Does my 10-week French Bulldog puppy need vitamins for optimal health?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would not give any supplements to Stella. Feed her a quality puppy food (give her the puppy version of the adult food she usually eats) and that will have all the nutrients she needs. Good luck and kisses to Stella!

If you feed a good quality puppy food, you shouldn't need to supplement with additional vitamins. Any excess will typically be excreted in the urine. If you feed a homemade diet, vitamin supplementation is recommended. Review the ingredients with your vet to confirm proper dosing.

I'm not sure what kind of food Luska is on right now, but as long as you are feeding a properly formulated commercial dog food, there is no need for her to have any additional calcium - in fact, adding supplemental calcium has been shown to cause a number of orthopedic problems, so it's not recommended to do this. As far as brands go, my favorites are Royal Canin and Purina ProPlan, but any properly balanced adult dog food from any of the major companies (Purina, Iams, Pedigree, etc.) would be fine.

As long as your dogs are getting a high quality dog food, you do not need to give them any vitamins. Their food will provide all the vitamins they need. You can give them glucosamine, which is a dietary supplement that helps with joint health. Typically it's given as 20 mg/lb of body weight, and you can find canine glucosamine tablets at the pet store. One of the most important things to do is have yearly vet health checks for them to make sure everything is ok. Be sure to keep up to date with their vaccines, flea treatment, deworming treatments, and heartworm treatments. Also have regular dental cleanings done with the vet. Just like humans, dogs need their teeth cleaned, and severe dental disease can lead to other problems such as liver abscesses and endocarditis from bacteria traveling from the mouth via the bloodstream. I hope this helps!

Any high quality puppy food will be good. There is no one "best" food. Choose a food that is easy for you to get, is readily eaten and does not cause any gastrointestinal upset. Stay away from store or discount brands as these typically contain low quality ingredients and more fillers. Premium diets include Canidae, Acana, Orijen or Royal Canin. The website www.dogfoodadvisor.com is an excellent resource for comparing diets.

I would not generally recommend using supplements unless a specific condition has been diagnosed which would benefit from nutritional treatment. I would recommend feeding a high quality, balanced food which has been formulated for his specific size and age. Adding multivitamins to a good diet can lead to accidental excesses and imbalances and can be harmful

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! At 14 weeks of age Hamilton should be almost finished his puppy vaccine series. At 14 weeks of age, if he has never had vaccines, he would need two DHPP (distemper, hepatitis, parvo and parainfluenza) vaccines 3-4 weeks apart. The 2nd DHPP is good for 1 year. He can also receive the rabies vaccine. You should bring a stool sample and be sure he gets dewormed. He should be started on heartworm prevention and flea and tick medications. He doesn't need to be bathed often unless he smells or is dirty. Once a month is probably fine. I like a moisturizing oatmeal based shampoo (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=19244). I like Purina Proplan puppy, Hill's Science diet and Royal canin brands. I hope this helps and I wish you and Hamilton the best!