# What supplements to give 7 month old



## Lwilley (Jan 1, 2014)

What supplements would you recommend giving a 7 month old? Our puppy, Piper, grew a bit to fast but was caught early. She is now on a low protein adult food for large breeds. I was just wondering if I should be giving her any supplements to protect her joints at the age. We give her a vitamin each day. Thank you for your responses.


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## Jeff902 (May 20, 2014)

I use NutriAid GCM by Nutriscience. 
Glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM combined into a liquid. 
I started when he was 16 weeks. That's what our vet suggested because he's a large puppy already with large parents.
I'm just a first time owner though going by what the vet recommends and do as much online research as possible.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

just some food for thought - ultimate size is determined by genes contributed by sire and dam .
When you feed a low protein (deprivation) diet to stunt or restrict natural growth, I , my opinion, think you are doing harm.

Protein in a growing animal -- good clean , bio available , protein contributes to muscle mass , the all important bone growth and density Protein intake and bone growth. [Can J Appl Physiol. 2001] - PubMed - NCBI,
immune health , skin (a major ORGAN) hair coat , cartilage and ligament integrity.

those low protein adult kibbles are filled with junk fillers which are difficult to digest taxing the bile , liver and pancreas. 

Nutrient dense , mineral rich , clean protein, efa's , low calorie , optimized diet , not sub par , growth slowing from malnourishment.

The vets haven't caught up with studies , released over a decade ago , because their education is provided by the commercial kibble companies. Hey, the commercial kibble companies aren't going to rock their boat - they profit from having so many layers of product choice .

We do not want roly poly pups , more likely a result of calorie dense food with filler carbohydrates, excess fat, which probably is rancid and pro inflammatory.

Feeding raw I have yet to have a "fat" pup. 
When I do my x rays the bones are strong and dense , vet says "dinosaur" bones.
Orthopedic results good -- the rare occasion , very rare , where there is disappointment . Even then the difference would be only the slightest from normal. 

I tell my pup buyers to stay away from these specialized products .

For elderly dogs or those on weight-control , weight-management , the low protein kibbles are chock a block loaded with filler . Used to be peanut hulls . Something indigestible which fills the stomach and so curbs hunger. Sure the dog slows growth , or looses weight . Because it is malnourished .


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## owens91 (Mar 19, 2014)

Lwilley said:


> What supplements would you recommend giving a 7 month old? Our puppy, Piper, grew a bit to fast but was caught early. She is now on a low protein adult food for large breeds. I was just wondering if I should be giving her any supplements to protect her joints at the age. We give her a vitamin each day. Thank you for your responses.



curious on what food was you giving that made u think contributed to fast growth


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## Yoshi (May 12, 2014)

carmspack said:


> Feeding raw I have yet to have a "fat" pup.


So that's why my last dog never got fat.  He was always very lean, there was no excess fat on him at all. You could feel his ribs if you pressed but he didn't look like he was starving either if that makes sense. I always thought he just had some type of skinny gene. He mainly ate meat (kangaroo legs, lamb/beef offal and chicken carcasses) with a little bit of scraps and biscuits. 

I actually didn't worry about feeding special foods as he was growing up, the only precautions I took with joints was I didn't exercise him hard for the first year. The more demanding exercises were done in the water, I heard that exercise in the water was tiring for dogs, but very good for their joints.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

If anything , a good , REAL , nutrient dense, calorie conservative diet , with real sources of vitamin C given with real sources of vitamin E , because the two are each anti inflammatory and work synergistically.
Cartilage and ligament integrity will be benefited from real food sourced vitamin C .
MSM or a source of sulfur also beneficial . When you give glucosamine , MSM should be a partner , once again they work synergistically.


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## Lwilley (Jan 1, 2014)

We were feeding Taste of the Wild for puppies, recommended by vet, not realizing it was not for large breeds. Just before turning 6 months she limped on front paw ans was diagnosed with "growing pains". 

I am not comfortable feeding raw. Is there another alternative?


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## trcy (Mar 1, 2013)

Lwilley said:


> We were feeding Taste of the Wild for puppies, recommended by vet, not realizing it was not for large breeds. Just before turning 6 months she limped on front paw ans was diagnosed with "growing pains".
> 
> I am not comfortable feeding raw. Is there another alternative?


Growing pains or pano could just be in the genetics. My current GSD did not grow to fast and he has had pano in all legs. I was told his grandfather had pano pretty bad. He is 13 months and he has pano in his left front leg right now. We had his ofa xrays done and it showed in the xray, but I knew it was pano. The vet did not tell me to feed him differently (he did ask what I was feeding him though). He just said it could reoccur until he's 3 years old. I'm not sure if that is right. I always thought it was until they were 18 months old. 

I was told not to feed puppy food when Riley had pano. Riley only got it in his front legs, but he did grow fast.


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