were both over 100lbs). But I wanna give him fish oil to keep his joints healthy carrying all that weight and maybe some creatine.

2

can’t help you with the article…

but, if you gave a pitbull test (dosage?..I dunno) and trained them with weights (pulling weighted sleds and such) would you end up with a super-dog?

3

Read, learn, buy the right food. I give my two dogs Taste of the Wild, it’s the least expensive food in the 6 star category even though the author puts it really in the 5.5 star category in his review.

If you supply them with quality dog food I don’t think you need to worry about supplements. However, I have read a few places where they will add real food once in a while. For example once in a while I’ll add a raw egg to thier food. When I make my beef jerkey I give them scraps of the trimmings, it’s just raw top round with the fat. What I DON’T do is give them bullshit table food or carby snacks. If you have seen pictures of my pups they are both lean and look like they are supposed to. Healthy athletic dogs.

V

4

3 scoops of Anaconda per day!

5

[quote]Vegita wrote:

Read, learn, buy the right food. I give my two dogs Taste of the Wild, it’s the least expensive food in the 6 star category even though the author puts it really in the 5.5 star category in his review.

If you supply them with quality dog food I don’t think you need to worry about supplements. However, I have read a few places where they will add real food once in a while. For example once in a while I’ll add a raw egg to thier food. When I make my beef jerkey I give them scraps of the trimmings, it’s just raw top round with the fat. What I DON’T do is give them bullshit table food or carby snacks. If you have seen pictures of my pups they are both lean and look like they are supposed to. Healthy athletic dogs.

V[/quote]

i use to add eggs and olive oil to my dogs food, makes their coat nice and shiny i dont know if any health benefits came from it though.

6

[quote]Vegita wrote:

Read, learn, buy the right food. I give my two dogs Taste of the Wild, it’s the least expensive food in the 6 star category even though the author puts it really in the 5.5 star category in his review.

If you supply them with quality dog food I don’t think you need to worry about supplements. However, I have read a few places where they will add real food once in a while. For example once in a while I’ll add a raw egg to thier food. When I make my beef jerkey I give them scraps of the trimmings, it’s just raw top round with the fat. What I DON’T do is give them bullshit table food or carby snacks. If you have seen pictures of my pups they are both lean and look like they are supposed to. Healthy athletic dogs.

V[/quote]

Thanks for that link!!! I’ve been looking for something like that…

The reason I want to give him supplements is because unlike most dogs he will be prone to hip and joint issues, add his size to that and he can have real problems as he gets older, so I figure he should probably take in extra fish oil to help this. Not a ton but slightly more then quality dog foods offer. And even those high quality dog foods don’t have any creatine in them. Thats why a lot of people are advocating a R.A.W diet. With dried dog foods dogs don’t get the amount of creatine they’d be getting in the wild eating deer and rabbit. So I’ve read that if you’re not doing a R.A.W diet it’s not a bad idea to add creatine because creatine is so expensive none of the dog foods include it in their ingredients and dogs basically aren’t getting the amounts they should be getting.

7

[quote]Kerley wrote:
3 scoops of Anaconda per day![/quote]

Great idea, I wont stop til my dog outweighs you!!

8

Feed them right and you don’t really need supplements for a pet, unless you’re treating a specific condition. Now, “feeding them right” will be subject to much debate in and of itself but, you’ll do your research, listen to opinions, and reach your own conclusions about what you believe is “right”. But remember this; a dog has a relatively short life span. If you keep him healthy and active, just about any commercially available dog food will do just fine.

For an animal that might live 12 years, his diet will not have a HUGE impact. What a dog is or isn’t physically is driven more by genetics than anything. If he’s going to have healthy hips and joints, it’s b/c his genetics say so, not b/c you gave him some fish oil. And keep him lean - extra weight is as unhealthy in dogs as it is in humans.

9

My dog is looking to bring up his trapzz. What’s best–full body training or a split?

Also, do you use the whole egg in the dogfood or just the white? And what’s the optimal macronutrient ratio for a dog wanting to gain a little size (not TOO much) but mostly focusing on functional strength?

