TaylorHappy Glucosamine for Dogs: A Worthy Supplement

As author of The Natural Dog Diet, you all know how strongly I feel about supplements.  Supplement allow us the ability to provide nutrients that the basic diet lacks.  This important because even with a raw, homemade diet your dog still may need a little boost in certain areas, especially if his age or breed needs that extra help.

Glucosamine, MSM and Chondroitin can all give some extra help to growing puppies to help protect their joints, dogs of any age battling hip dysplasia or seniors with arthritis.  It especially is helpful for working dogs or dogs who compete in physically taxing competitions like Agility, Flyball and other dog sports.  When I was given the opportunity to try out a supplement that has all of this, and more, on my three dogs I was pretty darn excited!

My dogs fit the bill, too! I have one 4 year old terrier mix who, let’s face it, does not have the best conformation. For those that don’t know, poor conformation can actually cause skeletal and muscular problems for animals in their future.  My husband’s pet, a senior husky mix has slowly been getting stiffer in her knees and hips and really need an extra boost of mobility to help her out. Lastly, there is my working service dog, a Toy Australian Shepherd. He has no problems that we know of, but getting him started on a supplement like the TaylorHappy Glucosamine for Dogs is a good way to prevent problems for him as he works for me.

 

If you decide to get this item and use it properly in your dog’s food, you won’t be disappointed.  It is a great buy for all the nutrients that are found in this formula. It even includes manganese, which is incredibly important in a dog’s diet. You will also find the amino acid Boron, not too common to come across in a quality canine supplement!

Be forewarned, you must SHAKE IT! It needs to be shaken up very well before you can use it, otherwise you may find some chunky bits.  The smell and taste doesn’t seem to be too interesting for dogs all on it’s own, so it would be best mixed in with your dog’s raw diet or kibble. I find it mixes easily with canned salmon at room temperature, but not so well with recently thawed ground chicken.

See it in action in the video!

Spring Dog Coat Blow Out; ShedNinja Review & Video

If you are family to a dog, then you know Spring is on the way just by all the extra dog hair littering your floor, clothes and furniture.  I struggle every year to brush out as much of that loose, dead fur as much as possible, but somehow there is always more! It’s like a never ending cycle and seems like I’m still dealing with the fur blow out until late summer.  If you struggle like me, then you will be interested in what I have to say next!

I was lucky enough to get the chance to try out and review the ShedNinja.  This is a very unique style of grooming tool because it has a double bladed undercoat rake plus a shed blade.  The undercoat rake is a must have for any double coated dog owner (like Siberian Husky, Australian Shepherd, Golden Retriever and others.)  It sifts through the top coat and literally rakes out the loose and dead, shed fur of the undercoat.  If you have a dog with an undercoat, you need a rake! The ShedNinja doubles up on the rake blade, making it even more effective.

I was sent 2 sizes, a large and a small because of the 3 dogs I have. Two have double coats and the third is a wire hair terrier mix. Because of her hair style, a double bladed rake won’t work for her, but the shed blade does.  I used a FURminator knock off on my dogs before using the ShedNinja for the video review just to really put it to the test.  It still pulled out more loose fur! If that loose fur was left on my dogs, it could have turned into a nasty mat, causing all sorts of problems.

The ShedNinja handle is larger than any others I have used, and has rubber gripping down the side. With my medical conditions, this made it easier to hold. I was not dropping it like I do others with smooth plastic handles. I could hold it through and entire body brushing of a dog. To add to this product’s ingenious design, the blade head actually moves. It pivots, not too easily but not too stiffly either which, in my opinion, makes brushing a dog safer. Metal blades can be a danger to a dog’s skin if you brush too hard or catch a mat or tangle.  Luckily, this one can move with the curves of your dog’s body, which can actually help to prevent cuts and scrapes.

 

In other words, I would recommend the ShedNinja to the first time dog owner and especially to professional groomers. Even those of you with years and years of grooming experience like myself will find the convenience of 2 types of brushes on a single item.

Don’t forget your poop bags!