Does My Dog Need Supplements?

In this article, we’ll be exploring a topic that is very close to our hearts (and wagging tails) – nutritional supplements for dogs. Just like us, our adorable pups may benefit from a nutritional boost, whether it be to help them overcome a stubborn health issue or simply to contribute to their vitality and longevity. We’ve seen, first-hand with our own dog, Nala, the power of supplements on health. When we created the first ever VITAL DOG meal topper prototype to help with a shoulder joint injury and chronic ear infections, we saw a complete recovery without any of the downsides or side-effects that she was experiencing when trying to resolve the issues with medications.

Should I give health supplements to my dog?

It's a big question, right? The short answer is: maybe! Despite being a brand that makes supplements for dogs, we’d sincerely say that while many dogs don’t need nutritional supplements if they consume a complete and balanced diet, the majority of dogs will benefit from them.
 
Just as we might take a vitamin to boost our immune systems, probiotics to promote a healthy microbiome, or fish oil to help with a healthy circulatory system, our furry friends can benefit from supplements tailored to their unique needs and the goals of their owners. Think of it like this: our dogs' diets are designed to meet their essential nutritional requirements and avoid symptoms of deficiencies. We’d argue that there’s a difference between merely avoiding deficiency states versus optimising nutritional intake to account for the bio-individuality and lifestyle factors of our dogs. There can be a big variation between your dog and an average dog (whatever that is).
 
Many wellness-inspired pet-parents strive to optimise their own health by taking measures that many within the population do not. This may include following a specific diet, managing stress, connecting with others, getting sufficient sleep, exercising daily, minimising toxins and taking supplements. It makes sense that those same folks want to do the same for their dogs by paying attention to some of the same variables. Diet and supplementation are among the most important contributors to our dogs’ wellness, yet they largely don’t have a choice in the matter. It’s up to us to nourish them in the right way!
 
Perhaps you have a senior citizen in dog years, a high-energy athlete, a breed with a known predisposition, a puppa dealing with specific health issues, or a pooch that’s poop isn’t looking the same after their recent course of antibiotics. That’s where we need to consider individual needs and goals for our pets, and whether supplements can positively contribute. It isn’t always the case, and as we said before, they’re not required for every dog, but they can be a game-changer for many.

Understanding the role of nutritional supplements for dogs

Building on what we said earlier, the role of supplements for dogs is largely to enrich their diet and promote wellness, vitality and the enjoyment of life. While complete and balanced dog foods are formulated with the best intentions, they can contain a lot of ingredients that can be problematic for some dogs, such as grains and sweeteners. In addition, we might see commercial dry foods that are fortified with synthetic vitamins to account for the heat-driven degradation of nutrients. We’d argue that these diets aren’t optimal for dogs’ health, in the same ways that fortified breakfast cereals aren’t the best choices for our children (despite the health star ratings and claims around vitamins).
 
To that extent, supplements may have a role in somewhat compensating for what is often a sub-optimal core diet, giving owners an extra level of reassurance that they’re doing the best by their dog each day. This isn’t the case with all supplements, it will come down to the ingredients and overall nutritional composition.
 
Other ways supplements may promote health include:

• supporting health and medical needs (e.g. gut health, allergies or itchiness, arthritis, dental disease, etc.)
• accounting for exercise-related increases in energy needs and replenishing key nutrients
• proactively supporting genetic predispositions (some breeds may have a higher likelihood of developing hip dysplasia, for example)
• assisting with nutrient-absorption of the main meal through gut support and chelation
• contributing to detoxification processes by supporting the liver, digestive and urinary systems
• enhancing the microbiome, especially for dogs who live indoors or may not get adequate time outdoors in diverse terrain
• supporting the circulatory system by keeping inflammation down and supporting the integrity of blood vessels
• promoting healthy ageing and longevity by reducing oxidative stress and cellular damage

Additional supplemental considerations

Reactive vs Preventative Supplementation
If you’ve decided that nutritional supplements are something you want to incorporate into your dog’s diet, will you do it proactively or reactively? For some pet-parents, proactive supplementation makes the most sense as they’re seeking daily nutritional reassurance and wanting to support their animal in various ways before issues emerge in the first place (check out our Multi-Benefit Wellness Blend which fits this approach beautifully). Others may decide that their dog’s food is more than adequate to support general health, only opting to use supplements as needs arise, such as our customers who buy VITAL DOG Advanced Gut Health during and after a course of antibiotics.
 
The Cost of Supplementation
This is a valid consideration as the costs of living continue to increase. Not everyone is in a position to buy premium pet food or prepare homemade meals for their dogs from high-quality fresh foods, let alone add supplements into the mix. For those who have decided to invest in supplements, costs can range from around $0.70 to $3.00 per day, on average. This is highly influenced by the size of your dog (and therefore, serving amount) as well as the sophistication of the formulation, purity of the ingredients and their suitability for canines. One of our customers has said, “if it even saves one big vet bill, it’s paid itself back ten-fold!”
 
The Quality of Supplementation
Cheap supplements may incorporate grains, fillers, sweeteners, flavours and synthetic vitamins. Your dog gets what you pay for! When these inferior, often-unnecessary ingredients are used in supplements, not only is there the likelihood that they’ll be less effective for your animal, they may actually exacerbate the issue that they were designed to assist with! We’ve seen many digestive supplements use cheap grains, sugars and excessive fibre content that can have the opposite effect of what pet-parents are hoping for: unhappy tummies, soft poop and smelly farts. Wherever possible, opt for real food ingredients that are nutrient-dense and in line with canine biology.

The Personal Decision of Supplementation

At the end of the day, deciding whether to supplement your dog's diet is a personal choice. We're obviously biased as a result of our experiences with Nala, along with the stories we’ve heard from customers and clinical anecdotes from our advisory group. We’ve been brought to tears with some of the results, including a young French Bulldog who was getting injections every 8 weeks for an inflammatory skin condition prior to incorporating VITAL DOG meal toppers into her diet. We’re told that she hasn’t had to receive another injection and now lives a more comfortable, vital and mischievous life!
 
If you’re still on the fence, we’d encourage you to give it a try. You could look at it as a low-risk, commitment-free experiment with potentially life-improving upsides. Try it out for 6-8 weeks and see how your dog responds. It may just lead to a happier and healthy life – all dogs deserve that.