Dog Community

For Ena and Other Wee Furkids

Posted : 10/31/2008 8:00:22 AM

I just made a new discovery. I purchased a child's formula Nordic Naturals complete OFA supplement for my kids. Which they immediately declared Not Edible.

So it wouldn't go to waste, I started dropping a capsule in Zhi's food every day instead of her plain fish oil concentrate. I started that a week ago and this morning she woke up with Unbelievable Hair. She has the worst furnishings of any very hairy hairless I've ever met. The Idea point[/i] of letting this much hair "get by" in the gene pool is for the Good Hair.

Okay, so now I wonder whether I've been so careful all her life, knowing our food is high in omega-6s, to lower her exposure to that (grain free diet, grass fed meats) and increase her omega-3s (supplemented fish oil). Whatever is going on, I can highly recommend this product if you are having issues with dry skin, itchies, etc - it's a super nice, well thought out formula intended for human consumption, pharmaceutical grade.

Nordic Naturals Omega-3-6-9 Junior

Ingredients: Purified deep sea fish oil, (from anchovies and sardines), soft gel capsule (gelatin, water, glycerin, natural lemon oil), borage oil, natural lemon oil, d-alpha tocopherol, rosemary extract.

Zhi likes the flavor but not all dogs would probably. These ingredients are all safe. Rosemary is also a "good hair" supplement. I wouldn't give lemon oil to cats though.

It's got 225 mg of DHA+EPA, perfect for a dog Zhi's size, plus a balance of supplemental GLA and oleic acid from the borage oil. Oleic acids are the base for the amazing cetyl-M that is becoming popular with that video on Youtube - they have anti-inflammatory action in addition to other functions.

Borage oil is so potent a source of these OFAs that almost any dog can use it, even though it's a plant based oil. Ben did wonderfully on another great "complete" product - Derm-caps. Derm caps is outrageously expensive though and the results weren't as impressive for us when Zhi used it. I got 90 days worth for the same cost of 30 days of Derm Caps for her.

I just wanted to pass that on! There's always a silver lining, even when you want to rehome your picky kids. :-/

jennie_c_d

Posted : 10/31/2008 8:31:42 AM

Have you tried the Nordic Berries kids multi vitamin? They taste like awesome! When I was working at the health food store, a Nordic rep came by and opened a bottle, for us. They taste like gum drops.

We'll definitely try that supplement. It's a great company, and it's time to buy fish oil, again. Emma can have two, and Ena can have one. Ena's been eating K9 Show Stopper, because a friend gave it to us, and I have a theory about her that she's actually NOT that sensitive, aside from grains. It certainly hasn't bothered her, yet. She's actually looking pretty nice.

There's a vicious Chinese Crested on Animal Planet's It's Me Or The Dog, right now. I'm feeling amused.

Cita

Posted : 10/31/2008 11:06:35 AM

Thanks for the tip! Rascal's fur has been drying out like crazy with the onset of winter, and the weekly(ish) sardines I've been feeding him haven't seemed to do much. I just might have to give these a try!

brookcove

Posted : 10/31/2008 11:59:32 AM

Don't forget if you are getting winter itchies, to check the humidity in your home. It should be around 58% to 62% for good health for everyone in your home. I do also increase my fish oil in the winter as well - both for the dry weather, and also for the immune support.

jennie_c_d

Posted : 10/31/2008 10:11:45 PM

Ena is definitely dryer, since the weather switched from boiling to freezing, overnight. I've been having to really watch her. Her skin is like mine. It breaks much easier, when it's dry. I'm having to oil/lotion a lot more often, for both of us. She scratched an area of her neck, pretty badly, before I realized she was drying out so much.

Hairless dogs are a pain, LOL!

GypsyNBeau

Posted : 11/2/2008 5:54:59 AM

I think I may have to try the capsules, too. Beau has had the itchies lately.

jennie_c_d

Posted : 11/23/2008 10:18:12 PM

We've had our bottle for two weeks, now, and Ena's skin is the best it's ever been. Seriously, this is good stuff. Both girls like the taste (Ena LOVES lemons, and Emma has drug induces food-whore). They take it like it's treats.

They're also sharing one, 3.4 billion human probiotic capsule a day. Between the two, Ena has almost NO acne! It's amazing! My friend with Chinese Cresteds went and bought some of the oil supplement for her dogs.

I was giving MORE oil, and getting less results. There's something GOOD in this one.

ETA: Emma is also itching significantly less. I haven't bathed her in... three weeks? That's unheard of!

3girls

Posted : 11/24/2008 7:30:24 AM

How much does Ena and Zhi weigh?

Astra's 5lbs so would just one of these be alright or will I have to cut it in half?

Benedict

Posted : 11/24/2008 7:43:45 AM

I'm glad the CC's are doing so well.

Becca I have to say that when I read the "Unbelievable Hair" bit I had this mental image of Zhi in a L'Oreal ad, flipping her furnishings and batting her eyelashes for the camera. LOL.

brookcove

Posted : 11/24/2008 4:07:03 PM

Benedict

Becca I have to say that when I read the "Unbelievable Hair" bit I had this mental image of Zhi in a L'Oreal ad, flipping her furnishings and batting her eyelashes for the camera. LOL.

Kinda like this?

Benedict

Posted : 11/24/2008 4:09:04 PM

Just like that! LOL!

jennie_c_d

Posted : 11/24/2008 8:13:44 PM

Ena is 12 lbs, today. I was a little shocked. I didn't realize she was that big, LOL. Emma is 20.

Emma woke up this morning looking like she'd been bathed and carded. Her coat feels incredible. I haven't touched it in weeks.... Seriously, this is good stuff!

Benedict

Posted : 11/25/2008 8:07:24 AM

Becca, would the adult version be OK for a larger dog? Or would I have to get the junior one and give more of it? (I looked, I can get them here.)

JackieG

Posted : 11/25/2008 10:46:06 AM

Benedict

Becca, would the adult version be OK for a larger dog? Or would I have to get the junior one and give more of it? (I looked, I can get them here.)

I was wondering the same thing! I have ordered the child's for Twister but my other two are big dogs. Thanks, Becca.

brookcove

Posted : 11/25/2008 1:53:07 PM

I think the key to it is that it just happens to be the right levels of stuff for a dog that size. If you give less of a formula made for larger dogs, it will be typically, not quite the right ratio for little dogs. I didn't cleverly figure this out in some scientific manner - I just stumbled across this because I'm too cheap to waste stuff. LOL

I'm going to guess that for a big dog you can get similar results from a high-quality formula made for grownups. I'm happy with the way most of my dogs look but I just ordered a formula with borage oil for a few of them, and me. This might be the answer to why Cord does poorly without corn in his diet. Corn is high in lineoleic acid. I think.

It makes sense, that they might be just a bit short on n-3s because I'm overcareful about exposure.