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Vitamin C
Why is Vitamin C (ascorbate) so important for your dogs health?
In our research about cancer and dysplasia, and how we can prevent these things in our dogs and puppies we found something so amazing! What if I told you vitamins can prevent a LONG list of health issues in your dogs and can prolong their life. What if I told you that Vitamin C (ascorbate) could prevent cancer AND dysplasia in your dog. Of course we need to take into account genetics. But what if someone took dysplastic dogs and bred them? And during pregnancy did high doses of vitamin c and after pups were born they also gave them vitamin c until adulthood? Could they prevent dysplasia in those puppies? Doesn't it sound crazy to even try? What if I told you their was an awesome veterinarian named Wendell O. Belfield that did this study and prevented dysplasia in 8 GSD litters from dysplastic parents. Seems unrealistic, but at this point, in the world we live in, where our dogs are dying of cancer at 2 years or younger, and becoming dysplastic as young pups, it may be worth a try right? What could it hurt to do what we can and experiment with wholesome vitamins to see the long term outcome. Well that is just what we decided to do!
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Did you know a HUGE list of health issues is directly related to LACK of specific vitamins? Did you know instead of looking at what your dog is lacking, your veterinarian covers up the issue with medication and that problem is STILL THERE? This is why holistic veterinarians are so important! They look for the ROOT of the issue and heal it vs covering up symptoms. Well with that said, that is the type of breeder, mom and dog mom I WANT TO BE. I want to actually FIX the issues in Goldens that stem from genetics AND lack of nutrition. So who is with me?
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So lets talk about Vitamin C (ascorbate), what it does, how it works, and how we can prevent dysplasia in our goldens!
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Reference-The Veterinarians' Guide to Natural Remedies for DOGS by Martin Zucker.
The word "dysplasia" means improper growth. In dogs, dysplasia refers to the abnormal formation of hip complex, a pivotal structure that muscles, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and the socket of the hip. The problem originates in puppyhood, when the skeleton grows more rapidly than the supporting soft tissue. This results in unstable hip joints. The ball and the socket are not held together normally.
​ One minute a dog can be a picture of health, jumping, running, and chasing a ball under a full head of steam. With one vigorous leap on unstable hip joints, the ball of the thigh bone can be wrenched out of the hip socket, and you now have a dysplastic dog. The condition usually affects both hips and ranges from very mild, with no apparent symptoms, to severe painful, and crippling. Signs of hip dysplasia include hind leg lameness, a wobbly or swaying gait, difficulty upon rising (particularly in the morning). and reluctance to walk up stairs or to run or jump as normal.
As dogs age, abnormal movements within the dysplastic joints cause cartilage erosion and degenerative arthritis. Although most common among bigger dogs, hip dysplasia may strike an animal of any size. In the past, many veterinarian researchers contended that the primary reason for hip dysplasia was genetic, and therefore it was important to evaluate the hips of prospective breeding animals to determine the potential for problems in offspring. But recent evidence has indicated the condition is more complex and that major nutritional factors are involved.
A variety of surgical options exists for dysplastic dogs, including total hip replacement. Holistic veterinarians utilize methods such as acupuncture, chiropractic, massage, homeopathy, and nutrition to help relieve affected dogs. They also emphasize nutritional strategies to help prevent the condition."
​Nutritional Supplements: Vitamin C (ascorbate) for prevention- Wendell O. Belfield, DVM
"I consider hip dysplasia to be a biochemical condition easily prevented with good nutrition, and particularly with supplementation of Vitamin C. In 1976 I first reported in a medical journal how I used a nutritional supplement to prevent hip dysplasia in eight litters of German Shepard puppies born to parents of dysplastic hips. In these cases, the bitches were maintained on the supplement through pregnancy and the pups fed the supplement into adulthood.
​ The formula I developed many years ago and still use with great success is called mega-c plus and contains as the name implies, large amounts of vitamin c used in the formula is nonacidic sodium ascorbate. The supplement has worked for hundreds of clients over the years, including many breeders. For twenty-five years people with German Shepard's, Golden Retrievers, Rottweilers, Great Danes, and other large breed animals have been telling me they no longer have hip problems and their litters are strong.
​ The supplement, in powder form, is given to the bitch during pregnancy. For the pups you use a liquid version of the product. Starting with in a few hours of birth and continuing until weaning. After weaning, the pups can be switched to crystals.
Why is vitamin C so important and so effective? It is well known that most animals produce their own vitamin c in the liver (notable exceptions are humans and guinea pigs, who must obtain vitamin c in their diets). However dogs--and cats --are not particularly good producers. They benefit greatly from supplementation. Adequate vitamin C is required for development of strong collagen, the main structural protein in tendons, bones, cartilage, muscles, and connective tissues. Think of collagen as the cement that binds the body together. Vitamin C performs a critical biochemical role by transforming iron in the body into a form that permits the production of collagen. Without enough vitamin C, iron would inhibit the process.
Stress depletes vitamin C, puppies are under constant stress: environmental, when young animals are placed in new surroundings, emotional, when puppies are separated from mother and littermates; toxicological, when subjected to vaccines and dewormers; Physical, when teething and undergoing declaw removal and tail docking. Large breed dogs, in particular, have an additional load of stress due to their rapidly growing bodies.
By supplementing these animals during pregnancy, and through out puppyhood, we are able to dramatically fortify their nutritional input and build the strong connective tissue necessary for good hip joints and supportive ligament tissue to sustain their big bodies. This has been my consistent experience for years. The genetic theory has never been conclusively proven as the sole cause of canine hip dysplasia. In recent years many scientific papers have demonstrated the role of vitamin C in collagen synthesis. Until this issue is resolved, I continue to recommend a very simple solution that prevents crippling arthritis and suffering, avoids drug therapies with side effects, and offers an alternative to expensive surgical procedures.
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Another great book for more information on vitamins and minerals is "How to have a healthier Dog--The benefits of vitamins and minerals for your dog's life cycles" by Wendell O. Belfield, DVM & Martin Zucker.
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​If you would like to purchase vitamin C for your puppy or dog, here is the vitamin c we use for our own dogs.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000701NVI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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More information on Wendell O. Belfield, DVM. can be found here:
http://eisarabians.blogspot.com/2012/03/wendell-o-belfield.html
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https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/food/benefits-of-vitamin-c-to-your-dog/
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