The following are generally accepted dosages for vitamins, minerals, and other nutritional supplements for pets. Be especially careful with oil-soluble vitamin dosages because oil-soluble vitamin excess can build up in your pet’s body and cause problems. You don’t have to worry about this with water-soluble vitamins and minerals, because excess simply gets flushed out in your pet’s urine.
The oil-soluble vitamins are A, D, E, and K.
Some Common Supplement Dosages for Pets
Per 10 lbs of Body Weight |
|
| Chondroitin sulfate | 50 mg |
| Co-enzyme Q10 | 7.5 mg |
| Glucosamine sulfate and HCl | 200 mg |
| MSM | 250 mg |
| Selenium | 10 – 15 mcg |
| Vitamin B Complex | 10 mg of B12 |
| Vitamin C | 200 mg |
| Vitamin E | 80 mg |
| Zinc | 5 mg |
Vitamins A and D
One of the most commonly used forms of Vitamins A and D is cod liver oil. A dog that is being fed a healthy, balanced diet does not usually require supplemental Vitamin A, and they probably manufacture enough Vitamin D on their own, particularly if they get fresh air. Fish oil from flesh, and not from liver, is a better source of Omegas, and is currently preferred.
Dogs need about 450 – 900 IU’s (135 – 270 mcg) of Vitamin A per ten pounds of body weight per day. Excess Vitamin A accumulates and is stored in the liver, but toxicity doesn’t occur until the dog has somewhere between twenty-five and fifty times the healthy level in its body. Early signs of toxicity will show up around ten times normal. You would probably have to overdose a dog on oil-soluble vitamins for months or years before noticing symptoms. For example, you would have to feed a medium-sized dog a cup of cod liver oil per day for two months before reaching extreme toxicity.
The bottom line is that if your dog or cat has been raised on a healthy, natural, well-balanced, raw diet, you probably won’t need to supplement with A and D. There are times, however, that supplements are beneficial. For example, if your pet has joint, eye, or heart problems, if the breed is prone to certain conditions, or if your pet is recovering from surgery or trauma. In these and other cases, a high-quality fish oil is an excellent source of Vitamins A and D. Flaxseed oil also provides Vitamin A and Omegas. Borage oil is another natural source of healthy Omega fatty acids.