Sitting on hold with Tmobile while they figure out why our phones aren’t working. Who knows how long that’s been going on we never use our cellphones except when Cody has to travel for work. I was smart though I already had the cordless phone’s headset on and I’ve gotten all our other bills paid online while waiting.

I’ve also gotten all the food ready for the dog’s visit to the puppy spa. They don’t have the Foster and Smith food and I don’t want her to get sick. Also we feed her one cup three times a day as opposed to grazing because she’d just eat it all up in one shot then get sick. So I made up twenty little baggies with 1 cup of dog food each. Put all her supplements and a treat in every third baggie and stapled it together with two plain ones for each day. It costs me a dollar a meal to have them do it this way but it’s worth it to keep her healthy. The place she goes to is great. We also pay for supervised doggy day care all day long because she loves other dogs so much and a special frozen yogurt treat once a day. The people that work there genuinely love dogs and cats and they give us a little report card on how she did when we pick her up. She’ll have a lot of fun.

So while I’m on hold (yep, still, which is fine with me as long as they fix the problem) I thought I’d type out the supplements we give Winter and what they’re for.

Once a day-

1 x 1000 mg tab Vita C Tablets (Ester C formula)
studies have shown that vitamin c can help with general health AND can counteract or prevent hip dysplasia. We’re VERY aware of the risks of hip dysplasia in larger dogs (that’s a long story) and we started with preventative measures for this and other diseases very early in her life.

1 tablet Brewer’s Yeast Mega Tabs
contains omega fatty acids, zinc, vitamin B that are good for skin and coat. I do a lot to prevent her getting dry skin and a dry coat because it is the desert after all.

1 tablet gycoflex II
we started with the plain gycoflex when she was still a puppy. That only contained perna mussel which is thought to help with cartiledge and connective tissues. Now that she’s older and a good deal larger we give her this formula which also contains Glucosamine, MSM, and Manganese - all aid with connective tissues, cartiledge, and joints.

1 capsule of Vitacaps for large dogs
high levels of fatty acids and biotins for healthy skin and general health

1 400 iu Vitamin E(general walgreens brand)
helps with skin, heart, also thought to help with eyes to prevent cataracts, some evidence that it helps with the connective tissues and joints

1 tbs Missing Link Veterinary Formula
There are non- Veterinary formulas that are easier to find but they only contain Omega 3. The Veterinary formula has both 3 and 6. Again, benefits skin, fur, and connective tissues.

2 tablets Fresh Breath Tabs
crunchy mint treats with parsley oil to help control the tartar and stinky breath a bit between brushings

Seasonal / Occasional Supplements-

Sometimes when she’s craving greens (ie I see her out in the yard eating weeds) I give her a little bowl of water mixed up with 1 tsp Barley Dog.

If she’s anxious or we’re about to go somewhere that might make her stressed I give her a few ultra calm tabs

I know it seems like a lot but she really is a healthy dog and we’d like to keep her that way as long as we can Anyway these pills are like treats for her and I get her to go through different trained commands for each treat so she gets her meds and her training reinforced.