Natural Supplements For Older Dogs, All Dogs

by Annie
(New Mexico)

At the end of Dorothy's Supplement Story, I'll include how she adopted ME when she was a tiny puppy!

We have used these natural supplements with our puppies, our young dogs, and our older ones too. We hope to have our Best Friends for many years beyond what is ''normally'' expected!

For most of her life, Dorothy ate her daily supplements. I would crush the tabs with a small channel lock pliers, and she ate the way the soft tabs and gel caps; the capsules I open and pour over the food. Even tho we feed Victor Dog Food dog food, I have found that extra supplementation really makes the difference in their attitudes and health, especially as the years go by!

If giving your poochies lots of supplements is a new concept, or just seems like too much, then consider starting with just the first one! Add others as needs arise in your beloved companion's health, or should there be issues you would like to help prevent. Since dogs just don't live long enough, we are ever looking for a way to give them a few more years of Excellent Health and Loving Companionship!

Every day each of our dogs get a Multi Vitie-Mineral, Omega 3s, Lecithin, Alfalfa, Flavonoids, Resveratrol Tonic, Garlic, Immune Booster, Joint Support, and Liver Detox.

Depending on the dog's issues and size, they can get more alfalfa, Omega 3s and joint support. And as they get older, they also get Gingko Complex, since the ginko is very important for mental sharpness. Older dogs also start to loose their eyesight, so after age 8, they also get the Carotenes.

We don't know exactly whether your dogs will have the great results that ours have had over the decades, but we sure hope so!!

I'm thankful I took a movie of Dorothy playing in the mud to share on youtube! Her funny self still brings us giggles!

Around age 14, we started giving Dorothy some extra nutrition---shakes! It is known that the muscle helper have many benefits for elderly people, and it really helped Dorothy too. She LOVED her shakes, and would get 2-3 small ones each day. Besides the muscle helper, her shake had liquid vitamins and the complete meal soy shake. When she was much older, approaching the day of her death, she no longer wanted her regular food, but continued to love her special shakes till the very end.......

(BTW, when our old rescue pit bull, Chile Pepper, comes back from horseback riding, he gets 1/4 cup muscle helper; while he's having that great after exercise nap, his muscles are preventing the buildup of lactic acid, and are repairing themselves from the cellular level).

When Dorothy was approaching her 15th bday, she bounded up the stairs, took a mis-step and fell to the concrete floor below, landing on her head. It was a Miracle that she did not die on the spot, but she did start having some balance and cognitive issues. Sadly she died Oct. 2007; the wonderful old age of 15 1/2, tho we had hoped to have her for longer than that.......

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DOROTHY ADOPTS ANNIE

Do doggies decide with whom they want to live? Check out the lengths to which Dorothy went in order to live with me!!!

Feb. 17, 1990 --- 6 tiny puppies are born to an 8-mo. old Miniature Schnauzer. Though carefully locked in the barn during the day when her owner was at work, a neighbor felt sorry for her and opened the top door; nearly 6 feet high, certainly secure enough. WELL, little did she realize that a mere superman-of-a-suitor lived in the village of Cerrillos. Budweiser, who had shown up in the yard a number of times, was a darling little terrier/chow guy with very short legs, much too short for such a leap!! But it was not too many weeks later that the results of his escapades became apparent; puppies were imminent. Being purebred and papered, a MUCH later, Proper Mating was planned, NOT these ??love children!!?? The vet would not perform an abortion, too risky if she wanted pups in the future. What to do????

Several of us volunteered to be foster moms, and were we excited!! 6 little bundles of joy!!! All were allowed to nurse for the first 3 days to insure a full regime of that critical colostrom; 4 were fostered, 2 left with mom.

I arrived for my puppy carrying a picnic basket containing a blanket, hot water bottle, ticking clock, baby bottle (puppies much prefer the large nipples on human bottles than the tiny pet store kind), puppy formula and baby wipes! A friend yelled 'Looks like Dorothy going to Oz with her basket!' Immediately I knew I'd name my puppy Toto!

What a tiny, angelic creature?..he fit right into the palm of my hand, totally helpless. So THIS was what my friends had been through with their infants; feedings every 2 hours, and constant wiping of dirty and wet little bottoms! We were blessed to have an Irish Wolfhound mom in the neighborhood who had 12 nursing pups (half Great Dane!!!), and Toto was invited to the chow-down on more than one occasion. A mere mouse among piglets!!!

He grew up to look quite like the Toto of Oz, and was funny, bright and enjoyable. But being half Miniature Schnauzer, he definitely had a mind of his own, and a bad case of selective deafness, which led to his demise... when Toto was 2 ½ we were on an evening ride with friends; at one point, all the dogs chased some very large coyotes up an arroyo. Everyone came back but Toto. At first I thought he'd just gone on ahead and we'd see him up the trail, but no Toto. Then I was hoping to see him when we got home. It was dark and the moon was nearly full, but no Toto waiting in the yard; my heart was sinking and I feared the worst. I went back out on foot for several hours, calling and praying and weeping. My little Toto, my precious baby... It was a calm, warm night, the landscape gloriously silver in the moonlight, and totally silent. Under any other circumstance I would have simply bathed in it's glory. This night a cloud hung over my heart?.. I returned home at about 1am, drank some water, and returned to look for another hour, but deep inside I knew he was dead.

Next morning I looked again but found only pieces of black fur. Compulsively, I went to the Santa Fe Shelter just in case there was a little black male terrier. The workers were very sympathetic, seeing my baggie, red eyes filled with tears. In the puppy pen was a litter of tiny terriers, all fuzzy and cherubic. None black, only one male. But there was a little tan girl, the very cutest of the lot, and she kept looking directly into my eyes, begging to be held. I picked her up and hugged her; she was adorable! She kissed me and talked to me, so happy to be in my arms!!! Take me home this instant!! she insisted. My heart was set on a Toto so I decided to wait; I phoned other shelters, but no Toto there either. Next day, back to SFAS. Same sweet face saying 'take me home now!!!' Once again I resisted the temptation. All weekend I thought of her; I'd adopt her Monday and name her Dorothy!
I arrived at the Shelter just as it opened, but she was gone. Well, what did I expect?? Such an adorable puppy not being adopted???? Why had I waited??? 'He who hesitates is lost,' my Daddy used to say. I had hesitated and the puppy was lost to me!!! Again, my heart was sooooo heavy. I had expected to have her riding in the car with me that very morning... I snapped out of my fog when, from the back room, someone yelled ''she's in quarantine.'' Adopted on Saturday, she cried all night and drove the person completely nuts!! She was returned to the shelter Sunday morning, and would be in quarantine for the rest of the day, but could leave at 4pm. I paid her adoption fee on the spot!!!!

PS... She slept thru the night from day one, always happy, always perfectly behaved!!!