Hi Everyone... well Ender is a growing pup (as you can see) and I'm trying to make sure I'm on track with making his overall diet as healthy as possible. I posted in here (but it was moved to General Health... oops) regarding Ender's giardia problem and digestive issues... and while I'm waiting for the vet to give me the all clear on the giardia, I'm wondering if he's getting all the right "stuff" in his regular diet or if I should start something like the probiotics suggested in the other thread. I should probably mention that he doesn't have a weight issue for his build... he's lean but not too skinny... I can feel his ribs but not see them unless he's turned at an angle in the sun... also he has a tuck and a waist. Here's what he gets now...

ProPlan Large Breed Puppy:3-4 cups per day depending on activity.
Zuke's Mini Naturals for training (maybe 15 per day?)
ProPlan Puppy Biscuit: one or two per day
Marrow bone... OCCASIONALLY... and small ones... not a full pipe.
Kongs: varys... during the week he gets one per day average... filled with a dab of peanut butter for the end, and banana yogurt mixture (mostly banana) frozen.

I know the occasional fish/fish oil can be good, but wasn't sure if that was an "adult" lab thing.

People have mentioned probiotics to me.

I guess my question is, what should I be considering and what are the potential risks/benefits? Money really isn't an object when it comes to this... but I want to just buy stuff for the hell of it. I mean I myself take a multi-vitamin and try to get in my one fish serving per week at least. I just want to make sure I'm doing the best for Ender as well.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions/advice.

How are his stools doing now? What you're doing sounds good to me. I give Cosequin DS (glucosamine/chondriton) to my adult dogs but otherwise don't suppliment at all. Everyone gets Pro Plan here.

His stools *seem* to be better. I say that becuase it seems like everytime I think "ok cool we've got is solved", the loose stools pop right back up. PERSONALLY I think he's still got some giardia going on 'cause while his poop is better... (before it was half and half... first ones would be nice and firm, then the second half would be very runny)... I'm not convinced the medicine really did the complete job because *to me* the stool still smells worse than I think it should sometimes. I hope that made sense.

I don't do supplements with puppies. When you are feeding a balanced kibble you really do run the risk of oversupplementing. Personally, I'd save the training treats for a class situation with distractions. At home, my puppies will do backflips (almost literally) for pieces of kibble. We don't let on that they are selling their souls too cheaply ;) For chewing treats I use marrow bones and refreeze them. Keeping things simple makes it easier on the puppies. There's plenty of time to experiment after they've grown.

I probably fall on the end of wanting to "spoil" my puppy a bit much but his health comes first so I think we definitely need to cut back, and as you said... only use treats for class.

I figured that since ProPlan was a good food I didn't need to supplement... but wanted to make sure.

I cannot seem to find marrow bones...any suggestions where??

I cannot seem to find marrow bones...any suggestions where??

Butcher... most grocery butchers even have some on hand.

Marrow bones are also called "beef marrow bones" "soup bones" etc....

I just say, when in doubt... "do you have any marrow bones... you know... for my dog?" So far they all knew what I was talking about. The "good" places will give them to you for free... our local PickNSave charges $$ for them.

I don't do supplements with puppies. When you are feeding a balanced kibble you really do run the risk of oversupplementing. Personally, I'd save the training treats for a class situation with distractions. At home, my puppies will do backflips (almost literally) for pieces of kibble. We don't let on that they are selling their souls too cheaply ;) For chewing treats I use marrow bones and refreeze them. Keeping things simple makes it easier on the puppies. There's plenty of time to experiment after they've grown.


:tup2: im with 3dog... no suppliments (including multi vitamins!) for puppies, and save the yummy treats for when you need them. we used yummy training treats for homer's puppy classes, but when practicing at home there are fewer distractions and kibble worked fine for us. puppies can have sensitive tummies, and too many treats can be trouble! i did give homer fruits and veggies in his kong when he was a pup... but in moderation. now that he is older, he gets a much wider variety of foods. when ender is a bit older, there are all sorts of yummy things he can have... maybe even occasional raw meals;) .