Hey all, My boy is currently on a Orijen puppy kibble diet. Any thoughts on digestive enzyme supplementation? It is worth it or it is just a hype? Can adding Kefir to the diet be just as good? Thanks J
I don't really think any good puppy food needs supplementing with anything . I sometimes give my lad some good low fat probiotic yoghurt with his food if he has had an upset tummy due to eating something gross , it seems to redress the balance in his gut, but on the whole , a good puppy food is fine on its own .
I think a puppy/dog has superb digestive enzymes without any help. OK, they aren't good at digesting synthetic substances (thinking of Tatze here @Boogie ), but give a dog a large meaty bone, or in the case of a puppy, a chicken wing, that sure does get digested pretty efficiently!!! I wouldn't worry. Orijin has lots of supplements in it already and my favourite Omega 3 fish oils would probably be unnecessary too.
I have been giving my girl a supplement as she had several unexplained tummy upsets over a period of weeks, she has still had the odd unexplained upset though. I have just moved her knot a different food so I am planning to remove the supplement completely. With a food like Orijen puppy as both Kate and Jac have said, I wouldn't add anything extra.
I agree, your puppy should not need any assistance with digestion. However my dog has had serious digestive issues and has been on RxZymes. ONe of the ways these work is that you mix them up with food and let them sit for 15 minutes before feeding. Of course while they are sitting your dog is waiting for his meal and he drools copiously. DRool is good, who knew that? Anticipation of a meal gets the digestive enzymes in the dog's own body produced in his stomach and drool is the sign that's happening. So you could induce this effect simply by mixing a meal up and waiting 15 minutes before giving it, but, I doubt you need to. Now, as a maintenance to keep him functioning I do give Oban a TBSP or so of Kefir once a day at bedtime with his bedtime pills. I wonder if by giving a growing puppy Kefir you might be messing up the calcium levels of his food intake? Too much calcium?
