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GREATDANELADY.COM Linda Arndt ~ Canine Nutritional Consultant Email:  |
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Feed Program for Soft Tissue Injury |
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"Owlwatch Solitare of Blackwatch (TARE) resting her shoulder injury" Editorial Comment: If you have a dog that has received an injury go to your veterinarian as soon as possible and have the dog examined to rule out any chance of broken bones and torn ligaments. It it is just soft tissue there are things you can due to expedite the healing process. I have found a soft tissue (muscle, ligament, tendon) injury on a dog often takes a long time to heal due to inflammation. You are often given something for the pain but not for inflammation. In this program I have included foods, supplements that help naturally with inflammation, that way you can choose not to use risky drugs or limit their use until your supplements have arrived. Natural supplements take time to work, I recommend 2 weeks before you will start to see a benefit, but it will help your dog if you are patient. I have a 6+ year old Great Dane who is very rough when she plays and this past winter she slipped on the ice and slammed her shoulder. After a trip to the vet to rule out anything serious we determined it would just take time for her soft tissue injury to heal. After a month I realized she was not any better and set out to enhance her feed program to reduce the inflammation and it worked, it took two weeks and she was noticeably improved. In 30 days she had no limp at all and now 90 days later, I have her on the same program because she is an older adult dog and will keep her on it because she is totally pain free from the injury as well as arthritis. One thing that I do not recommend is cage rest - if there is no movement at all, over time they lose muscle mass and it does not take long for this to happen. Instead I recommend free exercise in a fenced area, alone with no other dogs. No rough play, jogging, horsing around with kids, dogs or even hubby and no tug of war "dominance games". Just let the dog potty and spend a little time getting free exercise then bring in the house with you. Use common sense when there is an injury. I tend not to give anything for pain medication because if the pain is masked the dogs will keep over using that leg and it is longer to heal. The
Basics Program
This program is a comprehensive and consists of 6 major components and this is it in summary form. Detailed info to follow below.
Where
To Purchase Products
1. DOG FOOD - Eagle Holistic Line or Eagle Super Premium Line of Pet Foods - locate retailer at this website www.eaglepack.com 2. FOUR-IN-ONE PROBIOTICS & DIGESTIVE ENZYMES - beneficial bacteria, digestive enzymes, Vitamin C & Barley Grass www.firstchoicenaturals.com 3. NZYMES - dietary enzymes - in chewable Pet Treat or Granular (goes further) www.nzymes.com 4. OX-E-DROPS - antibacterial, antiviral, antifungus - keeps pH of the gut healthy www.nzymes.com 5. Liquid Health Level 5000 - joint support supplement (glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM and herbs). www.Liquid Health Level 5000 com 6. MICROLACTIN - a natural anti-inflammatory derived from milk protein.www.firstchoicenaturals.com FOR VARIETY ADD - fruits & veggies & Eagle Holistic canned meats www.eaglepack.com For a safe, balanced raw option use Honest Kitchen dehydrated raw - info below. Section B. Description of Supplements - Who - What - Why? 1. Food - Kibble and Canned
My preference is the Natural/Holistic Eagle Pack line of Pet Foods which I have used for 20 years. Choose one of the following or you can rotate flavors on adults. Do not mix any foods or brands of food 50/50 for any length of time, other than transitioning over to a new diet which should only take 3 days on Eagle.. Mixing foods can cause nutritional imbalance. Here are Eagle choices:
I have provided a list of better food and my criteria for selection, located at this website - if you live somewhere where you can not locate Eagle. For large and giant breed puppies, after 10 months of age you can safely switch to :Eagle Large/Giant
