Vet School 101 Top six vet-recommended supplements in vet practice
Like most vets, I recommend supplements; everything from multivitamins to therapeutic probiotics for optimal GI tract health. But not all vets expect your compliance on peripheral optimization of your pet’s health. In fact, many vets (albeit a dwindling number) still don’t actively recommend nutritional supplements, in spite of their well-accepted utility in vet medicine and their $1.3 Billion slice of the pet industry.
If your vet doesn’t actively recommend them, you should still know they’re out there and have a general sense as to how others use them. To that end, I submit my top six favorite supplements for your consideration. Ask your vet about them. Even if nutraceuticals don’t constitute her favorite approach, verbalizing your interest ensures she knows you want the best for your pets.
1-Glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate: This is the most celebrated and controversial product combo on the supplement market. Whatever you think of these, we can credit their popularity for the size of this market within the pet industry.
Used to support joint cartilage (theoretically by flooding the body with the building blocks for proper cartilage production), these ingredients are available as chewable tablets or treats, liquids, powders, capsules and in pet food. My clients swear they help. Studies show they work. Consequently, I’m a big believer in their ability to reduce the effects of arthritis and prevent its accumulation in the first place.
I recommend them for all ages in extra-big dogs, for aging cats and dogs and for any creature predisposed to arthritis for any reason whatsoever (joint trauma, congenital joint disease, etc.).
2-GI probiotics (Fortiflora and Pet Flora, among others): Yep. I’ve used these tablets on my own dogs when they’ve had mild GI upset in the guise of diarrhea. Because most cases of the runs are the result of unwanted bacterial overgrowth in the irritated intestines, it makes sense that offering the gut more of the appropriate bacteria might restore the proper balance of intestinal bugs there.
Probiotics for a variety of ailments, not just intestinal ones, is a relatively new field of study. The next decade may well bring a host of similar products to market for use on the skin, in the eyes and up the nose. Look out for more on this in coming years.
3-Fatty acid supplements: A blend of fish and vegetable oils have long been used for optimum dermatologic wellness in pets. Lately, they’ve been popular for people, too, especially when it comes to their heralded role in heart health.
For pets, fatty acids are known to help reduce inflammation at the skin’s cellular level, which is why I don’t know any veterinary dermatologist who doesn’t routinely recommend them for almost any inflammatory skin condition.
4-SAM-e and milk thistle (silybin): Now marketed for pets (Denosyl or Zentonil and Marin, respectively), these ingredients are known to help the liver do its thing. They’ve been shown reduce inflammation in the liver, among other hepatically supportive functions. Most pets with liver disease, especially those suffering the dreaded cholangiohepatitis , would tend to benefit from their use.
5-Fiber supplements: Lots of fun new fiber supplements are now available specifically for pets, primarily for chronic or intermittent constipation. But Metamucil still works. Ask your vet for appropriate doses.
6-Multivitamins: Ahhh…the trusty multivitamin supplement. Worried that your pet food isn’t cutting it vitamin-wise? You’re probably right. A zillion pet-themed supplements exist for pets, but I know one veterinary internist who routinely recommends Flintstone’s! Again, ask your vet for the right amount of any multivitamin you plan to administer.
I know there are zillions more but these are the basics for me. The most important thing? Make sure you provide a high quality product! Studies have shown that consistency and quality of ingredients make a huge difference to the effectiveness of supplement regimens. So stay away from supermarket brands and fly-by-night manufacturers lest you dump your money down the drain and risk losing out on these products’ benefits.
And it’s true: You may be able to find really high quality products made for humans, but the pet-ready versions tend to be tailored more to pets’ needs. One pet company is now even making pharmaceutical grade supplements for pets. The times they are a-changing—for the better in this case.
With all that in mind, feel free to tell us what you use and why…
March 5th, 2008
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Add Comment26 Comments
Both Kenya Dog and I take glucosamine out of the same bottle. She gets it tucked into her food, and has had it for years. And I take it before bed. It's the exact same ingredients as what they were selling me at the Vet's office, but about $5 cheaper when I buy it at Wegman's. She has hip dysplasia and arthritis.
Georg March 5th, 2008 11:00:00 AM
Our girls (two pugs) are on more supplements that we are - not saying that we shouldn't be on more.
Miko has GI upset (mild IBS) and so she has been on Probiotics for a while. We add it to Meimei's food as well to help with digestion. They also get a multivitamin every morning, prim rose oil added to each meal and Miko also gets a collustrum powder added to her meals. It's a balance of things that keep them healthy. Not everything was recommended by our regular vet, but a mixture of information from them and our holistic vet got us on the path we are on now with our girls. I also homecook their food.
