Dog Vitamins - facts you should know

Most 'vitamins' you find on the pet shelves these days are made synthetically through chemical processes, rather than derived directly from plants or other materials.

It is difficult to make the distinction between "synthetic" and "natural" vitamins. Some define a natural vitamin as a concentrated nutrient derived from a quality natural source. The idea is maximum retention of the natural material; with no artificial colors, sweeteners, or preservatives.

Co-Factors

A natural source contains 'co-factors' that come with the nutrient in nature. For instance, co-factors that are usually found with Vitamin C are various bioflavonoids. The bioflavinoids are concentrated from the natural source as carefully as possible. No extreme heat, pressure, or possible toxic solvents are used. There are no sugar or chemical tablet coatings. The nutrients are prepared from high quality raw ingredients. No artificial chemicals are added. Harsh binders and fillers do not hinder absorption. This is why natural source vitamins cost more.

Synthetic vitamins are made in a laboratory setting from coal tar derivatives. No co-factors are present. Most of the pet supplements sold on the market today are synthetic.

Give me an example:

Vitamin C that is found and isolated from oranges is identical to the vitamin C derived from other plant sources, largely because plants containing vitamin C biosynthesize the substance in much the same manner. However, when Vitamin C was first isolated and produced in a supplement form, we did not know about bioflavonoids. They were discovered later. It was found that in nature, bioflavonoids always accompany Vitamin C. In fact, the bioflavonoids are essential for better absorption. They increase bioavailability by 30%. This suggests we should feed our dogs the natural form of vitamin C. What else don't we know?

When feeding your dog organic vegetables such as broccoli, carrots, or plants and herbs such as Green Barley, sea vegetables, dandelion etc., there is no label that indicates how many I.U's or milligrams of this, that, or the other nutrients these plants contain because they are in their natural, whole, organic form, in just the right amounts, the way nature intended. The ideal source of nutrients comes from organic plant sources in their whole natural form, not from isolated or man-made chemical source. Recent studies (in Finland) suggest that isolated natural vitamins may not be good for the health our our pets.

What are vitamins anyway?

Vitamins are living enzyme complexes that naturally produce biochemical reactions in the body. Synthetic Vitamins are chemicals that produce drug reactions in the body.


Canine supplements, as the word clearly states, are meant to supplement a highly varied diet of whole, unprocessed foods.

This is why we love our Green Power! Organic and the whole food - carefully dried and finely powdered for easy absorption. It's the Natural Canine Vitamin!

From Dumpster to Doctor

This dog doesn't do tricks. He does tracheas.

When Debbie Parkhurst, 45, got a chunk of apple lodged in her windpipe on Friday, her dog "Toby" came to the rescue. The 2-year-old Golden Retriever pushed Ms. Parkhurst onto the floor and issued abdominal thrusts (jumping up and down on her chest) until the obstruction was expelled from her airway. Toby's actions, hailed as a canine version of the Heimlich maneuver, saved her life.

"The doctor said I probably wouldn’t be here without Toby," says Ms. Parkhurst. "It was lodged pretty tight because I couldn’t breathe. I tried to do the thing where you lean over a chair and give yourself the Heimlich, but it didn’t work.
"The next thing I know, Toby’s up on his hind feet and he’s got his front paws on my shoulders. He pushed me to the ground, and once I was on my back, he began jumping up and down on my chest.

"As soon as I started breathing, he stopped and began licking my face, as if to keep me from passing out."

A friend arrived in time to witness the canine CPR and drove Ms. Parkhurst to the doctor.
"I literally have pawprint-shaped bruises on my chest,” says Ms. Parkhurst. “I’m still a little hoarse, but otherwise, I’m OK.
"I keep looking at him and saying ‘You’re amazing.' "

From Dumpster to Doctor

Who would have guessed that this medical miracle mutt was once just a cast-away cur? Toby, as it turns out, was rescued from a dumpster by Ms. Parkhurst in 2005.
She admits that the pooch never seemed to be med-school material. "Of all the dogs in the world," she says, "I never would have expected this goofy one here to know the Heimlich.”
But oddly, the dog's rescue procedure was performed exactly the way it is suggested by the American Red Cross: "a series of five back blows and five abdominal thrusts." 2
(The licking part was just improvisation.)

Toby's veterinarian, Dr. Douglas Foreman, is equally baffled at the dog's expert response. "Toby isn’t what you would call the most trained of dogs," Dr. Foreman says. "I have no idea where he learned it from."


Sources:
"Wonder dog is all golden"
Cecil Whig. 27 Mar 2007