The most important dietary supplements for your pet dog
Dietary supplements are widely taken by humans to boost their health. In the same way, your pet dog can also be given dog supplements to enhance its health. Supplements for dogs are increasingly becoming popular among pet owners. There are many types of Best supplements for dogs which contain vitamins, minerals, herbs and other types of ingredients which benefit dogs in multiple ways such as improving immune system, boosting the digestive system, coat care, treating diseases and improvement in overall health.
Some of the Best supplements for dogs have been discussed here.
Glucosamine
Glucosamine supplements are available in the form of powders or pills. Glucosamine is an amino sugar which promotes cartilage building and is present around joints. Glucosamine used in dog supplements can either be extracted from shells of shellfish or made in the laboratory. Glucosamine supplement relieves arthritis pain in dogs by building the degraded cartilages. It is also effective in improving the process of joint recovery after injury or surgery.
Multivitamin
Multivitamin supplements contain combinations of various types of essential vitamins and minerals. Multivitamin supplements ensure that the dogs get the correct dosage of different kinds of vitamins every day. The vitamins contained in the multivitamin supplements are Vitamin A, B12, B6, C, D, E, K. These vitamins help in maintaining digestion, vision, coat, immune health, nervous system, cell function, joint health and cardiac health of the dog in perfect condition. The multivitamin supplements usually come in the form of chews.
Fish oil
Fish oil contains omega-3 fatty acids which have a number of beneficial effects for dogs. These include improvement in coat quality, resistance against skin allergies, improvement in joint and cardiac health, improvement in kidney function and reducing inflammation. Fish oil supplements are best for dogs because a dog’s body cannot produce omega-3 fatty acids and needs external sources for the same.
Antioxidants
Free radicals are molecules containing oxygen which lacks an electron. They are produced when food is metabolised but their number increases with aging, malnourishment or exposure to toxic substances. The free radicals take electrons from the body cells, thereby causing cell damage and even cell death. Antioxidants present in Vitamin C, Vitamin E and many other types of vitamins and minerals provide electrons to free radicals, thereby saving the cells from damage and death. Antioxidant supplements for dogs improve memory and mental functions in older dogs, improve the immune system and can also be used to treat heart diseases and inflammation. Coenzyme Q10 is a highly effective antioxidant which is widely used in antioxidant supplements for dogs.
Immune supplements
Immune system of a dog may not be strong enough to resist allergies and other diseases such as autoimmune haemolytic anemia and inflammatory bowel disease. In order to boost the immune system of dogs and protect them against such diseases, immune supplements can be used. Immune supplements are loaded with Vitamin A, C, D, K, B1, B2, B3, B5, and B1. These vitamins ramp up the immune system of the dog and make it less susceptible to deadly diseases.
Probiotics
Probiotic supplements regulate yeast and good bacteria present in the intestine. Thus, they help in digestion and better extraction of nutrients from the food provided to the dog. They also help in treating diarrhea and other digestive ailments in dogs. Furthermore, they also inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria such as E.coli.
