Should You Give Your Dog Supplements?
Well just like you worry about your own health and your bodies need for different nutritional elements, your faithful four-legged friend also needs proper nutrition and health. I wouldn’t say that your dog needs supplements, because they can get through life without them. However I would say that your furry friend with definitely benefit from supplements and his or her life will become more enjoyable.
Uses of Supplements
The use of pet supplements has been on the rise since 2000. The demand for supplements has grown 15% each year since 2000 turning pet supplements into a $1.3 billion industry. According to the Simmons Market Research Bureau about 17% of pet owners give their furry family members some sort of supplement. Supplements can be used just as a dietary aid. You can boost your dogs regular diet by adding a multi-vitamin into the mix. Not all dog foods, kibble or canned, provide all the necessary nutrients your faithful friend needs. So by adding a multi-vitamin you will be making sure they get all their essential vitamins. Supplements can also be used to aid in specific ailments. My dog Charlie was having pains in his joints, you could just tell from the way he walked. I spoke to my vet about supplements and he suggested a bone and joint supplement mix. After a few weeks Charlie was running around like he was a puppy again.
Selecting The Right Supplements
Although human supplements contain many of the same ingredients you may find in pet supplements, in general they are not suitable for your dog. When it comes to providing your dog with supplements you need to make sure they are getting them in the right dosage and proper delivery method. ConsumerLab.com independently tests supplements for humans and animals and according to their president Dr. Tod Cooperman half of the pet supplements that they test don’t pass. So with the online market growing and lack of quality in products you must be very careful in what supplements you choose. One key thing to remember is always check with your veterinarian before you give you dog any supplements. Dr. John Bauer, professor of clinical nutrition at Texas A&M University’s College of Veterinary Medicine reminds people to considered the following four things when choosing a supplement.
- Product Quality- what percent of the ingredients are functional and active.
- Efficacy- is there any scientific testing to support the supplements effectiveness.
- Tolerance- check to make sure that your dog isn’t allergic to any of the ingredients and that none of the ingredients will interact with his or her current medications.
- Safety- check to see how it affects animals in testing, where there any side effects.
So Does Your Dog Need Supplements?
In the long run I would say yes your dog needs supplements. Supplements are a good way to help provide balanced nutrition for your dog. This is important because balanced nutrition is the first step to treating your dogs health problems. Also providing the proper nutrition helps to strengthen and balance out your dogs immune system. Over all your dogs health is much like your own and normal daily eating generally doesn’t provide all the essential vitamins, nutrients and fatty acids that you or your dog need. Therefore supplementing your dogs diet with the guidance of a veterinarian is a good idea. Also using supplements to try and treat your dogs ailments is a good step before electing to try more invasive methods of treatment.
