What you should know about Dog’s Supplements and Multivitamins
If you’re a pet owner, you mostly wonder: why should I give my pets vitamins and supplements?
Then you are in the right place. In this article, we explain why vitamins and supplements are important for your pets and how to know what supplements to give them.
If you’re here also searching for new ways to boost your pet’s nutrition, you’re also in the right place.
Firstly, what are multivitamins and supplements?
Multivitamins are used to provide vitamins that are not taken in through the diet. They are used to treat vitamin deficiencies caused by illness, pregnancy, poor nutrition, digestive disorders, and many other conditions in your pets.
They are organic compounds that are necessary to sustain life. Most are found naturally in food. Animals’ bodies need vitamins for growth and maintenance.
Dietary supplements on the other hand contain vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, enzymes, and many other ingredients.
Both are significant components of pet nutrition helping them fight diseases, maintain good health, and increase the body’s energy level.
Difference between vitamins and supplements
- Supplements contain different active ingredients that add nutritional value to their diet.
- Vitamins on the other hand contain a just one source of nutrients. Vitamins are part of the active ingredients in supplement.
Why do you need Vitamins and supplements for your pets?
One of the commonest reason for supplements in pets is joint pain, says Jerry Klein, DVM, chief veterinary officer for the American Kennel Club (AKC). Others are skin and coat issues, gut problems, weight loss, inflammation, and cognitive disorders.
Here are other reasons why supplements are needed.
- picky/fussy eating behaviour:
- food allergies:
- nutritional/vitamin deficiency:
- homemade diet:
- those at a specific life stage: pregnancy, lactating, recovering from sickness.
- Pet owners also may give probiotics to alleviate gastrointestinal problems or antioxidants to counteract the effects of aging, such as cognitive dysfunction.
Benefits of vitamins and supplements
- Provides essential nutrients for healthy growth and development.
- Improves and maintain health gut and digestive process.
- Improves and maintain brain activity.
- Aids their aging process and also improves their energy level.
- Improves and maintains quality of skin and also coat.
How to use vitamins and supplements
You should always confirm proper guidelines for usage from the packaging instructions or in peculiar cases, confirm with your veterinarian.
Human supplements shouldn’t be given to pets, as they can contain ingredients that could be harmful to your pets.
Too much of certain vitamins can be harmful to pets. Excess calcium can cause skeletal problems especially in large breeds while too much vitamin D can lead to atrophy and also weak bones.
Here are the type of supplements for your pets
- Hip & joint health supplements.
- Skin & coat health supplements
- Immune support supplements
- Gut & digestive health supplements
- Aging and also brain health supplements
- Multivitamins/Conditioning tablets(all-in-one pet vitamin)
- Stress and also anxiety relief
What you should know about Dog’s Supplements and Multivitamins
