When was the last time you saw a price come down? We’re repackaging some of our products. Flip-up lids, easy safety seals (pull them off rather than struggling), and, in the case of CoQ10, this translates to lowering the price. Yes!- lower. The capsules are a smidge larger than in the past, but I’d bet that if I didn’t say this, you’d never notice. This fractional difference translates to savings because there’s less labor involved. How much of a savings can you expect? Two dollars per bottle! That’s substantial, and the product is the same great quality we’ve always been so proud to offer.

Our current stock (not in the new bottles) is at the same lower price, and has a long expiry date. We wouldn’t want anyone to buy now, only to find out that the price of newer packaging was less. That seems unfair, so we’re offering a better price as of today!

Fact of the Month
Arthritis Management Includes Dietary Measures

There are two things that I routinely ask of clients with arthritic dogs:

1) Keep the dog slim - and I do mean slim! Unless a disease has caused the dog to be overly thin, many dogs can afford to lose at least one pound of bodyweight. Your veterinarian is your best advisor in this regard. Many dog owners are so accustomed to seeing their own dog for years that they may not even notice an extra pound or two of bodyweight. This excess “baggage” places a heavy burden on joints. Tiny dogs such as the Chihuahua may need to lose only a couple of ounces, but remember the importance of helping your dog, regardless of size, stay slim.

2) Take your time as you use your fingers to over the dog very carefully. It’s surprising how many times this exercise alone has brought an undiscovered problem to the attention of the owner, and then the veterinarian. The fact that a dog is arthritic doesn’t mean that s/he doesn’t also have a small growth between the toes, or a scrape on a foot pad. The limp that a dog may have had for some time due to arthritis isn’t necessarily the reason s/he seems to be sorer now. There may have been some progression of an arthritic condition, but there’s always the chance that something else is causing a problem.

From a dietary perspective, reducing inflammation is an important goal. One of the most important things you can do is to remove safflower, canola, and corn oils from the diet. These oils don’t cause arthritis, and are perfectly fine for healthy dogs, but they have a pro-inflammatory effect that isn’t supportive of arthritic conditions. Focus on feeding wild salmon oil instead. Like other fish body oils it has an anti-inflammatory effect, and what makes it superior is that it’s much lower in heavy metals and PCBs than farmed salmon. Feeding 100 mg per two pounds of your dog’s bodyweight can be beneficial.

Feed antioxidants. Don’t forget the naturally occurring ones found in fruits and vegetables. Include berries, green, yellow and orange veggies. Arachadonic acid is a fatty acid linked to inflammation. Although red meats are touted at being “bad” for arthritis, this is not the case. The fat portion of meat may be a problem, but lean meats are fine. In fact, studies show that beef and lamb contain lower levels of arachidonic acid in both the visible fat and lean portions. The highest levels are in duck, and pork fat has the highest level in visible fat.

I use vitamin E in all diets, and add a little more for arthritic dogs. Ester-C has been reported to help many dogs. The benefit to Ester-C is twofold. It circulates in the body longer, and unlike regular vitamin C, doesn’t upset the gastrointestinal tract. I use it to bowel tolerance. That is, give as much as the dog can handle without producing sloppy stool. Once the stool starts to become loose, cut back to the amount you were feeding when stool was formed. Warning: never give any form of supplemental vitamin C to a dog that forms calcium oxalate stones. Consider your breed. Some breeds are notorious for these stones.

Feed a vitamin B compound supplement. I use 50 mg daily for a 50-60 pound dog even if the diet provides all the B vitamins the pet needs. Supplemental niacinamide (vitamin B3) has been linked to some pain relief in human patients with osteoarthritis. While dogs are a different species, I’ve seen some good results with this dosage. It’s important that you feed a compound rather than B3 alone. The vitamin B group works as a team; one vitamin needing others to work properly. Try CoQ10. The rationale is that other than it being a powerful antioxidant, it’s essential for the mitochondria. So, the immune system may have more cellular energy. This hasn’t been proven in clinical trials, but some dogs react so positively to it, that it’s worth trying for a few weeks to see if it can help. Lastly, feed a joint supportive supplement. Clients report good success with our Joint Complex which takes 4-6 weeks to show best results.

Monica

“Dogs are our link to paradise. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring--it was peace.’
-- Milan Kundera