10

[quote]AndrewG909 wrote:

[quote]Vegita wrote:

Read, learn, buy the right food. I give my two dogs Taste of the Wild, it’s the least expensive food in the 6 star category even though the author puts it really in the 5.5 star category in his review.

If you supply them with quality dog food I don’t think you need to worry about supplements. However, I have read a few places where they will add real food once in a while. For example once in a while I’ll add a raw egg to thier food. When I make my beef jerkey I give them scraps of the trimmings, it’s just raw top round with the fat. What I DON’T do is give them bullshit table food or carby snacks. If you have seen pictures of my pups they are both lean and look like they are supposed to. Healthy athletic dogs.

V[/quote]

Thanks for that link!!! I’ve been looking for something like that…

The reason I want to give him supplements is because unlike most dogs he will be prone to hip and joint issues, add his size to that and he can have real problems as he gets older, so I figure he should probably take in extra fish oil to help this. Not a ton but slightly more then quality dog foods offer. And even those high quality dog foods don’t have any creatine in them. Thats why a lot of people are advocating a R.A.W diet. With dried dog foods dogs don’t get the amount of creatine they’d be getting in the wild eating deer and rabbit. So I’ve read that if you’re not doing a R.A.W diet it’s not a bad idea to add creatine because creatine is so expensive none of the dog foods include it in their ingredients and dogs basically aren’t getting the amounts they should be getting.
[/quote]

Okay, a few points; if your breed is “prone to hip and joint issues”, it’s because of the breed’s genetics, more specifically, his bloodline. Fish oil will not stop that. Only dogs with good hips should be bred. Unfortunately, in many gene pools with various breeds, this is not done. Hence, we have severe hip and joint issues in many breeds.

There are pros and cons to a raw diet. Creatine intake is the least of the pros.

Dogs do not eat deer in the wild. Rabbits yes, deer no. Only the fastest breeds can run down a deer :slight_smile: Creatine is not expensive. And I see little value to adding it to a dog’s feed.

If you don’t want to bother with RAW, feed your dog a decent commercial feed and he’ll be fine. If he has hip issues, it’s b/c the hip issues are in his bloodline. There is nothing you can do about it - well, there WAS, but that time has passed; you don’t buy the pup.

11

Find a good food, feed him a ton while he’s growing, keep him moving. That’s about all you need dude.

12

[quote]TheBodyGuard wrote:

[quote]AndrewG909 wrote:

[quote]Vegita wrote:

Read, learn, buy the right food. I give my two dogs Taste of the Wild, it’s the least expensive food in the 6 star category even though the author puts it really in the 5.5 star category in his review.

If you supply them with quality dog food I don’t think you need to worry about supplements. However, I have read a few places where they will add real food once in a while. For example once in a while I’ll add a raw egg to thier food. When I make my beef jerkey I give them scraps of the trimmings, it’s just raw top round with the fat. What I DON’T do is give them bullshit table food or carby snacks. If you have seen pictures of my pups they are both lean and look like they are supposed to. Healthy athletic dogs.

V[/quote]

Thanks for that link!!! I’ve been looking for something like that…

The reason I want to give him supplements is because unlike most dogs he will be prone to hip and joint issues, add his size to that and he can have real problems as he gets older, so I figure he should probably take in extra fish oil to help this. Not a ton but slightly more then quality dog foods offer. And even those high quality dog foods don’t have any creatine in them. Thats why a lot of people are advocating a R.A.W diet. With dried dog foods dogs don’t get the amount of creatine they’d be getting in the wild eating deer and rabbit. So I’ve read that if you’re not doing a R.A.W diet it’s not a bad idea to add creatine because creatine is so expensive none of the dog foods include it in their ingredients and dogs basically aren’t getting the amounts they should be getting.
[/quote]

Okay, a few points; if your breed is “prone to hip and joint issues”, it’s because of the breed’s genetics, more specifically, his bloodline. Fish oil will not stop that. Only dogs with good hips should be bred. Unfortunately, in many gene pools with various breeds, this is not done. Hence, we have severe hip and joint issues in many breeds.

There are pros and cons to a raw diet. Creatine intake is the least of the pros.

