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Feeding your dog with the perfect food or dog supplements can reduce a lot of health problems. Dog supplements play a major role in maintaining your dog’s health and providing immunity against certain diseases. Dogs that are fed with homemade food are those that are often in need of this. This is because the nutrients needed for your dog are generally less in natural foods.
Dogs need to be fed a balanced diet to stay healthy. But many pet parents wonder ‘what supplements should I give my dog?’. Relax! We got you covered. We have come up with a list of 5 Must-have supplements for dogs to keep them healthy and happy.
Are Dog supplements necessary?
Dog supplements may be necessary in certain cases such as if your dog has a medical condition or is experiencing a nutrient deficiency. However, if your dog is healthy and receiving a balanced diet, supplements may not be necessary. It's important to discuss with a veterinarian before giving any supplements to your dog as some may interact with medications or have negative side effects. Each dog's needs are unique, and the decision to give supplements should be based on their individual health status.
Here is the list of most popular dog health supplements
Multi-vitamin
Do you know one-third of the pet owners insist on having a multi-vitamin for their dogs? Stress, surgery, heatstroke, athletic performance, training, etc., during summer, need an extra dose of minerals and nutrients. To give extra nutrition you need to feed an extra 2 bowls of food. This results in weight gain, hence 1 dose of a multivitamin will reduce the calories but provides the essential nutrients for your dog.
Omega 3
This helps in enhancing the shine of your dog’s coat in addition to reducing the itchiness which happens to be one of the major problems in summer. Omega 3 fatty acids are rich in fish oil which you might not be able to find in natural foods. This is why you need to stock up a lot of fish oil for dogs. Besides it being found in very fewer food items, it has a laundry list of benefits for your dog.
Digestive enzymes
To process and absorb food pancreas release a chemical called “digestive enzymes”. Digestive enzymes with help your dog’s body to absorb the maximum nutrients.
Probiotics
Your dog needs good bacteria to absorb maximum nutrition from the food. Probiotics help in fighting the harmful bacteria and decrease the chances of falling ill. If there is an imbalance in the count of bacteria, your dog is likely to get diarrhea and other nutritional deficiencies.
Glucosamine/Chondroitin
This supplement improves the health of joints. Not just that, but also reduces the chance of arthritis in dogs. It improves the cartilage(the fluid present in the joints) and especially the performance dogs which take the wear and tear of joints, need this.
But wait, your dog might not need all of these supplements and overdosage of vitamins and minerals can also lead to bone deformation. For example, excess calcium can cause the formation of extra bones, which needs a surgery to remove them. Hence, before giving a supplements visit your vet because not all the dogs need the same supplements. Know what type of dog supplements are needed for your dog and provide the best diet that you can for your dog!
