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Originally Posted by Ladymom  Crystal is right. If you are feeding a good quality commercial dog food, adding vitamins can actually do more harm than good as it can throw the nutritonal balance off.
You only need to supplement if you are homecooking or if your dog has a specific health condition, i.e. adding Cosequin for joint health or Marin for liver compromised dogs. Otherwise, unnecessary vitamins are just passed through the body so it is a waste of money. |
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Originally Posted by Ellie May Most supplements (not necessarily saying this about this supplement) are a waste of money. If your dog has a specific problem, then you need to use a specific supplement. If you are already feeding a complete and balanced dog food, your dog doesn't need more vitamins and minerals. There are already acceptable minimums and maximums set by AAFCO. If you don't trust that the food you are feeding has balanced everything properly, I'd find a new food. It shouldn't hurt to give a multi-vitamin but I'm not sure how much good it is going to do for most dogs.
The only difference in this supplement is that it contains digestive enzymes.
I personally do not believe that a healthy dog needs digestive enzymes because their pancreas should be producing plenty of them. However, I don't have a holistic leaning either. I think it comes down to, if you trust your vet and agree that your dog needs digestive enzymes and extra vitamins, then give it. If not, don't.
This product is made by Vetri-Science and they are pretty well known but I've never heard of anyone on YT using this.
My question would be, how does she know your dog is lacking in vitamins?
If a dog is severely low in any one vitamin or mineral, I would switch foods or treat the underlying health issue most likely. |
I don't think that Dr Messionier thinks that Wookie necessarily is
lacking in anything, it is just his opinion that everyone (dogs and people) can benefit from taking a nutrional supplement. Here is a excerpt I took from his website in the Q&A section on this topic:
"Dear Dr. Shawn: "After reading The Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats, I know that you’re a big believer in using supplements in pets. However, since I feed my dog what I think is a really good natural diet, is supplementation still important? Is there anything in particular you would recommend?" Answer:
"Like you, I’m a big believer in feeding the proper diet AND combining the best diet with whatever supplements your pet requires. I’m assuming for this discussion that your pet is healthy and does not have any specific needs that I should address. The foundation of any holistic health program starts with a good, natural diet, preferably one free from byproducts and chemicals. However, even the best diets may not provide everything your pet needs to maintain health. This is because diets are formulated for the “average” pet, and I’ve yet to see any "average" pet. There is a lot of evidence that support the benefits of vitamin and mineral supplementation for all diets. This is especially true for pet foods that are not natural and holistic such as the one you’ve chosen to feed; many foods are lacking nutritional enhancement and the ingredients used are byproducts from human grade materials that are not fit for human consumption and are deficient in many important nutrients. The diet is a starting place, and supplements are used depending upon each pet’s specific needs. Having said this, I think I can make some general recommendations regarding supplements that will be true for all pets."
I was feeding Wookie a combo Kibble (Innova EVO) and homecook diet and this week am switching to a rotation diet between the kibble and raw (NV raw medallions). I just want to make sure he is getting all he needs. He does also take Glycoflex because he has the first stage of luxating patella. It has seemed to help some. So what do you guys think???? I really like Dr Messionier, but I know not everyone is 100% correct. He wrote the "Natural Health Bible for Dogs and Cats" that I absolutely love! I bought it a long time ago and have used it for so much before I realized his practice is in Dallas (I am in Fort Worth) so I go to him once a year for check up and titers. I just don't want to do anything to hurt my baby. This is all so confusing!!
