Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

NuPro Joint and Immunity Support For Dogs

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This post is sponsored by Nupro. I’ve been compensated by Nupro to share my opinion of their product. However, Heart Like a Dog will never share products that we don’t use ourselves. All opinions expressed within are ours. 

You all know Sampson has been struggling with Cruciate issues since 2014. That’s three years ya’ll. Three long and painful years of watching my dog struggle.

Struggle to get up, struggle to walk, struggle to be comfortable. During these three long (did I mention they were long) years, we’ve tried a number of different products and treatments in an effort to help ease that struggle. Some of course, like anything else, have worked better than others.

Every once in a while, you find a treatment that has a dual purpose. For us that treatment is NUPRO Joint and Immunity Support for dogs. (I refer to this as, “The Silver Label”.)

Nupro Joint and Immunity Support helps with joint issues as well as giving the immune system a lil’ something’ something’.

I first found out about Nupro at our local pet expo. With Sampson’s struggles, I’m always on the lookout for new products. I was given a very generous supply of Nupro to see how it might help Sampson.

There is also a Gold label which is a totally holistic product chock full of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, amino acids, and essential omega fatty acids. 

For those keeping score at home, I call this one, “The Gold Label.”

The container we received is five pounds and quite large. For a dog Sampson’s size (87 pounds) the recommended dosage is 2 scoops to begin and after a month, you can reduce it to one scoop per day. Depending on your dog’s issues, you can also keep it at two scoops per day, which I do. The five pound jug lasts us close to two months.

The ingredients. Oh so important to us! There are no wheat, corn or soy fillers!

Glucosamine, MSM, Ester-C (a mineral blend of Vitamin C), Norwegian Kelp, Ground Flaxseed, Yeast, Desicated Liver, Amino Acids and Enzymes, Garlic, Calcium, Lecithin, Lactobacillus Acidophilus.

Initially I waited to add this to Sampson’s diet. He had his annual exam towards the end of November and I had scheduled a follow-up with another vet at our clinic who’s been very helpful with Sampson’s joint issues. I wanted to be sure that everything we were doing was complimentary, not detrimental. I had received some samples at the expo, so I brought those with me and got the ok from Dr. Atz to try it.

The directions say you can sprinkle it on their food, or make it into a gravy. At first I started sprinkling, but then I was struck by brilliance, and realized that Sampson doesn’t drink a lot, so if I made it into a gravy, I’d not only be helping his joint issues, I’d be giving his kidneys a little boost too. (You have to love a product that serves a dual purpose!)

We feed raw, so I don’t pour it over his food. Instead he gets the Nupro as the third course, or “dessert” part of his dinner. (Yeah you read that right, my dogs get a three-course meal. That’s two (count em), two courses more than I get.) After he’s cleaned his bowl, and had his small scoop of pumpkin, I mix up the Nupro. I use a small milk pitcher, (because it has a spout) for ease of pouring. I call it his, “Go-go juice” and if I’m a bit slow in the mixing, he comes over to wait while I do it. I use a bit of warm water, add the Nupro, mix it up with a fork and then add a bit of cold water and mix again.

Sampson loves this stuff. I’ve said to Hubby, “Even if it wasn’t doing anything for him, I’d give it to him anyway because he loves it so much.” Siriusly, his little front paws ‘dance’ while he waits for him. And of course, Delilah is waiting by his side, so she can lick his bowl clean. (Because, the Lab part of Sampson doesn’t lick. Right) **eyeroll**

I wanted to wait a good while before sharing this because Sampson is a dog who is slow to adapt to things. We know this. Both from the surgical repair on his knee, and his recovery from the non-surgically repaired knee.

I can tell you, after five full months on Nupro, I definitely see a difference for him.  He has far less shaking in his back legs when he’s in the house. He seems to get on and off the sofa, and bed with far less discomfort and there are even days when he will pick up a toy and fetch it or tug with it. Of course, with his issues we try to discourage any sirius physical activity.

But what about the cost, I hear you say? Well in my humble opinion, the price is quite reasonable. This five pound container sells for less than $40. Which means this costs me about 66 cents a day.  (You can also buy it in a 20 pound container, which saves you about $80.)

I don’t know about you, but for me, 66 cents a day is a small price to pay to help give my dog some comfort in his senior years. It’s less than a cup of coffee.

Coffee is bad for dogs. I’ll take Nupro instead.

Am I telling you to give up your coffee?

Hell to the no!

I say be like Jodi. Keep your coffee. Considering cutting something from your grocery bill that you buy for your husband. I’m cutting out his cookies…;-)

Oh, and another cool thing, Nupro isn’t just for dogs. Nupro makes supplements for cats and ferrets too!

 

Inquiring minds…

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I’m going to test long time reader’s memories. Do you remember that Caring For Critters Round Robin that took place back in September of 2014?

Courtesy of Jen Dehaan from Pizels.

For those new to the blog, or those that need a reminder of something that happened 2 1/2 years ago, this blog has a Community Page (located in the teal bar below the header and above the blog post,) or you can just click HERE.

The Round Robin involved a number of bloggers sharing their stories and experiences with medical and behavioral issues they’d experienced with their pets. There is a lot of good information there, but of course, not everything is covered.

There is a lot to learn from reading other people’s blogs, but sometimes, when your in a blind panic trying to figure out a course of treatment for your pet, you can’t always recall who posted about what.

