5 Health Tips for Hunting Dogs From Founder of Alpha Dog Nutrition - Joe Scott!
1. Use food that is tailor-made to your dog's activity level. If your dog is active & burning a lot of calories, you need to make sure you are properly replacing them.
2. A good rule of thumb is to do the rib check:
Stand over your dog with your thumbs together pointing down their spine & your fingers running down their sides. Then push your hands down their spine/ribs. For a healthy dog, you will be able to feel their ribs without your fingers dropping into the gaps too much.
3. Start your dogs on preventative nutrition before you start seeing issues. If your dog is limping due to hip dysplasia & joint stiffness, you've already lost the advantage of time. Don’t wait until your dog is in pain to help them out.
4. This is a hard one, but do not feed table scraps at all (and especially ultra fatty & greasy foods). Your dog might give you the saddest eyes in the world, but feeding table scraps exposes them to all sorts of preservatives & other things that their bodies aren't used to digesting. Save them for yourself for leftovers.
5. Keep your dog's actual food consistent year round. Switching dogs foods abruptly can be really hard on a dog's digestive system. Try to pick a food that has all the nutritional value you need at the high activity points of the year like hunting season, and then scale down the serving size during low activity times.
Alpha Dog Nutrition owner & avid hunter Joe Scott says less is more as your dog ages. His new line of products aims to simplify the game.
Have you ever taken a look at the list of fillers & inactive ingredients in the nutritional products you give your dog?
“The whole idea of less is more, that we shouldn't be giving our dogs all these unnecessary fillers & inactive ingredients simply because it is easiest for the manufacturing process, is what I really believe in,” said Joe Scott, an avid upland hunter who’s partnered up with leading nutritionist and veterinarians to remove these nasty ingredients. Three of them are from his new line of nutritional supplements.
4. This is a hard one, but do not feed table scraps at all (and especially ultra fatty & greasy foods). Your dog might give you the saddest eyes in the world, but feeding table scraps exposes them to all sorts of preservatives & other things that their bodies aren't used to digesting. Save them for yourself for leftovers.
5. Keep your dog's actual food consistent year round. Switching dogs foods abruptly can be really hard on a dog's digestive system. Try to pick a food that has all the nutritional value you need at the high activity points of the year like hunting season, and then scale down the serving size during low activity times.
Alpha Dog Nutrition owner & avid hunter Joe Scott says less is more as your dog ages. His new line of products aims to simplify the game.
Have you ever taken a look at the list of fillers & inactive ingredients in the nutritional products you give your dog?
“The whole idea of less is more, that we shouldn't be giving our dogs all these unnecessary fillers & inactive ingredients simply because it is easiest for the manufacturing process, is what I really believe in,” said Joe Scott, an avid upland hunter who’s partnered up with leading nutritionist and veterinarians to remove these nasty ingredients. Three of them are from his new line of nutritional supplements.
Alpha Dog Nutrition isn't just a catchy name to Joe. “Alpha is about maintaining that spunky, energetic 3 year old dog - the leader of your pack” he says. “Pet companies are constantly adding products & chemical ingredients; I’m taking away. Mine is the only company that is fighting for your dog, not the paycheck.”
Joe believes in helping our dogs age gracefully and not over-doing it on what we give them. When asked what he gives his 6 year old English Setter, Trigger, daily to keep him healthy: “Vitality & Free Range - The combination of those two keeps Trigger's heart healthy & his joints well maintained.”
“There is this from the big brands out there to be giving our dogs everything under the sun” said Scott “We need to understand that their bodies can actually regulate their nutrition pretty well… Less is more, that's the biggest thing.”
Joe believes in helping our dogs age gracefully and not over-doing it on what we give them. When asked what he gives his 6 year old English Setter, Trigger, daily to keep him healthy: “Vitality & Free Range - The combination of those two keeps Trigger's heart healthy & his joints well maintained.”
“There is this from the big brands out there to be giving our dogs everything under the sun” said Scott “We need to understand that their bodies can actually regulate their nutrition pretty well… Less is more, that's the biggest thing.”
The products come in sharp-looking black containers that fit easily next to your dog's food. There’s Vitality for heart health, joint support, skin, and coat; Free Range for keeping their joints well lubricated and maintained; and Resurgence for helping replenish lost nutrients, rebuild broken down muscle, and help maintain hydration after the hunt. They are all reasonably priced and only sold on Alpha Dog Nutrition's website.
Judging by the photos & videos, Trigger, who recently turned 6, is getting all the help he needs. He's one of those dogs that is just content being your shadow wherever you go. Around the house he's the biggest baby in the world. Get him out in the grouse woods though, Joe says, and he can still really turn it on. He operates smarter and more efficiently than he did at 3 years old, but he still moves just as well.
“The biggest makeup mistake that dog owners make is waiting until they see an issue to start providing supplemental help” he said. “If your dog has developed joint stiffness already, that means the cartilage in their joints has broken down already. The goal is to prevent that from happening in the first place. It's a lot easier to maintain a vehicle that it is to fix one that's already broken down. Our dog's bodies are no different.”
“Growing up with bird dogs, it's always their joints that slow them down & take them out of the hunt early” he remembers. That's incredibly tough to watch, and as Trigger started to age he made it his goal to find something that would be keep him from experiencing the same issues. "Not finding anything that I felt was good enough for him," he says "I partnered up with some great nutritionists & veterinarians to help come up with our own and Alpha Dog Nutrition was born."
The reception to our message and our mission, he says, has been tremendous. since been featured in Gun Dog Magazine, Wildfowl Magazine, and even on The Hunting Dog Podcast.
“When somebody says to you, ‘Well it's about time!’ That’s really means something. It's pretty clear dog owners have been waiting for a company like Alpha Dog Nutrition for a long time, and I'm honored to be able to bring it to them.
“When somebody says to you, ‘Well it's about time!’ That’s really means something. It's pretty clear dog owners have been waiting for a company like Alpha Dog Nutrition for a long time, and I'm honored to be able to bring it to them.
MAINTAIN THAT ALPHA STATUS!
Keep that heart, skin, coat, & joints healthy for years to come!
MAINTAIN THOSE LIMBER JOINTS!
Your dog will thank you years down the road when they are running circles around other dogs their age.
Your dog will thank you years down the road when they are running circles around other dogs their age.
Available Mid-July
GET BACK IN THE GAME
A long season of hunting & physical activity can really take its toll on your dog. Help them recover after hunts with Resurgence!
Available Mid-July
What people are saying about us...
I have a new favorite hat. Not only does this hat have the look I wanted that is eye catching, it has the breathable mesh that does let my head sweat too much. Great quality too!
Samantha
Thank you for the amazing hat - it brought my husband to tears :) reminds us so much of our beloved Golden Retriever that we miss terribly :( It didn't arrive by Fathers day but it quickly arrived yesterday and I wanted to thank you for your fast and courteous service by personally calling to let me know it may not arrive by Sunday.
Lisa
I've seen a great change in my dog, he's not as sore after a hunt and he has a ton more energy!
Meghin
Received my hat today. Absolutely love it!!! Thank you for the great product!!!!
