Supplement?

Question
We have a 6 month old Dogo Argentino.  He weighs about 68 lbs currently.  We feed him Diamond Large Breed Puppy Food, although we include 1 scrambled egg, 2 tbls yogurt, Fish oil capsule, 500 mg vitamin C daily(all recommended by breeder).  Is this too much? He also gets dehydrated liver and deer meat as treats. The other recommendation was for Glucosamine, but I find conflicting information on it and I feel like we may be over supplementing as it is.  Do you have any advice on supplementing?  Thanks!

Answer
Hi Shelly,

I would support the fish oil with some extra Vitamin E (100 IU a day from a natural source, not synthetic) and I also feel green foods like spirulina, chlorella or a combination are excellent health supporters for pups. I use either green tripe or a probiotic as well - my own dog typically would get tripe twice a week and 5 days of probiotic. All good and safe support for growing dogs. I also start glucosamine about age 2- 4 depending on the dog - if they're active or compete in a sport, earlier, but four at the latest. The yogurt you're adding is fine, but a probiotic adds a lot more freidnly bacteria for intestinal health and immunity.  I think the C is fine too, may not be necessary but unlikely to cause harm at that dose. I use C sporadically with my onw dog, I tend to rely more on antioxidants like grapeseed, CoQ10 and lipoic acid, but I rotate them, if using preventively. WIth your fish oil and C, I would definitely add some E, for sure.

I don't like fried foods for dogs so I tend to feed an egg just boiled, no heated fats. An egg treat, a bit of extra meat as treats, all that's perfectly fine if not overdone. A nice home made or premium quality cookie is also good, fish like a sardine or two is excellent; my protocol with puppy treats is variety so you aren't overdoing any one nutrient all the time, all these foods have different nutrient content, so variety and no more than 10% of the diet. If you're using a quality commercial food, don't add vitamins and minerals, the food should take care of his needs.  I also like to use dehydrated sweet potatos such as Sam's Yams, or make your own, so not all the treats are meat based.

I hope this helps - and I bet your pup is adorable! I rarely see a Dogo, they are such unique and striking dogs. Let me know if I can help more.