The Ultimate Guide to Enhancing Your Dog's Health with Supplements like Fish Oil and Hemp Oil

At Doggy grub, we believe that keeping your dog healthy strarts with good nutrition. If you are feeding a balanced diet of fresh food, your dog should be getting all the nutrients they need and do not require any supplements, unless prescribed by your vet.

Dog supplements can help provide essential vitamins and minerals that may not be available in their normal diet. They can also help improve digestion, support joint health, and boost immunity.

If you want to supplement your dog's diet, we recommend you stay away from artificial/synthetic supplements and instead focus on natural supplements that come from superfoods.

Let's discuss what supplements are available and how they can help your furry friend stay in top shape.

What Are the Different Kinds of Supplements Available For Dogs?

Supplements include multivitamins, joint support supplements, probiotics, and more. Each of these supplements has their own unique benefits that can help improve your dog’s health.

As previously mentionned, your dog should not need multivitamins if fed a varied and balanced diet. Besides, most 'supplements' can be found in their most natural form, in superfoods!

So we urge you to chose natural supplements rather than synthetic ones. Natural ingredients are recognised by your dog's body and absorbed easily. Lab-made ingredients give an increased risk of overdosing since your dog is not apt to absord them efficiently.

Oil Supplements- Fish and Hemp Oils for Dogs

Fish oil and hemp oil are two popular supplements for dogs.

They provide a wide range of health benefits, from improved coat condition to enhanced joint mobility. Both fish oil and hemp oil are rich in essential fatty acids, such as omega-3 and omega-6, which have been proven to reduce inflammation and improve overall wellbeing.

Hemp seed oil helps to reduce skin conditions such as eczema, dandruff, dry nose, rashes and atopic dermatitis that causes an uncomfortable itch for your dog, as well as lover stress and anxiety. It can be use internally and externally, by topical application on your dog's fur.

Fish oil is particularly beneficial for its high levels of omega-3 fatty acids. It supports your fur friend's heart health, promotes a silky coat, reduces itchy and flaky skin, and can help relieve allergies and joint pain.

Doggy Grub meals use cod liver oil, a specific type of fish oil. Cod liver oil can boost your dog's cardiovascular health, brain, joints, skin, and fur. It is also rich in Vitamin D, which is essential for calcium absorption and bone health.

By adding these supplements to your dog’s diet, you can help to promote their physical and mental health.

Dog Supplements for Joint Support

 As well as incorporating Omega-3 rich foods, such as fish or hemp seed oils, there are other superfoods you can add to support your dog's musculoskeletal system.

Particularly good for senior dogs, turmeric is rich in curcumin, which helps the body fight chronic inflammation and reduces joint pain associated with osteoarthritis in senior dogs. It helps promote healthy brain activity in aging dogs, keeping dementia at bay.

You can also give your dog turmeric instead of ibuprofen to limit their intake of anti-inflammatory drugs.

Shark cartilage, green lipped mussel and other shellfish, are high in glucosamine and chondroitin. Glucosamine is naturally produced by your dog but the production can lessen over time, leading to joint damage. Glucosamine helps in the lubrication of your dog’s joints. Chondroitin is an important cartilage building block, offering more elasticity.

Glucosamine and chondroitin paired together is a great pain reliever for dogs with joint pain.

Artificial glucosamine overdose can have side effects such as vomiting, lack of appetite and drowsiness, so once again, it's best to stick with natural forms of glucosamine.

Our Grinkles for Wrinkles Superblend combines shark cartilage, green lipped mussels & turmeric amongst other completely natural ingredients. Simply sprinkle the recommended dose onto your dog's food daily.

Dog Supplement for Digestive Health

If you wish to support your dog's digestive health, look to probiotics and herbs.

Probiotics are naturally found in yoghurt, kefir, goat milk, green tripes which are all safe for your dog to have. Make sure to pick a yoghurt or kefir with live culture and non-sweetened.

Fresh herbs such a parsley are high in fibre and a diuretic, meaning it helps the body flush out fluids and move foods through the digestive tract. It also helps freshen the breath! 

Rosemary also aids digestion, alleviating flatulence and upset stomachs.

Simply add a small handful of chopped herbs mixed with your dog's food, once or twice a week.

Finally, slippery elm can help relieve both diarrhoea and constipation, nausea, and vomiting.

Which Supplements to Choose for My Dog?

As you can see, many foods contain all the micronutrients your dog requires. You should not need to purchase special multivitamins, unless recommended by your vet.

You might be feeling a bit overwhelmed with the amount of natural supplements available to you. The best is to vary often, and choose depending on the kind of support required, depending on your dog's age and breed. Add a small amount to your dog's daily meals.

There is no risk of overdosing or interractions between all superfoods so you are safe to mix and match!

At Doggy Grub, we offer pre-blended superfood formulas based on your dog's needs so all you have to do is serve the recommended amount.

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The Doggy Grub blog is dedicated to helping dogs and their owners achieve happier, healthier lives, changing the way we feed our dogs one bowl at a time! If you would like to know more about our fresh food head to Doggy Grub