Pet Corner

Do Pets Really Need Multinutrient Supplements?

By Gary L. Ailes, DVM

The question quite often arises whether dogs and cats really need multivitamin supplements. After all, they are deriving nutrients from the food they eat.

Consider the variety of dog and cat foods and their cost. There is, what appears to be, quite inexpensive foods on the market. If you read the label, they appear to be complete or provide all the nutrients that your pet needs. There also are mid-range foods that really don’t seem to be much different on the label than the more inexpensive foods but may have better or more consistent ingredients than the most inexpensive foods.

In addition, there are premium foods that have a price tag that is a bit more than the previously mentioned and are usually a much better formulation with higher quality or human grade ingredients. The ingredients are usually better balanced for the dog or cat and it is less likely that synthetic vitamins or fillers are added.

Premium foods are typically worth their price as less food can be fed to give animals all the nutrients their body needs.

The last group I would consider is the raw diets. There are commercial raw diets that have been sterilized for safety and balanced for the animals’ nutritional needs. I think they make a good supplement or treat to the dry foods but I’m not really comfortable feeding only a raw diet to my own dogs.

While reams of information exist on foods, I will cover only a small amount here. While there are many folks who feed their pet’s free choice, which means they just keep the food bowl full, I do not believe it is a good idea. More than 50 percent of the animals I see in the clinic are overweight. It appears most have as much of a problem controlling their appetite as we do. Regardless of what level of pet food you purchase, I would recommend feeding once or twice daily and feeding a controlled amount. I prefer twice a day. The measurement should always be made in actual cups of food, not a scoop or handful. The amount of food should be tailored to each individual animal’s needs.

The feeding guide on the side of the bag of food is only an estimation of the amount needed. The actual amount needed may vary by 25 percent depending on the metabolic rate and the amount of exercise your pet receives. I have two dogs and the 65-pound dog lives on 1.8 cups of food twice daily while the 55-pound dog lives on 2.25 cups of food twice daily. Both maintain a healthy weight at that food and exercise level.

Manufacturers are realizing there are things that can be added to foods that will help with various aging problems that occur, such as arthritis. This has led to a number of commercial foods that have ingredients that target specific problems and ease the manifestation of those problems. The only way to see if that type of food will help your pet is to feed it for six weeks and evaluate if the quality of his or her life is better.

This leads to the question: are supplements worthwhile? If a person is feeding a low-cost or medium-cost food, I think a quality vitamin supplement is definitely in the realm of reason. Consider VRP’s Dog Vites, which come from all natural sources and have included such items as flax seed to provide fiber and omega-3 fatty acids, carnitine to support the mitochondria and muscle function, milk thistle extract (silymarin) to support and protect the liver, and rosemary and lipoic acid as antioxidants.

This is an excellent support, especially for the low- and medium-cost foods and may help keep your pet from needing a visit to my office for more than the routine yearly checkup.