Meals with NHV Supplements

This isn't a sponsored post. I just like to write about certain pet products that we love and go back to time and time again in hopes that it may be helpful to someone or prompt them to research on they own.

We were introduced to NHV Natural Pet Products two years ago when Piri was battling cancer and a host of other medical issues including kidney disease. They were kind enough to send us a few bottles to try to help with his cancer, old age, kidneys and borderline pancreatitis. At first I was a little skeptical because I wasn't sure if I needed to write a review or say good things about them. They made sure that there were no strings attached and that after seeing Piri battle one medical issue after another,  they didn't want to just continue and stand by, watch and leave comments wishing us good luck. They wanted to  do something to help. I appreciated their gesture and so started our trust and amazing relationship with NHV.

After Piri crossed the rainbow bridge, we adopted Bartles who had his own medical battles including Cushing's Disease, early stage kidney disease, arthritis, skin infections and later thyroid issues as well. And so along with the medications he was on, we also included a few bottles from NHV and also a skin salve, which was applied topically.

I had been meaning to write a post about this salve for so long but I just kept missing the opportunity. I even took pictures of Mr. Bartles' skin improvement but those are long gone now or buried somewhere in my external hard drive.

But, without getting too detailed (watch... it's going to get detailed), Mr. Bartles' skin issue was pretty rough. It felt as though he had a full armor underneath his beautiful coat. He was itchy too. I thought perhaps the scabs were caused by his Cushing's but I was told by the vet it was allergies.

Because he was dealing with other serious conditions, I wasn't going to tackle his skin issue but decided that perhaps it would help him be a bit more comfortable. And so I ordered the All Clear Ointment for Dogs and started with a small patch on his neck. I picked away the scabs that were willing to come off by themselves, shaved down his neck and applied the ointment. Every three-five days, I washed the area and watched as some of the more stubborn scabs began falling off and re-applied the ointment. And then I noticed that new fur started to grow back. And his skin was baby soft. And he wasn't itchy around his neck.

I moved to his head then his upper torso and the same thing happened. New fur started to grow back.  His skin was soft. And the itchiness all but disappeared. 

For people who saw him for the first time though, they might have seen him and still thought that he was in pretty rough shape. That was because by the time I had moved to his legs, he was totally shaven down so that I can apply the ointment directly to his skin and he had uneven patches of fur because they were growing back at different speeds. Some areas on his skin were still scabbing while other areas were flaky. But to me it was a huge, humongous, gigantic improvement. 

The whole process was definitely a bit messy and you really have to be diligent. But perhaps it was a bit more messy for us as we were working to treat his entire body and not just one area. And while the ointment isn't sticky, it goes on a little like royal jelly? I can't describe it exactly but it can definitely get on blankets and such. And again, it was probably more so for us since I was using large amounts of the salve.

I was washing him every 3-5 days and going a day without applying the ointment just so he can have a break day then reapplying it and then repeating the process all over again. Even friends who saw him were amazed by the new fur growing in and how he was 80% scab free. 

So when we adopted Lady, we made sure to include some NHV supplements to her daily meals. 

Currently she takes Milk Thistle and Old Timer and we plan on adding Turmeric, too. We also have Echo Gold for her ears which we use every once in a while just to clean them out, although unlike Bartles and Piri, she isn't plagued with recurrent ear infections which are prone for cocker spaniels.

Lady was found with high liver enzyme values. She was put on medication and her levels normalized and it was found that the condition wasn't permanent and was probably high because she was foraging for food as a stray. But for precaution and maintenance purposes we decided to put her on Milk Thistle to help keep her liver healthy. 

Bartles was also on Milk Thistle as his liver values were also high (because of his Cushing's) and his values significantly decreased while on this supplement. It is a highly effective and respected supplement. 

Old Timer is just for her to keep her spunk. At age 15 she definitely has some and more.

Turmeric we plan on adding as we are seeing that she has a slight limps with her front leg when she just gets up from the bed (she's fine afterwards). She is on additional joint supplements (Nupro and also Green Lipped Mussel powder) and we thought to add something to help with inflammation.

With Piri and Bartles it was more difficult to add the supplements to their food, as they took many and some do have a strong herbal smell (including, Supraglan for Cushing's and Es-Clear for cancer). Bartles loved food but when the supplements were added to his meals, he was like no thanks!

With Piri because he had trouble with his appetite, he was extra sensitive with what went into his food.

So with my boys I ended up taking their NHV supplements, mixing in a small dog bowl, adding just a little water to dilute it, taking a dropper and squirting little bits directly into their mouth. They hated it but were good sports about it. And they always got a yummy piece of treat afterwards. 

With Lady, it's super easy. I just squirt it right into her food (she eats Stella and Chewy's Frozen Raw but on this day - her birthday - she got a home cooked meal of chicken and vegetables) and she will gobble it up. Lady too picks out certain things, like her Proin pills for incontinence, but she seems ok with the NHV supplements. The recommended dosage is by weight and it is given two times a day. The bottles also need to be refrigerated and has a life span of 6 months.

Other suggestions to give NHV supplements include adding to yogurt if they eat it as a treat. 

I'm not against medicine and I do believe it does help but I am also wary of over medication. I was looking through Piri's old vet records (I kept all of them since he was a puppy) and am shocked at how many antibiotics he has taken for skin and ears. I wish I had known more about natural, holistic methods and included them in his daily maintenance routine. But I guess it is never too late to learn and include what works for us.

You an see all that NHV has to offer for dogs and pets here. 

Another resource we really love is this video on making bone broth for your dogs.