Amanda March 5th, 2008 11:01:00 AM
This would be a good spot to plug the National Animal Supplement Council, an independent organization whose members need to maintain a strict quality control program and an adverse events reporting system. There was a study of grocery store glucosamine/chondroitin supplements that found that most contained less G/C than the labels claimed, and some contained none at all.
I'll pay extra for supplements that have an NASC seal (i.e. dasuquin) because I simply don't trust supplements from companies that have no oversight.
Megan March 5th, 2008 11:10:00 AM
Instead of Metamucil, why not just give the active ingredient in Metamucil, psyllium husks, and skip the sugar and other stuff?
Rob Kolosky March 5th, 2008 12:33:00 PM
What about Missing Link? And of course, Missing Link with Glucosamine? I used to supplement my dog with 1 Tbsp a day of that stuff (he's over 70 lbs) and it kept him regular and kept his coat from getting all nasty. It also helped a lot with the gunk in his ears, and I noticed a difference right away when I would run out of it and it would be a week or so before I could get more.
Now he just eats a better grade of dog food and it does the same stuff and I save money on not having to supplement. But it's an option for dogs that are on prescription foods and need some supplementation they can't get from their diet (like my Mom's dog on K/D. She takes Missing Link with Glucosamine and she's been feeling better since starting the supplementation.)
1st Year March 5th, 2008 01:59:00 PM
I worry about PCB and toxin content in EFAs and the fish oil
used in all the major food brands. Anybody know anything
about this?
eli March 5th, 2008 05:29:00 PM
Brewers yeast, as an anti-flea preventative. Working so far -- 12 years with golden retrievers, and 1 year with my mixed breed beast, and we've never had a hint of flea.
And cod liver oil for skin & coat (on the goldies, starting it soon on my mutt who gets terrible, immediate dandruff every time she gets stressed out. poor girl!)
Donna March 5th, 2008 06:33:00 PM
I use a glucosamine supplement called Arthroplex, made by Thorne Veterinary, for my dog with severe degenerative joint disease in both elbows. It also contains DLPA (dl-phenylalanine), an amino acid that helps with chronic pain.
DLPA made for humans can be purchased separately, but the dosage is too high for my 35-lb dog, so I find Arthroplex handy, as it provides the proper amount for her size.
http://www.wellvet.com/arthroplex.html
Mary March 5th, 2008 07:23:00 PM
My Scot diagnosed with Transitional Cell Carcinoma (Dec. '96) was given 500 mg. Ester C, 30 mg Co-Enzyme Q-10, milk thistle (can't remember the dosage) , along with 1 tab amoxicillin, and 5 mg. piroxicam daily for 25 months. He did so well, up until the last 2-3 weeks, that I didn't dare delete or add anything from his regimen.
Barbara A. Albright March 5th, 2008 09:23:00 PM
Eli: It's also been postulated that the long term effects of the low levels of mercury just don't show up in our shorter-lived dogs and cats. Don't know about that--but I certainly don't want ANY poisons in my pet food...
Dr. Patty Khuly March 6th, 2008 09:32:00 AM
For those on raw, chicken feet are a good source of glucosamine and are small enough to be given as a treat.
Carissa March 6th, 2008 10:59:00 AM
I'm curious to know if yogurt works as a probiotic for dogs, or are the appropriate intestinal flora for dogs different than those for people?
Linda H March 7th, 2008 08:20:00 PM
Sometimes pills/tablets are hard to serve pets, so consider the liquid supplements when your pet needs a boost. They're easy to serve and healthy nutrition.
PetAg's DogSure and CatSure are full meal replacements for dogs/cats that may be recovering from illness or surgery, or experiencing the old-age ailments like losing interest in food and water. My 13 year-old cat was really getting finicky and losing lots of weight, so I used CatSure as a 'topping' to her dry food to get her interested in eating again. It worked, I'm happy to report, and now she's frisky again.
Karen Wells April 23rd, 2008 12:39:00 PM
With all due respect, and as someone who is a doctor that uses nutrition to heal, giving a dog flinstones, or a person for that matter, is so counter intuitive to healing. PLease, please, please, do not give your dog flinstones, or anything like it. The best is Standard Process, and for a healthy dog, their vet line is excellent, for the sick or injured animal, the human line is more appropriate. Thorne also has some excellent products.
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