Adult Formula 24% protein 14% fat I choose Eagle because all products are made with human grade/organic ingredients,a multi-protein source, not grain based, yogurt cultures (probiotics) digestive enzymes, prebiotics, glucosamine HCL for joint support, high quality sequestered minerals which are critical for proper growth and no bone diseases, no ethoxiquin, no BHA,BHT, only naturally preservative, vitamin C and yucca and balanced Omega 6:3 fatty acids. This is the ONLY dog foods ever tested on giant breeds and it was done on several litters before it became available to the public. It has the longest track record for giant breeds of any food on the market. I directed the feed trials on this food 18 years ago as well as the Large and Giant Puppy food feed trials in 2002 so I know these foods work. Eagle owns their own USDA/Aphis approved plant. To purchase Eagle Dog Foods:
DO NOT SOAK KIBBLE AND LET SET, OR USE HOT WATER ON YOUR KIBBLE IT WILL DESTROY THE INTEGRITY OF THE NUTRIENTS AND PROBIOTICS - YOGURT LIKE CULTURES ON THE FOOD. HOW MUCH DO I FEED? See chart below at bottom of this information or click on link and printout for future reference. AMOUNT TO FEED CHART 2. Dietary Enzymes - in pet treats or granular (multiple pets)
Nzymes - is Dietary Enzyme in a chewable healthy pet treat or in granular form. Nzymes put the "living component" back into a cooked, processed, stored dog food. Enzymes are heat sensitive and lost in processing/cooking of all commercial foods or making home cooked diets. As owners we must put dietary enzymes back into the diet, in order to maintain proper wellness and not deplete the body of this important resource. This can be done by the addition to your diet with a product called Nzymes, a chewable pet treat, or granular form which can be sprinkled on the food to replace what is lost. In other words, Nzymes provide the body with the right nutrients to allow the body to make the chemicals necessary to detoxify (clean out) the body and repair itself. Nzymes helps with the following:
Nzymes are from sprouts (food) so they do not conflict with diet or any medications. I have used the Nzymes for 20 years for my animals and I take the human product and have seen remarkable changes our health. By incorporating Nzymes into the diet, you are putting back the "living component" into the modern processed and cooked diets. This gives the body the tools it needs for repair and good health. Website to order : http://www.nzymes.com/ - 877- 816- 6500 - 8:00-6:00 PST 3. Ox-E-Drops Ox-E-Drops is clear a safe liquid that will kill pathogens: bacteria, fungus and virus. When feeding raw meat it is particularly important to use Ox-E-Drops to help prevent problems with the pathogens in raw foods. An added benefit is that Ox-E-Drops Drops does not kill the good bacteria of the gut and helps to encourage the growth of friendly bacteria. I believe Ox-E-Drops is very important component to a diet in the possible prevention of bloat and systemic fungus infections, toxic and leaky gut syndrome, because if it's ability to help keep the proper pH balance in the gut which is important in breeds that have a tendency to bloat. Ox-E-Drops can be use diluted (1 cup of distilled water + 1 teaspoon of Oxy-Drops) for a solution to clean out ears, eyes, to spray on skin or use as a colonic. It is very beneficial in systemic yeast infections as well. Dosage - 1 drop per 20 lbs of body weight. Use daily on food, mix with a little water and your canned Eagle meat and use as a gravy. During times of illness - double this dosage. To order: www.Nzymes.com or 877-816-6500 4. Probiotics and Digestive Enzymes
4 in 1 Probiotics - This is a combination 4 friendly yogurt like good bacteria, 4 digestive enzymes, Vitamin C - in and Ester C form and Barley Grass. It fills the "holes in every diet", processed or raw. Do NOT add more Vitamin C to your dogs diet it is already this product. First Choice Naturals 4 in 1 Probiotics contains:
5. Joint Supplementation I have used Liquid Health Level 5000 joint supplementation with great success on my dogs. It is particularly noticeable when you introduce it to an elderly dog diet - they respond very well to joint nutritional supplementation. The amount of glucosamine in better dog foods is barely a maintenance level dosage, which is why I supplement my dogs. Whereby it is beneficial for all breeds ages and sizes, the large and giant breeds are particularly vulnerable due to their size, rapid development as a puppy and later tendencies toward bone cancer - normally of the long bone or growth plate. I believe most of these cancers can be prevented