Hi Paul!
If you know of any holistic vets in the UK who ideally advocate the use of supplements too, I would suggest you to consult one of these and discuss the regimen in more details. This would be a good start although I know that these vets are hard to find.
However, my take on it as a "layman researchers" is that you may not need to supplement so aggressively yet (if at all) as Pingo is still relatively young. My dog is slowly approaching seven and then I feel it is take to being a more expanded anti-aging regimen.
I believe that some of the ingredients you list would be provided in a good premium brand of dog food or the specialised whole food powders described below. I normally buy the dried versions rather than the can stuff. I also keep my dog on a low fat and low calorie diet of course still packed with the necessary nutrients. Did you have a look at the CR study on dogs which one of the other posters referred too? Here are two links:
http://www.purina.co...estriction.aspx , and
http://www.upenn.edu...icle.php?id=144From there, I would consider supplemeting with some additional ingredients depending on the age of the dog, a genetic tedency to certain diseases, and the size of your wallet
. I have over a number of years now being giving my dog glucosamin + MSM for joint support. She also gets glisodin (SOD), carnosine+ alpha lipic acid + acetyl-l-carnitine (ALCAR). Here is one firm´s take on the latter two:
What about Juvenon for pets?
The compounds in the Juvenon formula have been demonstrated to have positive effects on both mental and physical activities in laboratory animals. There is also experimental evidence (both in vivo and in vitro ) indicating that the compounds in the supplement help to protect tissues by inhibiting the production of tissue-damaging free-radicals. The tissues protected include skeletal muscle, heart, liver, and tissue comprising the nervous system. The majority of these studies were with dogs and rodents. Unlike dogs and many other animals, cats cannot tolerate the Juvenon product because they are sensitive to one of the active compounds, alpha lipoic acid. The metabolism of lipoic acid by the liver of the cat is very different from other animals, and results in liver toxicity. Therefore, Juvenon is not recommended for cats.
Recommended dose: 1 tablet/ 50 lb/day or ¼ tablet/12 lbs/day. This dose can be applied to dogs, hamsters and other rodents, and horses.
Juveon contains 1000 mg ALCAR and 400 mg ALA per 2 tablets. Personally, I feel you can get better deals than the one from Juveon.com.
You also mentioned Omega 3, and I think this is a good supplement as well. I give my dog UDO´s Choice which is an oil I just pour over her food. I have provided a note on a vet´s take on Omega 3 supplementation for animals at the end of this reply.
There are some supplement companies that do offer specialised products for pets that could be added. One company is Vitamin Research Products. Check them out on
http://www.vrp.com/. Of interesting products could be their naural whole food concentrate, rejuvanet pet, and RNA - The latter I believe, however, more for aging dogs - see case study in the end of this reply.
I also as mentioned give my dog carnosine. One company www.Ethos.ag has such a product for pets (however identical with the human version so if more grams is prefered/cheapter opt for that one should you buy from there). I personally think it is too expensive and I do not buy their arguments for why their carnosine version should be better than any other brand such as NOW Foods etc. But you can use the website for some informational purposes on dosage and for some interesting mice pics. Note that they have a set up in the UK: www.ethosplan.com which may be sligtly cheaper (still to expensive IMO) but which does offer some discounts through a membership etc.
Finally, I should also mentioned that e.g. The life extension foundation offers an interesting pet product (www.lef.org) - Also Udo´`s Choice used to offer something in the past. And there a probably a number of other potentially interesting suppliers, I do not know of. I do wonder whether their dosis of e.g. ALA, ALCAR etc is potent enoug in these concentrated form, so this is something that may be good to ask about - Overall it may be better to supplement directly with a few of the most important ones.
In the future, I wil look into some of the suggested suplemments from the case of Dr Katz e.g. Deprenyl, PBN, and the Aloe vera extract. I still also hope that we will come closer at finding out whether reservatrol is good for dogs or not.
Br,
Martin
Here are some of the notes I mentioned above:
Pet Corner
Omega-3 Fatty Acids in our Pets
Gary L. Ailes, DVM
source (vrp.com - select newsletter from Dec 2006)
As the shift in weather continues and the air turns a bit more towards bitter, we may find our pets spending more time inside. The question that comes to mind is what can we do to help protect their health while indoors?
One simple food additive would be the use of flax seed oil or, better yet, ground fresh flax seeds. Flax seeds provide a high level of omega-3 fatty acids, which are usually scarce in the diet. Flax seeds also have omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids as well.
Essential fatty acids are required for normal brain development, cell membrane and hormone formation, metabolism of cholesterol and triglycerides, and cellular energy production. They also serve as precursors to prostaglandins. In addition, essential fatty acids have been used to decrease arthritic pain by blocking inflammation. Flax seed oil is an excellent immune modulator and helps to improve immunity in diseases such as lupus. Like in humans, in pets, the omega-3 fatty acids are metabolized into anti-inflammatory products. The omega-6 fatty acids can either follow the same process or enter the inflammatory cascade.
It is necessary for pets to have both of these essential fatty acids to function normally. If there are not enough omega-3s our pets experience too much inflammation. If there are not enough omega-6s there is not enough stiffness in the vascular system to maintain normal blood pressure. Considering the normal diet of most pets, adding more omega-3 fatty acids is definitely an ideal way to improve health.
When deciding to add flax seed oil or ground flax seeds to your pet's diet, we must remember that flax seed oil must be cold pressed, needs to come from a very reliable source, must be stored in the refrigerator and must be used within 6 weeks of the time the bottle is opened. High quality flax seed oil is a good choice if the contents of the bottle are to be used fast enough.
