Why Your Dog Needs Vitamins Too!

Do you take vitamins? Your pet should too! Does your dog always eat the proper foods and get all the required nutrition? How can you maximize your dog’s chances for a longer and healthy life? Is your dog a finicky eater? Does he have allergies, joint or arthritis problems, or a dry coat that needs help? Is your dog suffering from a health condition and need nutritional support for healing? Feel confused by the nutritional supplements that are on the market for pets? Read on and discover the new world of health for your precious pet!

The following is from CNN, by Joan Shim, CNN.com/living, December 11, 2007:

“If you take a multivitamin every morning and perhaps a supplement or two because you care about your health, does it make sense to do the same with your dog or cat? Stephanie Pendleton of Emerald Isle, North Carolina, caught on to pet supplements a few years ago when she noticed that her 13-year-old cat, Sierra, wasn’t up to her usual antics. She was having a hard time jumping up on the counter, and she wasn’t playing as much as she used to,” Pendleton says so she researched Sierra’s problem online, and learned about the joint supplements glucosamine and chondroitin. “Sierra is jumping all over the place again,” Pendleton says.

Demand for supplements is on the rise. Simmons Market Research Bureau says approximately 17 percent of pet owners give their cats and dogs some type of supplement.

You may wish to consider supplementing your pet’s diet with high grade organic holistic vitamins. Check the labels to make sure that your pet vitamins contain only the highest quality natural ingredients with no harmful ingredients or fillers, no pesticides, yeast, sugar, starch, artificial flavors, colors or pesticides.

If your dog is having joint problems, a mixture of glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate is a great product to start with for joint and tissue rehabilitation. Chondroitin lubricates the joints while glucosamine helps grow and repair joint tissue. Glucosamine has been clinically proven to not only acts to inhibit the progress of arthritis, even more importantly it will actually begin the process of rehabilitating and reversing the damage that has already been done. Even if your pet does not yet have arthritis, the glucosamine can be used as a preventive measure that will lessen the likelihood your pet will ever have to suffer from this debilitating disease. There are number of dog teams that use this type of formula as a preventative measure against injuries and to keep their dogs in top condition.

How about supplementing your dog’s diet with garlic? One of nature’s miracle nutrients, garlic, is considered by veterinarians to target circulation, digestion and nerves; may purge toxins, stimulate the lymphatic system and immune system. Garlic is a favorite which supports the skin, liver, immune system and digestive functions.

For as long as people have been using garlic, they have also been feeding it to their animal companions. Its properties have proven far reaching, easy on the body and safe to use. In the past fifty years, during the rebirth of holistic medicine in the United States, garlic has been in the forefront. Herbal health for pets recommends garlic, especially for its incredible anti-parasitic and anti-septic properties. Garlic has also benefited pets with cancer, diabetes, liver, heart and kidney disease, uncontrollable staph infections and a host of other conditions, as well as been a staple in preventative protocols. It has been widely used by hundreds of thousands of pet owners with no reported negative side-effects. Follow hundreds of years of “proven use” of this miracle herb, as garlic is known to be.

For the ultimate health foundation for your pet, you should consider giving a multi-vitamin, garlic and Vitamin C. A multi-vitamin is needed since even with the best of packaged canned or dry dog food, much of the vitamin and mineral content may be lost during manufacturing. And although these substances are added back after the food is processed, they still break down quickly when exposed to light and air. The most carefully prepared home cooked foods, and even raw diets can lack some essential vitamins and minerals due to variations in quality and freshness of ingredients. And even under the best circumstances, pets can need extra support to ward off illness or combat the effects of stress or environmental toxins.

Vitamin C, known to support immunity has been found to protect and support tissue such as skin and connective tissues in the joints of the body. It acidifies urine and may build resistance to allergies. Vitamin C can help pets in the following ways:

o Provides a key nutrient in the body’s defense system and provides antioxidants
o Great detoxifier – helps the liver to cleanse the body
o Stimulates immune function
o Keeps urinary tract and bladder walls strong – helps keep the urine acidic, while helping destroy bacteria
o Promotes healthy red blood cell production in bone marrow
o Natural anti-histamine and antiviral powers
o Reduces pain and inflammation, while increasing circulation
o Helps animals with hip dysplasia, loose joints and supports growth and maintenance of connective tissue
o Necessary for the production, formation and maintenance of collagen. (The substance that binds muscles, blood vessels, ligaments, tendons and cartilage)
o Helps prevent the harmful side effects of steroids

Finally, does your pet need help with his/her coat? Essential fatty acids reduce inflammation associated with allergies (reduces skin damage) and are most times missing, or in insignificant amounts in commercial pet food. Omega-3′s help your pet to maintain a shiny, healthy coat and provides relief for periodic outbreaks of itching, dry skin, hot spots, visible redness and rashes. Veterinary research throughout the world has shown these oils which provide provide support for canine and feline skin and coat disorders. These oils have been found to be very effective in pets with allergies and skin disease and can reduce the amount of corticosteroid or antihistamine needed to control itching.

Recently, a friend came to us with a pomeranian that he rescued from the animal shelter. The dog’s coat was thin and patchy and the skin underneath was dry with white flakes in places. It was easy for me to see that there was a nutritional deficiency going on which could be remedied with proper supplementation. Correcting the dog’s diet was necessary, which I will speak to in a subsequent article. But also key was the administering of a high grade omega-3 supplement. The owner tells me he saw improvement within weeks; the coat began filling in and becoming more lustrous. The dog’s skin was much less dry and irritated. Of course, a multi-nutritional supplement along with the base of garlic and Vitamin C supplementation will continue to provide a cleansing and healthy regimen for optimal sustained health for his newest family member.

Give your pet the gift of health this year and next time you take your vitamins, consider giving some to your precious pet too!