What vitamins and probiotics should I give my healthy 1-year-old dog?

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!

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.

If you are giving Motis a dog food formulated for senior dogs, she will be getting all the vitamins and minerals she needs to be healthy. You can give her a glucosamine supplemental which will help with her joint health, but otherwise no other supplements are needed. Too many vitamins and minerals can be detrimental to her health, so you want to avoid overdosing her on those. I recommend feeding a high quality senior dog food food such as Royal Canin, Hills Science Diet, Purina ProPlan, or Iams. Best of luck.

A dog that is fed a well balanced complete diet for the size of his breed, will not need any supplements at all. If you add supplements you will upset the balance of the diet. Unless your dog is lacking certain minerals or vitamins (proven by a blood test) I do not recommend you feed a supplement. Keep feeding a good diet and all should be well.

This is a very good question! It is always wise to be proactive about our pet's health. If you ever have concerns about how your dog is doing then a call and visit to your vet can help to set your mind at ease. Things to watch for that would indicate health problems include vomiting, diarrhea, decreased appetite and energy level, unusual behaviors and limping. Discuss food recommendations with your regular veterinarian. Brands such as Purina, Hills and Royal Canin all have veterinarians on-staff to ensure their food is top quality and nutritionally balanced. If you are feeding a good balanced diet then supplements of vitamins and minerals are not necessary.

Supplements are usually unnecessary as long as you are feeding a formulated dog food. There are various supplements that have shown mixed results about preventing certain diseases and helping with treatment with certain diseases, but the scientific evidence is not enough (despite a great deal of research with some supplements) for me to recommend an owner to give supplements to a healthy dog. The CoQ10 is a more recently studied supplement that does show promise for certain conditions, but again, the evidence is lacking enough that I wouldn't recommend it be given regularly to prevent certain conditions. The CoQ10 supplements and other ones are usually rather safe though, so I can't say it will hurt to give them. I would recommend consulting with your vet before you do in case Gerald has any conditions that would contraindicate their use and so you can get a precise dose for Gerald. I hope that helps and all is well with Gerald.

Truth be told, no pet needs multivitamins if they are on a high quality dog food. Because unlike people, pets eat a well balanced diet day in and day out; therefore supplementation without any underlying deficiency present, will lead to over-supplementation and possible negative effects. I would refrain from giving your pet any vitamins or vitamin b complex unless he has a detected iron deficiency anemia or other known deficiency that has been verified by your veterinarian. Also just to add, most true supplements don't contain any harmful chemicals. I hope that your pet Baloo does well moving forward. Best wishes and take care!