Quote:
Originally Posted by Maximo  Commercial dog foods are supposed to contain all of the nutrients a dog needs. In other words, the food itself is the equivalent of a daily general vitamin supplement.
Giving a dog another vitamin on top of it wouldn't be beneficial, and at worst, could be harmful.
People who home cook are advised to use a vitamin supplement and ideally a recipe from a vet nutritionist to achieve the right balance of nutrients.
The closest thing to a supplement that I give my boys is a little organic coconut oil. It's more of a treat for them. |
I do recognize that our dog food should be all inclusive- affco standards and all. Things we use or have used in the past have included more 'non vital' supplementation like coconut oil, seaweed, fish oil, vitamin e oil, we use a probiotic and a joint supplement etc. Lilah is not a fabulous eater, she is finicky and Such a skinny little thing- I know there are many 'show supplements' out there and I am sure nothing is created equal- we have used nupro when we got samples at a show and she loved it- I didn't look too much further into it at the time but back then she was (finally for once!) very happy with the food she was on (wish that had lasted). I saw this canine red cell show supplement but your right- I was nervous because it has iron in it- so I thought I would ask around and see what other people's supplement lives look like, food intake etc.
Right now Lilah has free choice Nb duck and pot kibble and gets approx a TB of the same brand/flavor wet food in the morning with fish oil joint supplement and a TB in the evening. She also has a daily probiotic chew, a dental chew she has twice daily and a 'fabulous hair' chew she gets a half of after grooming in the evening. Her favorite treats beyond that are English cucumber, carrots and string cheese- she definitely gets those throughout the week but not daily usually and I don't think those are filling up her tummy with lower calorie content nutrients? She is regularly de wormed and gets her blood work and dental cleaning done yearly as well as vet check ups (we are on a monthly plan). Thank you for your cautious words of wisdom for my little lady. I will make safe informed decisions in conjunction with any vet reccomendarions, you are a sweet lady Kristen.
*just forgot to add, she also gets a regular dose of coconut oil- I couldn't get her to eat it when I mixed it in her food but I do a coconut oil soak to my hair about once a week and I drop a ton of it while j apply it/ she is right there snatching it up at my feet, lol.