with a comprehensive diet and joint support during development. If a dog has had HOD, OCD or Pano as a young dog, I feel it is very important to use the Nzymes product and other "functional foods" with anticancer properties as part of the daily diet, in the hopes of preventing bone cancer as they age. I start my puppies on joint supplementation at 10 - 12 weeks of age and continue throughout their adult life. With the large/giant breeds their joints have added stressed, so any thing that can help support them as they age, is a positive step in the right direction. For more complete information and ordering go to this website: Liquid Health Level 5000 6. Microlactin This is a natural-inflammatory derived from milk proteins in a concentrated
capsule form. Microlactin is the same as Duralactin which might be
prescribed by your vet to use. I use the Extra Strength Microlactin
- 1000 mg - and double dose AM and PM for the first two weeks
until relief, then go to the normal recommended dose for an adult
for maintenance. For really sever problems there is a supplement called Recovery SA that has good results as well and you can purchase it on line. I would ask them if you can use both Recovery SA and the Microlactin together, looking at the ingredients I would think that you can. Recovery®SA - is a new type of pharmiceutical, the wave of the future in drugs. Recovery®SA contains Nutricol® a proprietary combination of proven ingredients extracted from grapes and tea. Nutricol® decreases trauma - from chronic lameness, surgery, injury and over-training - by both increasing the cell's resistance to damage & improving it's ability to repair damage. You do not need to go through a vet for this product Contact: http://www.recoverysa.com/ Options: For Variety - Meats - Fruits - Vegetable I use Eagle Holistic canned dog foods* for variety (beef, chicken, liver, lamb, duck, fish, puppy). I mix a couple of tablespoons of canned meat with tepid temperature water and make a gravy. Then I top dress with one of the HONEST KITCHEN - an organic dehydrated raw meat /fruit/veggie mixe. I use about 10% of this in combination with my Eagle kibble. *Do NOT use grocery store brand of canned food they are full of preservatives and 4D meats (dead, diseased dying and disabled) and they give the dogs stinky gas and are full of unhealthy fillers. NO homemade concoctions of meat/rice combinations that you make up at home, they are very unbalanced in their calcium and phosphorus levels and can cause growth problems. The Honest
Kitchen dehydrated raw dog food is what I use to provide a
10% raw component to my dogs Eagle kibble. It is balanced
in calcium and phosphorus ratios which are very important
in growing and elderly dogs!
IF you want to do your own fruits and veggies here are some suggestions FRUITS
&VEGETABLE: This is a
list of recommended foods to use in moderation: Linda's Very Veggie Soup - 2 large cans of chicken or beef broth - (low sodium for heart or elderly dogs- or homemade). Add LOTS of veggies - carrots, green beans, wax beans, zucchini, squash, tomatoes, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and couple cloves of garlic. The idea is to use this as the filler so you want it to be hearty and filling. HOW I MIX MY DOG FOOD - When introducing these to your adult dog, add each thing 3 days apart to make sure they are used to it before you add the next thing.
I make gravy of tepid temp water and Eagle canned meat and add the Ox-E-Drops to this mixture. (1 drop per 20 lbs of weight). Top dress with Honest Kitchen mixture (at least with one meal a day) or your own fruits and veggies. WATER ON KIBBLE - 1/3 - 1/2 cup water + 3-4 tablespoons canned meat. You want the food moist but not floating and sloppy (this is for large/giant breeds, reduce amount for smaller breeds accordingly). Do not microwave, soak or use hot or very warm water on your kibble. It will destroy the integrity of the friendly yogurt type cultures and the fragile vitamins/minerals and amino acids on the food. Water On Food:
Drinking Water: Withholding water for fear of bloat is a myth. Stress is the cause and bloat/torsion is the response. It is much more complicated that simply saying water is the cause of bloat.
Section C - Support Information - Required Reading
Special Alert - Antibiotic Reactions in Great Danes and Other Breeds.
Fleas - Heartworm
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