Over the years, the supplement market for both human and our pets, has boomed! But did you know that their is actually very little, if any, regulation on the supplement market and in fact the ingredients can vary batch to batch on many sources? This blog explains more.
Advertising is not a sign of the best supplement
Advertising is a way for products to enter our homes before we even purchase them, fast becoming a household name so that when we go to buy said product, we have the well advertised product at the forefront of our minds. This is not a sign that a product is the highest quality there is on the market. In fact, it merely means the company had a large marketing budget to pay for prime advertising slots.
Supplements are not well regulated
Supplements for both humans and animals are not well regulated sadly, this means that the quality of the ingredients or the actual content itself can fluctuate, batch to batch and even within a batch.
Human marketed supplements are not all safe
At times we may find cheaper options to a recommended supplements for general health or wellbeing. This option though may not be best for your dog as there are risks as noted above to the quality and even ingredients not being consistent and some sources can even be of extreme danger.
How to know what is needed
If your dog is fed a well varied raw diet, including:
Red, white and games meats
Raw eggs & raw oily fish
Fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds & herbs
Then you will not need to supplement the diet, as long as your dog is fit, healthy and not stressed, anxious, in pain or an athlete.
What if I only feed one brand of raw?
Feeding a varied diet includes a variety of brands. Different brands use different components from an animal to make their products, and they may use differing sources too.
Farmed animals will not be as rich as free range in nutrients, free range will not be as rich as organic in nutrients, and organic will not be as rich in nutrients as grass fed & finished.
So to get a wide variety of nutrients, mixing of brands is essential, though of course you may want to rotate brands daily, weekly or monthly to suit your budget best.
Only feeding complete raw food?
If you only feed complete raw food to your dog it is important to check that this contains fruit & vegetables. Currently only 1 brand contains raw egg, and many completes do not contain raw oily fish, so checking your complete food ingredients is of extreme importance as you may need to still add other aspects too.
What if my dog is an athlete, ill, injured or stressed?
Adding a good quality source of vitamin C can be of great benefit even though they get enough for general well being from a well varied diet, when the body is under pressure from athletic requirements or illness, injury or other stress factors, vitamin C can help to decrease inflammation, boost the immune system and increase production of anti-stress hormones, plus much more!
How to spot a good supplement
When looking for a good supplement you should take into account a few aspects
Is the company well respected in the raw feeding community
Do they have good ethics? Look for their sustainability policy for example, and information about ingredient sources such as pharmaceutical grade or organic ingredients
Emergency Supplies
As standard we do recommend always having a stock of the following items for those times they are needed:
Dorwest Tree Barks or Proflax Tummy Tastic (Great for upset gut)
Include Green lipped mussels in the diet such as Mr Bones dehydrated whole green lipped mussels or Canumi Green Lipped Mussels, both available from Stefs pet pantry, or powdered GLM available from Riaflex, Aniforte.
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