Many years ago, we got to thinking... 

If we are only willing to consume nutritional supplements 

that are good enough for humans,  then why would we give

anything less than the same quality to our boys?!?

    Each was remarkably unique in character: the big one - Poseidon - being no less than 126 pounds of alpha-dog (ornery, stubborn, and downright persnickety) ... 

and the smaller one - Shambles - living up to every definition of his name... 

so much so, in fact, that had I known his name would be such a precursor to defining his dominant trait, I would have instead tried naming him "No-shed" or "Slobberless".

    Yep, a couple of real characters... and I could not imagine loving anything more.

    As anyone who is reading this knows, it is fairly common for an aging dog to exhibit signs of arthritis in their joints, especially their hips.  This is typically exaggerated in larger breed dogs at an earlier age than their smaller counterparts.  Had I been aware, sooner, of the results they would realize from these products, I would certainly have started them long before they began to show signs of discomfort.

    It wasn't until the day Poseidon decided he would no longer try to jump into the back of the truck that I realized he was struggling.  He missed a few times, due to his inability to get altitude, and he would hit the edge of the tailgate hard on the stomach, then slide off the gate, flipping onto his back on the ground, knocking the wind out of him.  The first couple of times it happened, I just thought he misjudged, or slipped.  But on about the third time, it was clear something was wrong.  

    The poor guy would slink away after getting up off the ground, either embarrassed or hurt, or both, and it would take some coaxing to get him back to the truck. He had me well trained though.  Once he decided he was not going to ever try jumping in again, he would just place his front feet on the tailgate and look over his shoulder waiting for me to grab his back feet and hoist him into the back.  Soon after, Shambles began asking for the same treatment.

    Now, to be perfectly honest, I am not so sure Shambles needed the boost quite so soon as he pretended.  I think he may have been feeling that since his big brother was getting the special care, he might as well give it a try.  But it was not long after that that I noticed they both were beginning to struggle to just stand up after laying down for a long time.  This is when it occurred to us to try the same product I was taking for my own joints on them... CellRenew.

    It did not take long to realize that we were really on to something.  Both dogs responded much faster than we had seen any human customers respond.  And the great thing about a dog trying a product like this is that there is no such thing as the placebo effect.  At this point, we began to think, hey, if CellRenew works this well, how will it work to give Poseidon the Foundation product for his allergies.  After all, I started taking it for my allergies many years prior, and it had an immediate effect on me. 

    Shambles never had an obvious problem with allergies, but Poseidon sure did.  Any time he would get in the grass, he would have itchy paws for the next few days.  He would lick so vigorously that you would have thought he was going to just chew them off. His feet must have itched as bad as what poison ivy feels like to me. He would dig with teeth and tongue between his toes so much that he would wear them raw.  It was bad enough that we had to start keeping him out of the grass when we would get near parks.

    We felt so sorry for him.  It was sad to watch him watch the other dogs running through the grass, but he could not frolic with them.  Poor guy.  

    But then we started sprinkling the Foundation product on his food right along with the CellRenew.  He loved it.  And his allergies stopped.  As long as he was getting his one capsule each day, he was fine, and he could run and play and role around in the grass all day long.  

    Again, I only wish I would have known to start him on it sooner.

    Over the years, we have helped dogs, cats, and even horses, with common joint and immunity issues.  In the product specific sections below, I describe dosing options for each product.  
 

     As mentioned above, CellRenew is what we gave to our two boys to help their hips.  This is exactly the same stuff we have sold since 1997 for human consumption.  We started sprinkling it on their food each day by pulling apart and pouring the contents of one capsule for each dog's meal.  

    I don't know if you have ever smelled this stuff before, but it will never be a finalist in "The Best Scent for Romantic Evenings" award, unless, of course, you are a strict carnivore.  When I take it, I swallow it pretty quick, without stopping to sniff it.  But for dogs and cats... man, that is like a mouthwatering spice. Yummy... 

Dose for Dogs or Cats:

    For both Poseidon and Shambles, we gave only one capsule per dog, per day.  (Again though, we did not actually give them the capsule. Just the contents inside.)   This was a bit of an experiment, since I really was not sure what scale I should use for comparison.  

    My original thought was to administer a quantity based on weight, as compared to the recommended dose for humans.  The suggested daily dose for a human is 4 capsules (2000 milligrams), so I figured if a human who weighs anywhere from 120 to 200 pounds is suppose to take four capsules, then Poseidon (at more than 120) certainly qualifies for that much.  

    But after some pondering, I wondered if the digestive system of a carnivore - being substantially different than that of an Omnivore (humans) - might, perhaps, be much more efficient at utilizing the collagen material.  Turns out, they must be... or at least, something is different, because both dogs responded in less than a week. 

