Vibrant Pets? Why?

I honestly think it helped Miko's stiffness in his joints. But since he was diagnosed with kidney disease, there's too many things in VP that aren't good for k/d dogs, so unfortunately, I had to stop it. So, either the glucosamine w/o the MSM isn't working as well as with the MSM, or VP was just that good. Next round of glucosamine pills will have the MSM, so I'll see if it helps Miko. If not, then it was all VP.

I also gave it to Koji, but honestly, since he gets things like Orijen, Acana, pumpkin, I haven't seen any difference in his coat or body since I ran out. I'm poor now, so can't afford it and good dog food, lol. I just give him a glucosamine once a day to help keep him limber.

Lastly, I did get tons of compliments on their coats, but then, they have been on great food. I still get compliments....so is it the VP, food, genetics, they just look awesome? I dunno.

I look at it like my multivitamin....I honestly can't tell if it's doing anything. But maybe it is.
 
Cheryl - what in the VP isn't good for k/d dogs? I'm curious.....

As for Asta and Ally, Asta's occasional limping after full tilt running has stopped since I started the VP and a fish oil capsule daily. Ally's coat became notably softer to the touch. Ally hasn't had obvious arthritis symptoms at all, I just give it as a preventative.

As for the taste, my girls would eat sawdust with that stuff on it - honestly!! They LOVE the taste.
 
Sharon7 said:
Cheryl - what in the VP isn't good for k/d dogs? I'm curious.....
Click to expand...

DISCLAIMER: This is not saying VP is bad, and this is not saying don't use it if your dog has k/d. After learning about what can be more harmful than good for k/d dogs, I felt it was in my best interest to discontinue VP for Miko.

This is from memory and this isn't anything that's been proven, only what I got from a forum (they're very knowledgeable, just not sure how accurate it all is, but you can't be too sure). Also, this is more as a supplement and also if you're home feeding the dog, you need to take all nutrients of food and supps into consideration (as in, how much they're getting of this or that).

The biggie was the flaxseed. Flax is great, but it's omega 6. Omega 6 isn't good for k/d dogs. I think that's why they suggest fish oil. It's high in omega 3.

There's dicalcium phosphate. Phosphate is one thing you want to keep low. Not sure the difference of regular phos vs this, and no one could really tell me. So, it was my second worry.

Lots of different calciums. Not enough is bad, too much is bad. Balance is key.

And there's a lot of stuff in there that I have no clue what it is. LOL. I'm not saying it's bad for k/d dogs, but I am saying I'd need to know what it is, and how it affects the kidney's.

And just an FYI, I did call them up and talk to them. Lee was really great at answering my questions and being honest about not knowing what or how any of the ingredients can affect his kidney's. He felt it shouldn't have an adverse effect as most of the ingredients are good for them, but when I told him even omega 6 can be more harmful than good, he just said, wow, that's interesting. Said now he was curious, but I should ask my vet. The whole flaxseeds is what did me in. Add to that the dicalcium phosphorous and all the other stuff, I was in over my head so I felt I better just NOT give it, versus give it and make it worse.

I already feel guilty enough. Miko's favorite food was red grapes. If only it was on the list of "do not feed" so many years ago. Sigh. I will forever wonder if I caused his kidney failure.
 
k9kreationz said:
DISCLAIMER: This is not saying VP is bad, and this is not saying don't use it if your dog has k/d. After learning about what can be more harmful than good for k/d dogs, I felt it was in my best interest to discontinue VP for Miko.

This is from memory and this isn't anything that's been proven, only what I got from a forum (they're very knowledgeable, just not sure how accurate it all is, but you can't be too sure). Also, this is more as a supplement and also if you're home feeding the dog, you need to take all nutrients of food and supps into consideration (as in, how much they're getting of this or that).

The biggie was the flaxseed. Flax is great, but it's omega 6. Omega 6 isn't good for k/d dogs. I think that's why they suggest fish oil. It's high in omega 3.

There's dicalcium phosphate. Phosphate is one thing you want to keep low. Not sure the difference of regular phos vs this, and no one could really tell me. So, it was my second worry.

Lots of different calciums. Not enough is bad, too much is bad. Balance is key.

And there's a lot of stuff in there that I have no clue what it is. LOL. I'm not saying it's bad for k/d dogs, but I am saying I'd need to know what it is, and how it affects the kidney's.

