Do heart and gut supplements benefit my Cavalier King Charles Spaniel?

A heart supplement wouldn’t hurt but she probably doesn’t necessarily need one, particularly if she does not have documented heart disease. If you choose to use a supplement I would recommend VetriScience Cardio. You should always check with your vet before starting any supplement.

A good quality essential fatty acid supplement, such as DermCaps or EicosaCaps, will promote healthy skin and coat. A quality multi-vitamin such as Pet Tabs, VetriScience tabs or NuPro can be added to a quality diet. Recommended joint supplements include Welactin, Dasuquin or Cosequin. The most important factor is to keep Mila lean and active. Obesity and inactivity will negatively impact her life and may shorten it. Regular veterinary care, especially echocardiograms when she is older, may identify any conditions early.

Unfortunately, this Coq10 will not prevent her from getting heart disease. There's no harm in giving it to her, but as you've said, the cavalier King Charles spaniel is prone to heart disease genetically. Supplements do not change her genetics, but you can help her heart health by making sure she isn't obese and has plenty of exercise.

I'm so glad to help you and that you like my answers! Royal Canin is an excellent food, and the 25% is fine for Chloe. Yes, you are right Cavaliers can be prone to heart disease, so the extra amino acids are good for them. Chloe is lucky to have you!

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Many spaniels have sensitive stomachs as well as skin in my experience. If Chloe is doing well on the food, with no diarrhea or upset stomach, I personally do not have a problem with it. I like a food that is within the ratios of protein to fat as you have said-with the caveat of patients that deal with things like irritable bowel or chronic pancreatitis, in which I make the fat as low as possible while still being a healthy food source for our canine companions. While you have said you aren't a fan of many commercial diets-there are types that cater specifically to sensitive stomach and food allergies from many of our large brands-and if you don't like these there are comparable brands as well that you can find at your local Petco. If Chloe is having active issues with this particular food, please let us know and we can suggest a comparable diet. I find that probiotics often work well for my sensitive GI patients as well. Fortiflora is commercially available and has a high palatability when tested. I hope this helps!

It will make little difference in the long run. Dogs rarely develop heart disease due to a high fat diet like humans do. The heart disease a Cavalier is predisposed to stems from a failure or weakening of the heart valves that control blood flow through the heart. As long as Chloe is active and not overweight, the diet change is fine. Switch food gradually to avoid GI upset.

I would not recommend giving Niko raw eggs. Raw eggs are not safe to feed him, and there is the risk of poisoning from avidin, which is a protein in raw eggs whites. Excess avidin interferes with the functioning of biotin in the body, which in turn is essential for the growth of cells, metabolism of fat, and transference of carbon dioxide among other things. You can feed him hardboiled eggs with no shell instead. I would also causing against using too much olive oil, as that will lead to pancreatitis. Too much fish oil interferes with wound healing. Use sparing amounts of olive oil, and you can give Niko 1,000 mg fish oil containing 300 mg of EPA/DHA combined for every 30 pounds of weight. To keep him heart healthy, do not over feed him, make sure he is on a high quality puppy formulated food, and take him out for regular exercise.