Help with Vitamins and supplements for Blue Doberman

Hi all, I am getting ready to adopt a blue 15 month female dobeman. I have not seen her only in pictures. My sister took the dog to the vet for a check up before I go to get her. I was told that she has whipworms (YUCK ) that she is now getting treated for. Her coat is a bit of a mess due to the whipworms and that she is outside all the time. Now I have black and rust dobermans but this will be my first blue. Does anyone have a good idea about vitamins or supplements that I can start her on? My other dogs are feed a good dog food with great success plus I give them brewers yeast and garlic everyday along with a can full of vegetables with each meal. Their coats looks great! Well, any help with this new baby will be welcome.

For my dogs I add Hemp seed oil for the perfect ratio of Omega 3,6 and 9 fatty acids which are fantastic for the coat. I give them astragalus for their immune system, this is something you can give long term. They get glucosamine sulfate and glucosamine HCL, chondroitin, , manganese, and bromelain..the bromelain I don't give daily. I have given them Kelp off and on, Alfalfa a couple times a week, Probiotics daily for the beneficial bacteria for the gut. Other than that I feed them a variety of foods including raw meals, mixed with a yogurt base and veggies, garlic etc. In their kibble I always add water and canned food and change the brand of kibble every few months just so they are getting a good variety of different proteins etc. I add Sardines, canned wild salmon, flax seeds, cottage cheese to their kibbles as well.
I give my dogs a good variety I find with the variety I give my dogs they are getting ample vitamins so I don't have to supplement for actual B vitamins or C vitamins. The raw foods give them plenty of natural vitamin E and other vitamins in their natural form, kibbles have added vitamins in unnatural form for this reason I do like to ensure they get unprocessed raw foods at least every other day.

WoW! Thanks for the reply. That sounds great! I do a lot of homebaked natural treats. I stopped buying store treats when I got a box of biscuits and a Roach crawled out. I am going to check with my natural food store for the items that you mentioned. How much do you give? My dogs are 100+Male and the girls are 75+.
Again thanks

For the glucosamine sulfate and glucosamine HCL, chondroitin, manganese supplement, I purchase this in liquid form at the local tack store. It tells you on the bottle how muc to give. For my Rottweiler she gets 40cc and my Newfoundland's I give 50-60cc, my Dobe gets 35cc. For the Astragalus I buy this at my local holistic health store for humans. I give each one capsole daily, I also take 3 a day myself...especially during cold & flu season. The Alfalfa I purchase capsole form at the heath food store and give a capsole daily until I run out then I don't give them any for a few weeks. Kelp, I buy a big container at the tack store at a reasonable price and give a spoonful every 2 or 3 days. I experiment with different herbs for my dogs, I do a google seach and read up on different ones, for instance Yucca I use as an anti inflammatory, slippery elm I use for digestive problems and I forgot to mention I give dandelion root quite often for good healthy digestive system. For my older dog I give her Milk Thistle for her liver this helps support an aging liver and is also great for a dog on anti inflammatories or medications. I make sure they get Yogurt (organic with live bacteria cultures).
The only supplement I make sure they get on a regular basis is the glucosamine sulfate and glucosamine HCL, chondroitin, , manganese and for my older girls I make sure they get Yucca root.
The other supplements I give in moderation and some times not daily unless they are suffering from a health problem and I want something to support their system during that stressful time.
There are some wonderful books you can order which I have found to be wonderful guide lines.
"All you ever wanted to know about herbs for pets" by by Mary L. Wulff-Tilford & Gregory L. Tilford
Here is a page for ordering different books http://www.sitstay.com/store/books/index.shtml
this book is under Health and fitness. also check under Diet and nutrition for some great books as well.

I'm not big on supplements because with a complete raw diet there is no need to add anything. Mother Nature has the perfect balance for our animals when they eat prey animals. Personally I find supplements to be an almost complete waste of money unless you are treating an ailment. When my dogs blow their coats they tend to look dry. I do supplement with a fish body oil for this reason and also because our meats nowdays are not as high in Omega 3 & 6 fatty acids (unless you can find a grassfed animal source). I also don't have an opportunity to feed a wide variety of fish so the fish oil hleps out hrere as well. I hope soon to have a natural source of these omegas.
Please do more research before you start to supplement your dog. If you feed to much garlic it can be toxic to your dog. Most dogs do not have the enzyme's needed to break down lactose so be careful of how much yogurt you feed, it can lead to diarrhea.

Thanks Guy, All the information is very helpful. I have looked into a raw diet for my dogs but my male has a hard time with beef or beef products. No one in my area does grinding of chicken either. I am very careful with the garlic, but I do appericate the info.

Can I ask why you would have to grind chicken? Chicken has super soft bones when not cooked. My GSD when he was two months could take down a whole chicken quarter no problem. Grinding meat is not natural.

Oh, I was told by my vet to grind the chicken..Maybe it is because my Male Spirit likes to woof things down whole. I have had to go in and pull food out of his throat. If the food is not small, he tries to woof it down in one mouth full. Most of his chewies have to be bigger that his mouth and he has to be watched. He has been doing this since he was 8 weeks. Thanks

Go to this forum and ask. I've seen things specific to dobes on there many times adn I know some of the people on their have the colors that need the supplements. http://www.network54.com/Forum/11341
Good luck!