The Buzz: Dr. Carson's Pro-Dog Complete

Marten showing us his "grass-chomping" fangs.
Meanwhile his brother Moose grabs another mouthful.
Did you know canines are omnivores - not carnivores?
Eating grass is normal - not just for upset tummies.

It's mid-September, and the dogs are up to 9 mile training runs this week. We're right on schedule. Next week the mileage will increase, along with each dog's rate of metabolism and caloric intake. As our summer fun runs turn into real serious race training, mushers start thinking hard about what is going on inside of our dogs' bodies, and what we can do to help keep them as healthy as possible.

Last year we were introduced to Dr. Carson's Pro-Dog Complete by our good friend and fellow-musher, Wade Marrs. We'd heard of Dr. Carson's for years, but had never tried it out since it's mail-order only and seemed CRAZY EXPENSIVE for mushers. Click that link to see pricing info, then multiply that number by five to calculate the price for 20 dogs for 6 months*. Long story short, Wade was able to hook us up with a few buckets of this supplement for free and we were BLOWN AWAY!!! By the end of the race season we were kind of mad that Wade had even gotten us started on Pro-Dog Complete because now that we see how good it is, we'll never train or race our dogs without it.

*This supplement also comes in 16 ounce tubs, perfect for pet owners


So what is this stuff? And what exactly does it do?

INGREDIENTS: Flax flakes, bee pollen powder, rice bran, liver powder, brewers yeast, glucosamine tumeric, superoxide dismutase, mullein leaf powder, bromelain, lecithin, propolis powder, niacin, royal jelly powder and beta carotene

Dr. Carson's supplements are all bee product based. There is quite a bit of anecdotal evidence and even some scientific research out there to suggest that bee products have loads of health benefits. Antibiotic, antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal and anti-inflammatory are just a few of the beneficial properties you'll read about. The label on the bucket of the Dog Complete supplement reads like this:

"Ingredients from the honey bee hive promote healthy skin and coat as well as inner cleanliness and immune building properties. Combined with our joint and tendon ingredients, Pro-Dog Complete is the most comprehensive and highest quality animal care supplement ..."

We know what you're thinking: "This seems like some kind of magic cure-all, and cure-all's cure nothing! This stuff sounds too good to be true!" Well, that's what we thought, too...

Jeff with our 2019-2020 season order of Dr. Carson's products --
includes Pro Dog Complete, probiotics, massage ointment, and skin cream
Can you tell we're big fans? 

We started adding Complete to our dogs' food at the end of November 2018. Before we knew it the season had flown by with very few injuries, zero illnesses, and the nicest, bounciest, most well-held-together-poop on the trail we had ever seen! **Side note: Anytime a musher writes anything about dog health care, there is probably going to be at least a passing mention of poop. Why? The consistency of your dog's poop is a major indicator of their internal health -- especially when running long distances** By March we had no doubt: Our dogs were the healthiest they had ever been, and Dr. Carson's Pro-Dog Complete was playing a major role in that.   

Since summer finances are tighter, and summer dog runs are much, much shorter, we stopped feeding Dr. Carson's in May. Mostly. Two of our best dogs, Qarth and Braavos, suffer from seasonal grass allergies. Each year their symptoms include super stuffy, cracked noses, coughing, and phlegm production. Yuck. Known for it's anti-allergen properties we continued to give the brothers the recommended daily dosage of 2T of Dr. Carson's each day all summer in the form of what I call "Complete Treats." This summer their sinus health was the best it's ever been.

Recipe for KattiJo's Complete Treats

3 cups water

3 cups kibble 

3 cups Dr. Carson's Pro-Dog Complete

1. Gently combine all ingredients in a standing mixer or food processor. Do not overmix to the point of crushing the kibble. This will change the dry/wet ratio and make the final product harder to work with

2. Lightly grease a cookie sheet with cooking spray

3. Use an ice cream scooper and dispense dough balls onto cookie sheet. I like the yellow-handled, #20 disher-type scoop. It has a 3.5 T capacity, which means that each scoop should contain about 2 T of Dr. Carson's, since you used an equal ratio of food to powder

4. Freeze your dough balls on the cookie sheet until hard

5. Once hard, the balls can be removed from the sheet and repackaged into gallon ziploc bags