The other option is to use ground flax seeds. The seeds perfectly encapsulate the oil contained within and have other beneficial constituents. The balance of other materials makes the seed a great choice. They must be ground in order to release the benefit of the oil and fiber. There is both absorbable and non-absorbable fiber contained within the seeds and both provide benefits to our pets' bodies.
I usually give small dogs about ½ to 1 teaspoon per day, 20 to 50 pound dogs 1 to 2 teaspoons per day, 50 to 100 pound dogs 2 to 3 teaspoons per day and dogs above 100 pounds 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons per day. Remember that along with the fatty acids come calories and some adjustment in the total calorie intake is likely needed. For every teaspoon of flax seeds, reduce the amount of food by about the same amount as there are 13 calories per teaspoon of flax seeds. To grind the flax seeds, use a small hand held coffee bean grinder and add the ground material to the food.
It will take some time to notice a change in your pet. For example, it could take 4 to 6 weeks to notice any effect on Inflammation in the skin or joints.
Omega-3 fatty acids effects in humans have been extensively reported in the medical literature. Supplement savvy pet owners who are consuming omega-3 supplements should keep in mind that their animals can derive just as much benefit from these all-too-important essential fatty acids.
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Nutritional Information for Your Pet
Is There Still Life in My Old Pet? My Experiment with RNA and Aging Dogs
Wendy Volhard
Manfred, my 25-pound Standard wire-haired Dachshund, was enjoying his 14th year when in the middle of the summer he had an ischemic event much like a stroke.
Curled up to the right, with a slack jaw and right eye drooping, he obviously had suffered some neurological damage. Given that he'd been treated for liver disease his whole life, I didn't feel I had too much of a chance of bringing him back to any kind of quality of life.
I thought it was worth a try to put Manfred onto a special diet and give him regular acupuncture treatments and chiropractic care. Over the next weeks, he slowly improved. He could walk—albeit in a large circle—his eye returned to normal and the only residual damage seemed to be an inability to completely open his mouth. Yet his illness never stopped him from eating and enjoying his food.
His main diet change was to use bison as a primary protein source, plus herbs that supported his liver, heart and circulation. It made a huge difference to his overall well-being and he managed to start walking in a straight line. Complete bloodwork was done at the end of January 2004. While triglyceride and lipase levels were lowered and the kidneys improved over his previous tests, the rest of his blood levels looked alarming. He had elevated liver enzyme levels, alkaline phosphatase (alk phos) that was sky high, and cholesterol and total protein levels were at high normal. Something had to be done and soon.
Manfred and RNA
A friend sent me a copy of Vitamin Research News featuring articles about Ribonucleic Acid (RNA). These reports mentioned experiments with several old dogs in their teens that were not in good shape. Just by adding RNA to their diets, the dogs had become puppy-like and lived many more years. I imwww.ely ordered some.
I began adding 1/8th teaspoon to each morning meal. Manfred became livelier and insisted on returning to his long morning walks. On his regular monthly visit to his veterinarian three weeks later the impacted anal glands Manfred had been bothered by were no longer impacted. I was sent home with the admonition to continue whatever I was doing!
The following month's checkup revealed the same—no impaction. The vet noticed that Manfred's coat and skin quality were improving. The fuzzy soft coat that had replaced his wiry covering in his last years was turning a deep dark brown. His skin, which was wrinkly with flaky spots, was changing for the better. He seemed to be stronger.
Diggy and RNA
Given this success, I introduced the same regimen to Manfreds half-sister, Diggy, who was just turning 13 1/2. Bloodwork had been done on her a month before and I was horrified to see that she seemed to be showing signs just like Manfred of elevated liver enzymes, very high alk phos level, a kidney reading just over high-normal, and high lipase and cholesterol.
I was obviously battling some genetic disease. At a young age, both dogs were diagnosed with hypothyroidism; both were on thyroid medication. Diggy had the added complication of large fatty cysts under her left front leg, over her spleen and in between her shoulder blades. They were beginning to interfere with her forward mobility.
At the end of July, we did a complete blood workup on both dogs, consisting of a CBC and chemistry screen plus a thyroid panel to see if there were any noticeable changes (Table 1). At the time of the 12-hour-fasting blood tests, both dogs had been receiving 1/8th teaspoon of RNA daily in their morning meal for 14 weeks.
It is interesting to note that the changes were different for each dog. Some levels went up for the female, but all levels listed went down for the male. I suspect their bodies were balancing out in their own way. We are still working on reducing the alk phos levels. The large fatty cysts on Diggy began to diminish and today are hardly noticeable.
Both dogs' thyroid readings had been high and the vet suggested I cut the medication by half. After re-reading all the literature on RNA and noticing that the safety parameters were high, I decided to return to 1/8th teaspoon twice a day. Both dogs are very lively, enjoy their food, their walks and are playing with the Labrador and Dachshund puppies in the family. Their cognitive ability has increased and they are enjoying their newfound quality of life. At the end of January, their blood work will be done again and it will be interesting to see if more changes have taken place.
Other Successes with RNA
Buoyed by the results with my own dogs, I wove this information into my conferences and seminars, and introduced RNA to many of my dog associates.
Success stories include an 11-year-old Labrador Retriever stud dog that showed a dramatic increase in sperm count; a seven-year-old German Shepherd female whose anxiety around other dogs was calmed; and a 19-year-old cat that was aging rapidly, had lost interest in food and was sleeping most of his life away—now charging around, playing, going outside and stalking in the grass.
All the older dogs and cats that have had RNA added to their daily ration show signs of more energy and general overall vitality and cognitive ability.
References
Vitamin Research Newsletters 2003-2004
http://www.vrp.com/art/1129.asp.
Holistic Guide for a Healthy Dog, Volhard/Brown, DVM, Howell Book House, NY 2000.