    We chose to give both Poseidon and Shambles one capsule each, and based on their response, that was plenty.

    If your pet is smaller, you can still give them the whole capsule.  The collagen material is water soluble, so you don't need to worry about them getting too much.

 Dose for a Horse:

    As I mentioned in the previous section, we have had personal knowledge and experience with dogs, cats and horses, on this product.  The cats and dogs love the smell and taste, and there is no need to try and mask the smell with some other ingredient.  That is not the case with horses.

     Horses really do not like the smell or taste of this material, perhaps due to the fact that they are Herbivores.  I suppose they think this is about as foreign a concept to eat something that smells like this as it would be for us to sit down to nibble on road kill.  So, if you want to give this to your horse, the best way to mask it is with molasses and other sugary substances.  

    The company who buys the raw material for their horse products found it is best to mix it into a liquid (it dissolves very easily), which is then poured on their grain.  The liquid will soak into the grain thus preventing the horse from nuzzling around the collagen powder.

    You might be asking yourself, if the horse hates it so much, what's the point? 

    Because it works remarkably well.  This has been a popular supplement for helping extend the horse's racing and training programs.

    The interesting point about giving this to a horse, is that the whole weight/dose ratio has no relevance.  Horses have great results with the same 2000 mg dose (4 capsules worth) as a human. 

Providing Basic Building Blocks for Health $27.95 90 Capsules Guaranteed Even for Pets!

• Frequently Asked Questions
• Blue-Green Algae Research
• Benefits of Foundation
• List of Ingredients

Foundation Blue Green Algae - Strengthen your pet's immunities.

We began giving Foundation to the dogs after we saw how well CellRenew was helping their hips.  As a reminder, this was way back in the late 90's, so we were a little ahead of our time, before giving your pets supplements was considered normal.

 We initially gave Foundation to Poseidon because of his allergies to grass.  When we saw how fast it stopped his allergies, we immediately began giving it to Shambles for his overall health.  It was quite obvious, if something could stop the hot spots on his skin and itchy paws, literally over night, then this had to be doing wonderful things to the immune system, and had to be important enough to give to all pets.

 A couple of other symptoms we noticed cleared up on Poseidon, we had not really associated with allergies.  It did not occur to us that he must have had a mild allergy to something other than grass that was causing his nose to constantly run, and his eyes to produce those yucky globs in the corners.  But after we started adding the Foundation to his meals, those symptoms cleared up along with the itchy feet.

 On just these two products, both boys were once again the bouncy, annoying, puppy-ish bundles of lovable pests that they had been when they were youngsters. 

 Yes, we did go through a phase of questioning our logic with reverting many of their behaviors back to puppyhood.  We had enjoyed several years of "controlled adulthood" with these guys, allowing us to return the fine crystal vases to the perches on the bookcases, and the silver tea serving set on the coffee table.  We had grown accustomed to being able to set a glass of wine on the end table without concern for the entire surface being quickly swept of all articles lighter than an anvil by an eager, 2-inch diameter tail. "What were we thinking...", was a common statement echoing in our once quiet home.

 We found ourselves having to repack the imported crystal, or at least move it to much higher surfaces, such as above the kitchen cabinets, where it could be enjoyed only by the dust bunnies.  And the days of keeping the charished family pictures in frames on the sofa table would have to wait a few more years.  Because, we were once again a household of "the terrible two's"... that's two dogs with the combined weight of 200 pounds, with the renewed energy of a two-year-old.

 You have been warned. :-)

To be honest, Poseidon was never able to jump into the back of the truck on his own again... I still always had to help him.  But Shambles went back to being able to clear the tailgate for many more years.  I think Poseidon's confidence may have had a lot to do with his unwillingness to try.  

 I tried to coax him a few times,  but I think his missing and falling on the ground was such a vivid memory - and not understanding what he did wrong - that I think it simply implanted a strong anchor in his mind that kept him from even trying.

 But that's okay, I didn't mind helping him, as long as I could see him run around like a pup the rest of the time.  It was really quite something to watch.

 Dose for Dogs and Cats:

As we suggested for the CellRenew dose, you can just give the contents of one capsule of Foundation per day with their meals.  

 I might mention here that although I do refer to opening the capsules up and pouring out the contents onto their food, I do know people who just toss the capsules into the pans and those are the first items their pets seek out to eat.

 Dose for Horses:

We don't really recommend this product for horses.  It seems rather pointless, actually.  Horses should already be getting plenty of "alive" food (enzymatic active) with their normal diet.