Supplements; Nice or Unnecessary?
Nowadays it seems like you can hardly turn around in a pet store without seeing some new supplement or cure-all. Do Agility dogs need sport vitamins like human athletes? Should we be giving kitties chlorophyll in nice, digestible tablets?
What are your thoughts on supplements for dogs? Is there any you give that you can’t go without? I give my dogs glucosamine and chondrotin in their food, and an occasional squirt of linseed oil. I make sure their treats are healthy – they both love hardboiled eggs! Are there supplements you would never give your dog?
I am a big believer in Cosequin for my older dogs and I think a Vitamin E cap is helpful for just about any dog. I used to give Fish Oil capsules instead, but found that some dogs’ tummies couldn’t handle them. Back when I was showing in conformation, I usually was also using coat supplements, like Show Stopper or an old time favorite of mine, Dog Bloom. These products really do seem to help an out of coat dog have their coat come back in quicker. I used to own a boarding kennel and gave every dog some Prozyme on top of their food, and truly believe it keeps down cases of stress diarrhea. If one of my guys has to have antibiotic, I always want them to get the benefit of some probiotics in one form or another. Fastrack is great.
I have a 18mo. old Standard Poodle that was diagnosed with Addisons Disease at 11 mo. I would be interested to hear of anyone who is doing Agility with a dog with Addisons.
Absolutely give a supplement. There is no dog food on the planet that contains everything a dog needs to be and stay healthy. The foods that are in the market place are not all they are cracked up to be. When a food company puts out a “new food” with added ingredients for health but leaves their “Old” formulas in their products line, we need to question Why? Glucosamine and chondrotin are now the new thing in everybody’s product line. But did you know that just these two ingredients are not enough to support full bone and joint health. I personally go with one line of food that includes supplements for skin & coat, one for bone & joint and treats that have positive benefits. If you are curious to know just write to me and I’ll share the website with anyone that is interested. info@spottsgrooming.com
P.S. We are considering giving them some “green plant material” product, once we’ve researched that. They both dabble in grass eating.
We don’t give our dogs supplements, since we have noted the amount of supplementation in their dry dog food and also in canned dog food……plus as Lucy mentioned, most dog treats/trainng treats are supplemented. They are on organic, premium, small-Canadian company dry food. Both of our dogs, get a small amount of canned pumpkin on their meal in the morning and in the evening, plus probiotic in the morning. Every once in a while, they get some fish oil added in. Once they are in their senior years, we will research the current information and more than likely provide them with some type of supplement plan.
I feed a good quality food and so dont feel the need to do much additional other than joint supplements as a preventative for my middle aged BC who plays very hard and as a necessity for my senior citizen GSD
I own a feed store and I know that every manufacturer out there wants to sell its latest supplement. Personally, I give my dog a hip and joint “treat” twice a day and a “Greenies lite” for his teeth at night. I used to do a basic multi-vitamin but since the other treats are also fortified, I stopped. He is a young sheltie with no problems; if he were an older dog who showed any soreness I might go with a stronger joint supplement. For now, the one I am giving him is more than enough. I also use a flea and tick topical and heartworm pills. We don’t have much problem with heartworm here but better safe than sorry. Ticks are a problem and finding them on a furry sheltie is not fun. Prevention is the answer.
People and dogs should use only the supplements they need and other than that, get plenty of exercise and eat a healthy diet.
Oh, our dogs also get the flea/tick/heartworm meds once a month. Years ago we fought flea constantly, but with these new meds, we’ve haven’t seen a flea since we got the dogs as puppies four years ago.
Our dogs have been on Dr. Harvey’s Ortho Flex (to protect joints), Tahitian Noni (boosting the immune system – never any fleas or ticks withOUT using the monthly stuff from the vet), and my oldest is on human grade CoQ-10 for a heart murmur.
All four dogs are in excellent health and have continued to play Agility without any problem. Call me a fan of using the supplements!
Absolutely on the not too much change at once!
I just asked this question to our vet when I took our four year old Scotty (Smokey) and Welsh Corgi (Bandit) in for their yearly physical.
Both dog do agility and after consulting with the vet, he recommened a suppliment for diet and and joint health.
We’re currently introduing the diet suppliment and after they are up to the recommended dose for a week or so, we’ll start the joint health suppliment. Don’t want to throw too much change into their diet at once.