Dogs do not eat deer in the wild. Rabbits yes, deer no. Only the fastest breeds can run down a deer :slight_smile: Creatine is not expensive. And I see little value to adding it to a dog’s feed.

If you don’t want to bother with RAW, feed your dog a decent commercial feed and he’ll be fine. If he has hip issues, it’s b/c the hip issues are in his bloodline. There is nothing you can do about it - well, there WAS, but that time has passed; you don’t buy the pup.
[/quote]

Honestly I would do the RAW diet if I had the time and money, I think it’s supirior and you have way more control of the quality and the exact ingredients. That being said, BG is right, keeping a dog with propensity for Hip Dysplasia lean is going to benefit it 100X more than any supplement you will ever use. ALSO of a great importance is to let it grow slowly, which means lower protein until it is a year old or so. Really fast growth spurts complicate hips in bigger dogs. Get a top quality low protein puppy food for the first year and then switch it to grain free high quality high protein for the rest of adulthood. Keep it active and this well keep it lean and help minimize the risk to it’s hips.

V

13

[quote]BradTGIF wrote:
Find a good food, feed him a ton while he’s growing, keep him moving. That’s about all you need dude.[/quote]

Actually, for big breeds, growing too fast is what leads to the hip and joint problems, you actually want a big dog to grow slowly, don’t overfeed and use a low protein large breed puppy formula.

V

14

[quote]Kerley wrote:

[quote]Vegita wrote:

Read, learn, buy the right food. I give my two dogs Taste of the Wild, it’s the least expensive food in the 6 star category even though the author puts it really in the 5.5 star category in his review.

If you supply them with quality dog food I don’t think you need to worry about supplements. However, I have read a few places where they will add real food once in a while. For example once in a while I’ll add a raw egg to thier food. When I make my beef jerkey I give them scraps of the trimmings, it’s just raw top round with the fat. What I DON’T do is give them bullshit table food or carby snacks. If you have seen pictures of my pups they are both lean and look like they are supposed to. Healthy athletic dogs.

V[/quote]

i use to add eggs and olive oil to my dogs food, makes their coat nice and shiny i dont know if any health benefits came from it though.[/quote]

A friend of mine had an Akida and he used to put a tablespoon of safflower oil in his food. Can’t remember if it was for a skin condition or just for his coat to be shiney and healthy…it worked, his dogs coat was beautifull.

OP, I would love to see a pic of the new pooch, never seen a combo like that before.

15

[quote]Itchy wrote:
My dog is looking to bring up his trapzz. What’s best–full body training or a split?

Also, do you use the whole egg in the dogfood or just the white? And what’s the optimal macronutrient ratio for a dog wanting to gain a little size (not TOO much) but mostly focusing on functional strength?[/quote]
My dogs a powerlifter. Fitted him up for a new bench shirt this morning.

16

[quote]TheBodyGuard wrote:

Okay, a few points; if your breed is “prone to hip and joint issues”, it’s because of the breed’s genetics, more specifically, his bloodline. Fish oil will not stop that. Only dogs with good hips should be bred. Unfortunately, in many gene pools with various breeds, this is not done. Hence, we have severe hip and joint issues in many breeds.

There are pros and cons to a raw diet. Creatine intake is the least of the pros.

Dogs do not eat deer in the wild. Rabbits yes, deer no. Only the fastest breeds can run down a deer :slight_smile: Creatine is not expensive. And I see little value to adding it to a dog’s feed.

If you don’t want to bother with RAW, feed your dog a decent commercial feed and he’ll be fine. If he has hip issues, it’s b/c the hip issues are in his bloodline. There is nothing you can do about it - well, there WAS, but that time has passed; you don’t buy the pup.
[/quote]

Wolves eat deer all the time. Most of the wolves I talk to prefer deer over rabbit actually… =D

http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0212280/eating.htm

Both his parents have good hips so hopefully I wont have any issues there.

17

[quote]sidewalkdances wrote:

[quote]Itchy wrote:
My dog is looking to bring up his trapzz. What’s best–full body training or a split?

Also, do you use the whole egg in the dogfood or just the white? And what’s the optimal macronutrient ratio for a dog wanting to gain a little size (not TOO much) but mostly focusing on functional strength?[/quote]
My dogs a powerlifter. Fitted him up for a new bench shirt this morning.[/quote]

my dog is a gear deficient lifter.

