Dog herb supplements/natural supplements

So I have been reading a lot lately about dog nutrition. Have considered a raw diet but I have a small freezer and don’t think I would be able to commit to it 100% when back to work so looking for an alternative to make Lucas diet better. I don’t think she is unhealthy, she is 7 months old(nearly and is around 12.2-12.5 kg but looks the right weight. However she does itch sometimes and every now and then chews on her feet and I have heard that a better diet could help all this in the long run.

She is on Orijen Puppy Dry Food for the past few months, the ingredients in this feed seem very good and it has gotten good nutrition reviews which is why I chose to give it a try and kind of stuck with it since. She’ll get some nuts in the morning around 11 and then in afternoon when we’re having dinner around 5-6pm. Sometimes she’ll get some boiled chicken or tinned salmon mixed with her nuts aswell and the very odd store bought dog wet food as a treat. She’s a piglet tho and is always hungry and does get bits of human food sometimes which I know I shouldn’t do she loves healthy treats tho she’ll eat any fruit loves apples and bananas more than anything if u just say banana u have her attention

I have seen a lot of people mixing different types of doggy herbs or different supplements into their dry food and wanted to see if anyone had any experience with that and maybe has some tips on where to start? I have seen a simple egg shell powder that you just make out of boiled eggshells(to remove bacteria) and it’s supposed to be a great natural calcium supplement that lasts two months in a jar.

However I don’t want to just give her a lot of crap that she doesn’t need that can just harm her, too much can’t be too good..?
Sorry for the length of the post

You can have a look at this link for starters
https://therawfeedingcommunity.com/2017/02/12/simple-ways-to-improve-your-dogs-kibble/

I understand your concern about wanting to feed the best to Luna.
I have also fed Orijen and Acana in the past and although they are great kibbles, doesn’t necessarily mean they are the best suited to your dog.
I found Nifty had an itchy bottom (anal glands) and she would lick her paws alot. I think Nifty also has an egg intolerance and Orijen contains egg.

Today I feed my girls Carnilove fresh kibble. The Carp & trout is les greasy than the Chicken & rabbit but I alternate.
I also give a can of Carnilove tinned food once a week to substitute a kibble meal. I give sardines or chicken or a slice of chopped ham from time to time, a bit of coconut oil, supper kibble usually has added fruit (frozen blueberries, sometimes raspberries).

Great link, exactly the kind of a thing I am looking for as adding a lot of unnecessary supplements isn’t good either, I guess I will just have to do more research in what the dry food could be lacking itself and then find how to supplement it naturally with the food!
I need to look more into what kinds of wet food I can get locally to substitute dry food from time to time, we don’t eat the same thing every day I feel bad for her to have to do that
My problem is that I do not drive and can’t get to a good pet shop often (it is a 45min drive) so I find it easier to order the food online, I am not sure if I could get fresh dog food delivered rather than dry nuts? Must look into that more!

With coconut and fish oil I read that both are soo good, but would you mix them both in into the dry food daily? Or one or the other every few days?

So the fact that she itches and bites on her toes every now and then does mean I should try a different food? Just not too sure how to tell if Orijen is or is not working for her, she enjoys the taste and will eat it but then again she will eat anything u give her. I used to assume that if the dog food is good then it will be good for her but the more you read about different things the more you start doubting it

I don’t know where you are but I buy pretty much all of my feed online and get it delivered at home or at work

I wouldn’t feed both oils together but alternate. Then again, be careful how you stock the fish oil as it has a very short shelf life.

This is also a useful site
https://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/

My belief is that there are alot of very good feeds (kibble, wet, barf, etc) available and that all of our canine friends are different. Feeding a good feed is a good start but sometimes you need to have an open mind, like you have, to go one step further and find the one that suits better.

Don’t feel guilty, it’s part of the learning curve. Luna might change her itchy biting problem with a food change, it might require a change in her environment/routine.

Yes, I have actually found a local company (they’re more of a smaller family run business then a company) that sells home cooked meals tailored to fit your dogs needs. Getting a trial pack of them next week to see how it goes. They have brilliant reviews off people that have bought off them previously so looking forward to seeing how that goes.

Ah, sounds like an interesting concept. Have to see how it balances out financially.

Do let us know how you get on

So this is the pack we got. For first 4 days she’s only getting 25%that food rest her kibble,then next 4 days 50% etc thats why the packs are all different size. You keep enough for 4 days in fridge and freeze the rest. I have looked up all the ingredients and I think they seem good? I just like knowing exactly what is in it. It is slow cooked for 10minutes to get rid of bacteria, and all of them have some organs too not just the meat so I thought that was good. They come in little sausages you can give the sausages to ur dog whole but today we actually squeezed one out into her kong and she loved it, at least it took a while to eat her meal!!

The beef and lamb ones are both meat and heat and chicken and turkey are meat,heart and liver so at least she can also have a bit of a verity of flavours, rather then her kibble being chicken flavour every day