And just an FYI, I did call them up and talk to them. Lee was really great at answering my questions and being honest about not knowing what or how any of the ingredients can affect his kidney's. He felt it shouldn't have an adverse effect as most of the ingredients are good for them, but when I told him even omega 6 can be more harmful than good, he just said, wow, that's interesting. Said now he was curious, but I should ask my vet. The whole flaxseeds is what did me in. Add to that the dicalcium phosphorous and all the other stuff, I was in over my head so I felt I better just NOT give it, versus give it and make it worse.

I already feel guilty enough. Miko's favorite food was red grapes. If only it was on the list of "do not feed" so many years ago. Sigh. I will forever wonder if I caused his kidney failure.
Click to expand...

Regarding the grapes, you did not know then that grapes were not good for him.

I believe, if you do not know, you are not accountable.

Please try not to beat yourself up about it, I bet Mr. Miko does not want you to either.

From your friend, Denise (Mally's Mom)
 
Cheryl....years ago, I subscribed to one of the first holistic newsletters that included "good foods" for our dogs. At the top of that list was red grapes. I used to throw them to my dogs as treats! There were other things on the list too that are no-no's now. So it's not just you!

It's just like humans. My daughter just had a baby and I cannot believe how different things are today and the stuff they can't have and you can't do. It's a wonder any of us, our children, or our dogs survived. :uhoh:
 
I have Bailey on Vibrant Pets Athletic Formula. She doesn't have any joint or skin issues, but she is very active and performs agility, so I wanted her to have some extra vitamins and minerals to protect her overtime.

I do give her less than the recommended dose because she does eat quality food and I don't want to overdo the vitamins and minerals.

I can't really say whether or not VP is effective because she didn't have any skin or joint issues before VP and doesn't have any while on it.
 
I purchase VP Joint and Muscle shortly after Sadie had her spinal stroke.

With her dog food (Wellness Super 5 Mix, the one with Salmon), I gave her VP, a high potency fish oil and glocosamine, in hopes that it would help the damaged neural pathways heal or re-route themselves.

Sadie was very lucky and made a 95% recovery, but I don't know how much of that had to do with the supplements. She also had her age on her side and I worked really hard at her rehab, which was primarily swimming.

Sadie's coat did get very shiny, but that was likely a mix of the Salmon in her food, fish oil and VP.

VP did seem to work really well for digestion though. Ginny came down with a really bad case of Coccidia during Sadie's recovery so I started giving her VP too. It seemed to really help to firm up Ginny's stools.

Sadie seemed to like the taste of VP, especially when I wet the food.

I haven't bought VP since, though I'd consider buying it again if I had a dog with digestive problems or arthritis.
 
Ann said:
Cheryl....years ago, I subscribed to one of the first holistic newsletters that included "good foods" for our dogs. At the top of that list was red grapes. I used to throw them to my dogs as treats! There were other things on the list too that are no-no's now. So it's not just you!

It's just like humans. My daughter just had a baby and I cannot believe how different things are today and the stuff they can't have and you can't do. It's a wonder any of us, our children, or our dogs survived. :uhoh:
Click to expand...

Well, this makes me feel even better.

BTW, I love the email that goes around saying, if you were born in the 70's, you should be dead. LOL.

I think many of survive just fine without all the rules. I also try not to listen to too many of them since they change their minds the following years...a great example would be eggs.
 
Mally's Mom said:
Regarding the grapes, you did not know then that grapes were not good for him.

I believe, if you do not know, you are not accountable.

Please try not to beat yourself up about it, I bet Mr. Miko does not want you to either.

From your friend, Denise (Mally's Mom)
Click to expand...

Thanks Denise. I try to believe that ignorance is not an excuse, but in this case, after reading Ann's post, I feel a lot better. I mean, if something said it was good for them, and now it's bad? Bleah. I just feel bad, but y'know, I won't beat myself up over it. I just wonder if it's related.
 
I've been using VP for 3 years now, and while I can't pin point exactly what it's doing, at least the dogs are active, have nice shiny coats and when I do blood work, everything looks good and is in the green.

I would tend to agree with k9kreationz on not feeding VP for dogs that may have kidney issues, because such dogs need a very delicate balance of certain supplements and VP contains a hodgepodge of stuff. That was my experience when I was fostering a dog with kidney problems anyway. I ended up having to buy various different supplements and working out how much to give and cutting pills, etc.

For a healthy dog tho, with normal kidney functions, I don't think VP poses any problems! I actually like that VP contains everything for Romeo and Juliet. Heck when I showed my dad the ingredients list, he asked if HE could take it! :lol:

Oh! I wanted to add that if you have a greedy dog that inhales food, you might want to mix VP into food with a bit of liquid. Because Juliet got a nose bleed after snorting up some VP. Silly little twit. I mix it into egg or yoghurt or fish oil or just water since then.
 
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