Supplements for Seniors, Featuring Jordan & Kai

My super-dog husky/malamute cross Kai may be over 12 years old, but she still insists on outrunning my other dog, who’s many years younger than she is. She’s also extremely smart with fantastic eyesight and hearing, with no plans to slow down anytime soon. These properties can all wane with age, so as a pet food industry insider, these are the supplements I add to her raw food meals to help keep her going. (Check out our June post to find out what I feed her.)

For her joints, she gets Tri-Acta glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM (just like humans take), Thrive Green Lipped Mussel (also packed with taurine for heart health), North Hound Life turmeric and black pepper (powerful anti-inflammatories), and Nature's Logic powdered bone broth (full of collagen). As a pro tip: I actually portion these powders all into one tub and scoop them onto one meal a day to save myself the time of opening and measuring several different products while my dog is drooling beside me, impatiently awaiting her dinner.

Age comes with increased cancer risk, so I use supplements to support right down to her cellular health. To fight oxidative stress, I load up her antioxidant levels with Adored Beast's Vital Defense (a blend of spirulina, chaga mushroom and phytoplankton) and Myco-Biome turkey tail mushroom extract. Chaga mushroom is second only to cocoa as an antioxidant powerhouse, and turkey tail mushroom is not far behind. Spirulina and phytoplankton are also packed with nutrition, are highly digestible, and you only need a pinch to get their benefits. She gets a mix of organic sprouted seeds in her Carna4 Flora4, and her Back2Raw meals include the cancer-fighting champion that is organic broccoli, plus organic blueberries and cranberries for more antioxidant sources and urinary tract support.

Dogs do best with a weekly rotation of at least three proteins plus some fish, so I make sure to include salmon and mackerel in her regular meals. Animals can synthesize many nutrients themselves, but essential fatty acids must be added to their diet. For both her brains and her beauty, she regularly wolfs down sardines (either frozen from Big Country Raw or dried from Wild Vibes and Granville Island Pet Treatery) for their incredible omega fatty acid profile. 

If the thought of supplementing seems daunting, you aren’t sure where to start, or simply need to keep a tight balance of nutrition and financial economy, it’s easy to start simple. Carna4’s Flora4 or Thrive’s Fortify are both great options to start with. Flora4 offers a host of nutrients, enzymes, probiotics, and fibre with their ground sprouted seeds, which is the highlight of their dog and cat dry food lines. Fortify boasts naturally sourced vitamins and minerals, plus apple pectin and digestive enzymes that specifically help to digest proteins, fats and carbohydrates.

If you have any other questions or want some recommendations specific to your pet, come by and talk to us! Here at Viva Pets, not only have we studied these supplements, but we also use them with intentionality in our own homes.

Much love,

Jordan, Kai and Xaler

Jordan has over six years of experience in the pet nutrition retail industry, and over ten years of experience raw feeding his rescue dogs. His dogs Kai and Xaler are never happier than when they’re running in deep snow or splashing in the North Saskatchewan.