Essential Vitamins for Dogs

When it comes to dietary health, it is important to get all of the proper nutrition if you want to live your healthiest life. In order to do this, ingesting vitamins and minerals will improve various parts of your body, and the same can be said of your pets when you feed them these as well. Your pet’s diet should include vitamins like Vitamin A (retinol), most of the variations of Vitamin B, Vitamins K and E, Vitamin D, and Choline – all of which can be found across various food groups that dogs often receive. Found naturally in meats, grains, fish, and more, these vitamins are incredibly important in development in every stage of your dog’s life.

There are two different types of vitamins – fat-soluble which means the body stores excess vitamins in the body, and water-soluble which lets excess vitamins out of the body through natural functions. As a result, it is important to make sure you don’t give your pet too much of these vitamins since the fat-soluble ones can lead to vitamin toxicity where there is too much in the body with no way out. Vitamin toxicity is dangerous for any animal and as a result should be taken very seriously, as should any possible health changes. These vitamins, while they can be problematic in high volumes, the benefits when served and ingested properly include cognitive improvement, joint health improvement, immune system improvement, and much more.

Vitamins

One of the vitamins that your pet should be getting is Retinol which is found in Vitamin A, and does quite a lot for your pet’s health. Vitamin A helps improve eye health, immune functions, cell function, and fetal development – making it incredibly versatile for different aspects of life. Vitamin A is found in eggs, fish oil (and other Omega 3 foods), dairy products, and liver which means that your pet most likely receives a healthy serving through their regular food with proper supplements. The Vitamin B family covers nutritional health, organ function, metabolism, and so on which all have obvious benefits for life. Like Vitamin A, most of the B vitamins are found in products that also include omega 3 in them such as fish and some plants. These two vitamins play key functions in your pet’s health from birth. 

Vitamin K, another important one for the body, helps with clotting as well as with bone development. This means that injuries will be less severe as well as any open wounds being able to heal faster too. This works well with Vitamin C which helps with absorbing calcium which means these two together improve bone strength and bone health. As a direct result, increasing the intake of these in your pet’s diet (not too far though) and help them develop stronger bone structure to improve health and mobility.

One very important vitamin for your pets is Vitamin D, also known as Cholecalciferol, which is found in fish oil and algae like are used in ZipZyme™ Omega and is not naturally occurring in a pet’s body. Vitamin D is designed to help the body with bone and muscle development, absorption of nutrients into the body, retention of calcium, and retention of phosphorus, all of which play massive roles in the body. Healthy amounts of Vitamin D  will help prevent rickets, osteoporosis, joint swelling, and other similarly related issues.

The final important “vitamin” for dogs in particular is Choline. Choline is naturally produced in the dog’s liver and reduces fat absorption while also aiding in brain and nervous system functions. Found in many high protein foods, Choline works in conjunction with these vitamins to round out health benefits for different parts of the body and all bodily systems. 

Sources Of Vitamins

An easy way to ensure your dog gets the proper amount of these vitamins and other nutrients is through supplements or food additives like pills, pastes, and other supplements. Supplements for your pet’s food can give them the boost that many pet foods may not account for such as higher Omega 3 count in foods. Supplements can provide the outside nutrition that would otherwise be absent, as well as being in the right dose to not go over the necessary levels therefore preventing ingesting too high a serving and preventing toxicity or poisoning.