18

[quote]Vegita wrote:

[quote]BradTGIF wrote:
Find a good food, feed him a ton while he’s growing, keep him moving. That’s about all you need dude.[/quote]

Actually, for big breeds, growing too fast is what leads to the hip and joint problems, you actually want a big dog to grow slowly, don’t overfeed and use a low protein large breed puppy formula.

V[/quote]

When you say “big breed” are you talking about dogs over a certain weight?

I grew up raising coonhounds that would top off between 70-90 lbs (males/females) respectively, and we fed 'em in the method I described more or less.

As for supplements, I do remember giving our hounds beef tripe during the winter.

19

[quote]bond james bond wrote:

[quote]Kerley wrote:

[quote]Vegita wrote:

Read, learn, buy the right food. I give my two dogs Taste of the Wild, it’s the least expensive food in the 6 star category even though the author puts it really in the 5.5 star category in his review.

If you supply them with quality dog food I don’t think you need to worry about supplements. However, I have read a few places where they will add real food once in a while. For example once in a while I’ll add a raw egg to thier food. When I make my beef jerkey I give them scraps of the trimmings, it’s just raw top round with the fat. What I DON’T do is give them bullshit table food or carby snacks. If you have seen pictures of my pups they are both lean and look like they are supposed to. Healthy athletic dogs.

V[/quote]

i use to add eggs and olive oil to my dogs food, makes their coat nice and shiny i dont know if any health benefits came from it though.[/quote]

A friend of mine had an Akida and he used to put a tablespoon of safflower oil in his food. Can’t remember if it was for a skin condition or just for his coat to be shiney and healthy…it worked, his dogs coat was beautifull.

OP, I would love to see a pic of the new pooch, never seen a combo like that before.
[/quote]

I’ll post a pic when I get home but in the mean time you can see this link to get an idea what a bully pit looks like.

They look like regular pits but are MUCH bigger and more muscular. They have a wider chest and bigger heads.

http://www.bluelegacypitbulls.com/blueLegacypitBullsBreeding.html

A lot of bullies are low to the ground, my dog’s parents are both tall and long, so hopefully he will be a bit taller then the dogs in these pics

20

[quote]AndrewG909 wrote:

[quote]bond james bond wrote:

[quote]Kerley wrote:

[quote]Vegita wrote:

Read, learn, buy the right food. I give my two dogs Taste of the Wild, it’s the least expensive food in the 6 star category even though the author puts it really in the 5.5 star category in his review.

If you supply them with quality dog food I don’t think you need to worry about supplements. However, I have read a few places where they will add real food once in a while. For example once in a while I’ll add a raw egg to thier food. When I make my beef jerkey I give them scraps of the trimmings, it’s just raw top round with the fat. What I DON’T do is give them bullshit table food or carby snacks. If you have seen pictures of my pups they are both lean and look like they are supposed to. Healthy athletic dogs.

V[/quote]

i use to add eggs and olive oil to my dogs food, makes their coat nice and shiny i dont know if any health benefits came from it though.[/quote]

A friend of mine had an Akida and he used to put a tablespoon of safflower oil in his food. Can’t remember if it was for a skin condition or just for his coat to be shiney and healthy…it worked, his dogs coat was beautifull.

OP, I would love to see a pic of the new pooch, never seen a combo like that before.
[/quote]

I’ll post a pic when I get home but in the mean time you can see this link to get an idea what a bully pit looks like.

They look like regular pits but are MUCH bigger and more muscular. They have a wider chest and bigger heads.

http://www.bluelegacypitbulls.com/blueLegacypitBullsBreeding.html

A lot of bullies are low to the ground, my dog’s parents are both tall and long, so hopefully he will be a bit taller then the dogs in these pics[/quote]

HOLY FUCK!

I have seen the odd one but never knew what it was. That must be the breed that mexican dude Ceasar Milan uses to meet new dogs, daddy is it’s name I think. Nice look.

The babes will come with that pup lol.

Just curious OP, is their a muzzle law where you live?