Every day, people are reminded of the importance of supporting their bodies’ health through natural supplements and there is a considerable number of these supplements on the market. However, you don’t hear this nearly as often when it comes to your pet’s health, despite it being just as important to keep your pets healthy. Whether you want to improve your pet’s health through supplements or your pet needs something specific for a health condition, there are a few things to think about when looking for supplements.
Table of Contents
How Do You Find the Right Ingredients?
A lot of the nutritional supplements that are designed for human consumption are made with filler ingredients in them and may be lab synthesized, depending on what kind of supplement that is. While the problems that this can bring are negligible for a robust human body, animals are much smaller and more sensitive to ingredients that you may not think about. This is especially the case if you are considering adding supplements to your pet’s regimen because of health concerns.
When taking a pet’s health in mind, you should look for supplements that focus on whole foods and products that aim to include what they would eat in nature. In nature, animals often eat the skins, leaves, and occasionally roots of plants. A nutritional supplement designed for animals should mimic this. By getting as close to your pet’s natural, wild needs through supplemental nutrition, you can make it easier for their bodies to process the supplement and make use of the ingredients. A good example of supplements that strive for this goal are the Standard Process Veterinary supplements.
Choosing Supplements that Support Bodily Functions
It is important to talk to a veterinarian before including supplements into your pet’s diet to ensure that the supplements you are purchasing will go to good use for your pet’s health. Your veterinarian will also have a better knowledge of what kind of support your pet may need based on factors that include the current health of the pet, any chronic or acute conditions the pet has, and any past conditions.
For example, if your senior dog is experiencing cardiac issues that are related to old age, you will want to work with your veterinarian on finding a cardiac-focused supplement to ease discomfort. If you are looking for supplements that are going to address a more chronic and lifelong affliction in your pet’s life, such as springtime allergies, you may want to search for a supplement that has a more whole-body focus including lung function, mucus production, and liver function. But, when you have the correct supplement, there is a chance that your pet can feel some relief from chronic conditions.
Administering Supplements for Animals
Pets generally do not have the capacity to understand that they should be taking supplements or that the strange new addition to the food bowl is going to help them, so it is up to you as the owner to help your pet. When discussing this with your veterinarian, he or she will be able to offer more personalized advice in regards to your pet and what may be the best way to offer the supplement. Generally speaking, hiding the supplement in strong-smelling food works well for most pets.
The trick behind this is that most animals usually cannot see very well just under their snout. They rely primarily on scent to know whether their food dish is empty. With this in mind, by hiding the supplements in strong-smelling food or treats, your pet may not even realize that it has ingested something else in addition to its food, ensuring that it gets the supplemental nutrition it needs.
What Should You Take Away from This?
Once you have consulted with your veterinarian, you will want to search for supplements that have a focus on mimicking the type of foods your pets would eat if they were in the wild. These are known as whole foods supplements and they tend to offer more well-rounded support for your pet’s health. When you are mindful about the ingredients in the supplements, you can feel confident knowing that your pet is on the way to feeling comfort and relief.