All the Supplements that Your Dog Does NOT Need

Here’s the list of all the worthless artificial supplements that dogs do NOT need:

  • Cod liver oil
  • Flax seed oil
  • Colostrums
  • Any of those expensive dog formulas
  • Vitamin E
  • Vitamin C
  • Grape seed extract
  • Garlic supplements
  • Brewers yeast
  • Veggies and fruit-based extracts (dogs are carnivorous animals!)

So, if you ask whether or not supplements are harmful, then there is a chance that they can be. Why feed something to an animal which has not evolved to partake on such diet? Dogs aren’t vegetarians, and in the wild, they eat raw meat. The above commercially sold artificial supplements are completely useless and may even cause irreparable harm to your pet dog.

Here’s the reason why you see so much hype surrounding the pet industry’s insistence on providing a balanced diet to pet animals – money. Dogs, cats, ferrets, parrots – all pets, actually – don’t have the same dietary requirements as humans, but the advertising claims surely appeal to your sense of compassion to provide what’s best for your pets. Pet food manufacturers rely on that innate compassion. Take note that there’s no science involved in those gimmickry. But with the raw dog food diet concept – there is a scientific basis.

The most appropriate foods for animals are exactly what they eat if they are left out in the wild or in their natural habitats. There’s no scientific literature which states that dogs need garlic supplements and other similar items! Another flawed idea is to supplement your dog’s diet with flax seed oil, a grain-based processed product. Dogs have negative reactions to grains because they have not evolved to eat plants and crops; they are carnivores. As for cod liver oil, you can simply just feed your dog with whole fish since cod liver has already undergone processing; the industrial processing of the supplements alone will contribute to stripping any nutrients of their natural potency. Once nutrients are processed, their effects vary. Nutrients consumed in their natural state (for example, vitamin C from eating a whole fruit instead of taking it in tablet form) are so much more preferable than when they are processed. This is the same for food supplementation in humans.

The advertising model of any pet food manufacturer is to convince consumers that domestic animals metabolize differently from their wild counterparts. That’s wrong. Wolves and dogs have the same digestive tracts. So, pick any of those raw dog food recipes. They will give you everything that your dog needs in terms of nutritional requirements. Save your money and stay away from worthless dog food supplements.