Pet bloggers share a wealth of information. Whether they are entertaining, educating or just sharing experiences, I find I learn so much from all of you. I belong to a number of Pet/Blogger/Pet Blogger pages on Facebook, and when I’m searching for information regarding a health issue one of the dogs has, I stalk those pages. The one thing I haven’t found is a page dedicated to health issues.

Currently, Stone Manor is experiencing a couple of challenging health issues, and while I have reached out to those of you, that I know have dealt with them, I thought it might be nice to have a page just for health/behavioral issues.  Do any of you have an interest in such a page?

I plan to write about our issues in depth, it’s just right now, it seems like it’s one thing after another with these two. We’ve had recurring urinary tract infections for both dogs. Sampson has been struggling with his partial CCL tear, and now it seems like the Meniscus might have torn as well. Also, Delilah has lost five pounds in the last six months, and her recent blood tests has our vet thinking she has Inflammatory bowel.

Additionally, after having been on 20 hours of work a week since last July, I just been offered a new job and will be going back to work full-time on April 10th.

SO, what are your thoughts? Does anyone think a page for health would be worthwhile, or are there too many pages?

Inquiring minds want to know…

 

Six Hidden Dangers in Leaves – For Dogs (and Kids)

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Here in New England, fall is in full swing. Fall is one of, if not my favorite season. I love the cool, crisp days filled with bright sunshine, and the beauty of the trees as they ready themselves to shed their leaves in preparation for winter.

The problem is, once those trees drop those leaves and cover the ground, they can become pretty dangerous, especially to dogs.

Where I live, the town collects the leaves in the fall, which means people pile their leaves on the side of the street for the town to collect them. My neighborhood doesn’t have sidewalks, so we walk on the side of the road, right alongside (or in) the leaves.

Last week I watched a neighbor raking her leaves, while her small grandson buried himself in them, and it hit me, leaves can be dangerous for kids too! Hence the (and kids) in the title.

But they’re leaves, and they’re pretty, how can they be dangerous, you ask.

There's danger in these here leaves.

There’s danger in these here leaves.

Things to be aware of, when walking your dog (or kid) near leaves.

  • Food – When you have a Labrador with a nose for food, you really have to be watchful around leaves. Some of the people in this neighborhood haven’t gotten the memo about not feeding bread to the birds! Last week Sampson dove into a pile of leaves and came out with a wad of bread that I had to wrestle away from him. And just yesterday, Delilah came up with a cookie. A cookie! Who the hell tosses out a cookie? One would hope that a child knows better than to dig a cookie up out of a leave pile and pop it in their mouth, BUT Halloween was on Monday night, and clumsy cold little fingers could have easily dropped a candy bar. I don’t know many dogs, or kids that can resist a candy bar. For that matter, it might be tempting to some of the adults I know.
Is that a cookie I smell?

Is that a cookie I smell?

  • Curbs/Holes – Leaves can be hiding curbs or pot holes. With Sampson’s bad leg, I’m constantly worried about him stepping off a curb wrong, or twisting his leg in a hole. He’s actually fallen coming down off a curb, talk about heart stopping.  The good thing is, dog’s are like that drunk at the club, who falls down and pops right back up…”I’m okay.”
  • Sharp Objects – I’m not just talking sticks here either. Our recycle guy apparently isn’t all that accurate with the automatic bin lever. Many times I’ve found broken glass on the sides of the streets. Now, when I come home and find a mess in front of MY house, I clean it up. But most of my neighbors do not. No, those lazy asses leave it right where it fell. And those little pieces can easily get covered up by the leaves and an unsuspecting dog or child can wind up with glass in a paw or appendage. Take it from the woman who had to go to the podiatrist to have a piece of glass dug out of her foot. It’s no fun.
  • Insects – I’m specifically talking here about fleas and ticks. Ticks feed only at certain temperatures, (they don’t care for the really hot and humid, nor do they feed in the winter.) They prefer the cooler days in spring and fall. Monday, I noticed a tiny black spot on Samspon’s head, I reached out and picked it off and it was tick. (FTR he got a nice swim in some alcohol. The tick, not Sampson!) We have our yard sprayed for fleas and ticks AND because of his bad leg, Sampson hadn’t been out back, so really the only place he could have gotten it, was on our morning walk. I’m sure there’s spiders and worms in there too!  Spiders and worms and ticks, OH MY!
  • Animal Eliminations – Ewww!  Yeah, I know it’s gross to even think about, but it’s not just MY dogs that pee/poop in leaves. All dogs like to check their pee-mail and leave a reply. And,  other animals can eliminate there as well. There are number of diseases that can be transmitted by rodent droppings and Leptospirosis is on the rise in the wildlife population. Those to me are good reasons to keep my dogs out of the leaves.
Peed on 'em, now I just gotta walk away.

Peed on ’em, now I just gotta walk away.

 

  • Animals – While it’s not likely that a fox or bear is going to jump out of the leaves at you, smaller animals, such as mice and chipmunks can certainly be hiding or nesting there. Especially the chipmunks in our neighborhood; I swear those little bastards get their jollies out of antagonizing my dogs. Ever get your arm dislocated because your dog saw a mouse or chipmunk? Yeah, it’s no fun. Now, imagine being dragged down the street through a pile of leaves filled with food, glass, bugs, animals and poop.

Talk about a bad day.

Leaves can also be slippery both when they are dry AND wet, as a rule of thumb, I try to avoid them as much as possible. How about you? Do you let your dogs/kids play in the leaves, or are you like me, and try to avoid them?

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