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Dog Longevity Survey Part II: How Important are Supplements to Longevity?

How important are supplements to your dog's longevity?


Analyzing the survey results is quite interesting. The way the answers break down under this subject makes perfect sense. I appreciate those who checked that they don't know, as well as those who opted to enter their own comments instead.




Extremely important  0.00%
Important40.00%
Somewhat important33.33%
Not important10.00%
I don't know  6.67%
Other10.00%

It is important to distinguish between targeted, individual supplementation and adding random multivitamin products willy nilly.


With supplements, less is more.

Whether or not and which supplements your dog needs depends on your dog, their diet and their health. Some human multivitamins can actually toxic to dogs. Some of these things contain xylitol, which is highly toxic to dogs. But even those that don't often contain some nutrients at levels that can be dangerously high for dogs, such as iron, vitamin D and even calcium.


Fat soluble vitamins, such as vitamin D, or vitamin A can also reach toxic levels with over-supplementation. Don't throw a random multivitamin into your dog's bowl thinking it's always a good thing.

Know what nutrients are already present in the bowl and at what levels.


Particularly if your dog eats kibble, there is already all kinds of stuff added to it. Adding random amounts of random things can cause more trouble than benefit.

There are a few supplements all dogs can benefit from.


Those include omega-3 oils and joint supplements. Even the highly beneficial fish oils, though, can become dangerous in high doses and lead to toxicity. Some can contain high levels of vitamins A and D, such as cod liver oil. When deciding on supplementing your dog with source of omega-3 fats, consider the source, the amount, and the presence of things you wouldn't want in there at all such as heavy metals. Doses that are too high can even lead to reduced clotting and therefore bleeding.

I am not trying to scare you off supplementing your dog with omega-3 fats. I supplement them as well. I would, however, urge you to give careful consideration to the source and dosage.

Joint supplements, such as glucosamine and chondroitin are generally safe and overdose isn't likely cause much else than a digestive upset. There is still no reason to overdose, though.

Probiotics.


Probiotics is one of the things that you cannot go wrong with. These days, I think every dog can benefit from some. My dogs were getting a probiotic supplement for years.

Digestive enzymes.


Digestive enzymes can be beneficial with many digestive conditions. I used them for Jasmine's IBD, I used them after Cookie's pancreatitis, they can help with food intolerances and allergies, they can even have an overall anti-inflammatory effect. If your dog gets high quality diet and has no health issues, they don't need them but they can be helpful particularly when feeding foods void of such things = any processed or cooked foods.

Water soluble vitamins.


Water soluble vitamins are generally much safer, because they are not stored--what the body doesn't want gets simply eliminated. B vitamins are quite safe and the worst you're likely to do is to waste money if your dog doesn't need them. Though over-dose is possible if your dog gets into the stash.

Vitamin C is technically not needed for dogs because they can make their own. When ill, though, they might not be able to produce enough or the levels get depleted quickly so I'd consider vitamin C "conditionally" essential. Careful with it, though, as it could cause digestive disturbances.

Antioxidants


Antioxidants had been touted as the cure of all but lately some research seems to be showing they can be a double-edged sword. Perhaps all that is about the type and amount as well. In general, I'd rather provide that through food than supplements.

Measure twice, cut once.


When asked why you're supplementing one thing or another, you should have a concise answer. If you don't, or you answer is that "it cannot hurt," "it might be a good idea," or because "somebody else does," don't.

Whole foods versus pills.

I absolutely prefer to use whole foods as oppose to synthetic supplements. Wholesome fresh foods contain a lot of wonderful nutrients and supplementation is often not necessary. They provide a range of "stuffs" rather than one synthetic bit. They are less likely to be toxic and more likely to be beneficial.

I already shared my thoughts on "natural" when it comes to nutrition.

Carefully chosen supplements can be beneficial to health and longevity.


But supplementing blindly for the sake of supplementing can actually do the opposite.


Related articles:
Dog Longevity Survey Part I
Dog Longevity Survey Part II
Dog Longevity Survey Part I Results
How Important Is Weight Management for Longevity?