Lending A Helping Paw (M&C Nurish-UM Vitamin & Mineral Supplement)

Member Name: FourPaws

Product:	M&C Nurish-UM Vitamin & Mineral Supplement
Date:	08/04/09 (334 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Helps a dog to gain weight, packed with vitamins & minerals

Disadvantages: Limited availability offline

*What is M&C Nurish UM Vitamin & Mineral Supplement?*
This dietary supplement paste for dogs is produced by the Mark & Chappel brand, a well established and highly trusted manufacturer of a wide range of health care and diet supplements for cats and dogs including products to help with joint care, sensitive stomachs and also a small selection of treats with added medical benefits.

*The product itself*
Grace, my gorgeous Rottweiler has always been on the slim side- she eats like a horse and absolutely adores her food but never sits still for one moment, so she inevitably burns off an awful lot more calories than she takes in, but since she already eats a lot more than the recommended daily allowance as it is I was reluctant to increase her food intake, so after ruling out any medical reasons for her problem with keeping the weight on, I started looking out for some products which could help her get some extra calories and vitamins, without receiving any more food and without the need for me to reduce her exercise, as she lives to run about and play.

I knew in my mind what I was looking for- something pretty basic that would give her them few extra calories but without too many other benefits which she doesn't need, and I didn't want to give her any 'veterinary strength' products that we prescribe to dogs with weight problems at work as her case wasn't bad enough for those, so it proved quite difficult to find exactly what I was looking for.

That was until I came across this product. It's called Nurish UM and is produced by Mark & Chappel, which is a brand that I highly trust and is a Vitamin & Mineral Supplement designed exclusively for dogs, although there is a version available for cats too. It claims to be a tasty and palatable high calorie paste which can be fed daily to help increase weight gain in elderly or ill dogs or those recovering from surgery, and also for stimulating appetite and helping to increase weight in healthy dogs who find it hard to maintain weight due to an extremely high activity level, which is the case with Grace.

The pale brown paste, which has no real odour to it, is highly concentrated, meaning you only need to feed a small amount a day and can be given on top of food, or directly into your dogs mouth and is absolutely packed with various important vitamins and minerals which will be especially beneficial to elderly or ill dogs and will help dogs who have recently undergone surgery to regain full health again.

It also contains Omega 3, which we all know is extremely good for us, and its no different for our four legged friends- Omega 3 will help to maintain healthy, strong bones and also promote supple skin with a healthy, glossy coat. Zinc is also included in the paste which will help to maintain healthy immune and digestive systems, aswell as keeping your dogs natural defences strong to help resist illness and disease. Lastly, Nurish UM contains Biotin, also known as Vitamin H or B7, which can help with maintaining healthy blood sugar levels as well as being essential for cell growth, the production of fatty acids and will also help strengthen your dogs coat and claws.

*Packaging*
The paste comes packaged in a soft white plastic squeezey tube which stands on its screw off cap, identical in appearance to that of a toothpaste tube. On the front we are told the product name, company logo and also the benefits that the paste contains. On the reverse is some basic information about the product and full vitamin analysis and also contact details for Mark & Chappel, should you have any questions or comments. The packaging can be rinsed out and recycled once empty.

*Price & Availability*
The Nurish UM paste seems to have limited availability offline but can be purchased from various places online and even some veterinary practices- although make sure you call ahead to check if your local vet sells it before making a trip to purchase some, as although the Practice that my fiancé works at sells it, the one that I work as doesn't and it is much costlier than online.

I purchase it for Grace from www.toppetshop.co.uk where a 120g tube costs £6.45.

*My opinion*
To look at, you probably wouldn't have been able to tell that Grace was underweight, as she certainly didn't look it, and at 33kg- a healthy weight for the average female Rottweiler- she didn't sound it either. But when you ran your hands over her body, you could feel that she was absolutely packed with muscle, which made her seem heavier, but her ribs and hip bones could be felt all too easily. Now, of course I didn't want her to carry unnecessary fat, as she would be both healthier and happier without it, I did want to increase her weight a little bit, so her bones couldn't be felt quite so easily. Grace also had surgery recently too, which doubled the benefits she got from this product, but more about that later.

Once I'd ordered the paste I was quite keen for it to arrive so I could start trying it on Grace, and when it did, she was just as eager to try it aswell! The tube has got some feeding directions printed on it but I found them quite vague and unhelpful so I decided to play it by ear and give her what I felt was necessary, although if you are unsure, always ask your vet for advice. The tube was very easy to use, and with a little squeeze the paste came out steadily- I squeezed about 2cm of paste in length from the tube and let Grace lick it straight from the end, which probably isn't the most hygienic method of administering it but I was only going to be feeding it to her so there was no chance of spread of bacteria from her to another dog. The paste didn't look all that appetising and it smelt mildly of aniseed which I didn't think would be a taste dogs would enjoy, but Grace quite happily ate it.

I continued feeding her the same 2cm portion daily for the next 3 months, with the same food and exercise she had always received, and waited to see if there was any improvement. She did start to get bored of eating it on its own, but smearing it on a biscuit solved that problem, and at Christmas last year, 3 months after she started having it, I weighed her again and the scales flashed up at 36kg, meaning she had put on 3kg in 3 months, and now 'felt' a lot healthier as her bones, although still able to be felt (as they always should do in a dog of healthy weight), they were no where near as prominent and happy with the results of the product, I cut down to a 1cm portion once every two days to help her maintain that weight.

Recently though, as I mentioned earlier, Grace had to undergo surgery which knocked her slightly for a week or so and I increased her intake of this paste once again to help her get back on her feet. I purchased Grace as a 9 week old puppy with an undocked tail, as docking for cosmetic reasons in now illegal in England, and was very proud of the fact I had a Rottie with a long tail as nearly everyone you see is docked. However, Grace is such a boisterous dog who charges about the fields, in and out of the undergrowth and was always catching her tail on brambles or thorns and she was such a 'forceful wagger' that when ever she wagged her tail and it hit something, it would hurt her. So, we felt it would be better and less painful for her in the long run to medically dock her tail so she could no longer damage it. I fed the paste daily to her for a fortnight whilst she regained full health again and it helped make sure she received all the right vitamins even when she didn't have much of an appetite. I may now have a not-so-unique docked Rottweiler, but she's still beautiful without that deadly tail, and of course, if it isn't there, she can't damage it any more.

To conclude, a really great product which is not only useful for helping dogs to gain weight, but also to help dogs recover from surgery or when suffering an illness or on a limited diet for whatever reason. Only a small amount is needed so a tube lasts ages, it is clean and easy to administer and has visible results. A truly excellent product and one that I will continue to use with Grace for as long as she needs it.

Summary: An excellent diet supplement for dogs needing to gain weight, or for those with a poor appetite.