Dog Multivitamins: Myths and Truths to Know

When you wake up in the morning, aside from brewing a cup of coffee or setting yourself up with a bowl of cereal, you likely pop a multivitamin to start your day. What dog owners are finding out today is that for many canines, a vitamin supplement may be helpful as well.

The practice of adding dog multivitamins to the daily routine is becoming more common than ever. In fact, by some estimates, about a third of all canine lovers are giving dog multivitamins to their pooches. We want our best friends to live the longest and happiest life we can give them. Dog multivitamins can help this happen, whether it’s for better joint health or to keep shedding at a minimum.

About one-fifth of all dogs will develop joint issues at some point in their lives. For some dogs, genes predetermine the onset of osteoarthritis. But that doesn’t mean you can’t take action and slow the onset of the issues and dog multivitamins or similar products, like joint health supplements, are a crucial step in the right direction.

Some of you might have heard that dog multivitamins with calcium in them can be detrimental to your dog’s health. This is a myth. Indeed, an overdose of calcium in a puppy’s diet can be an issue, particularly with larger dog breeds, but dog multivitamins, if administered a properly indicated levels, shouldn’t cause this problem. Some of you might also be avoiding dog multivitamins because they contain vitamin A, which has been shown to cause joint problems. An overabundance of vitamin A will pose joint issues, but the best dog health supplements are balanced with just the right amount of vitamins and minerals.

Another myth that keeps dog owners from making a dog multivitamin part of the routine is that they contain vitamin D, which in large quantities can cause muscle weakness in dogs. It’s true that too much is not good for muscles, bones or the appetite, but dog multivitamins are nowhere near the level of overdose in this vitamin. The best course of action is to pick a few product on the market today and present them to your veterinarian. Your vet will know exactly what will be right for your dog.

One of the go-to companies is ProLabs Pets, makers of a proven joint health supplement FLEX Rx. FLEX Rx is a supplement that can help dogs of all sizes. FLEX Rx is the first of its kind to address joint problems with pro-inflammatory AA metabolites. The recipe also has an antioxidant built into it that is around five times more effective than vitamin E alone, and it’s being recommended by vets around the country.

Pain Management for Animals: What Ten Years Has Taught Us

Guest Post for ProLabs Pets by Dr. Joel the PetVet

While the issues of pain and pain management have always been a mainstay of concern for physicians and their patients, it wasn’t until 2003 and the organization of The International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management (IVAPM), that any real focus was placed on promoting, enhancing and advancing pain management in animals. 

IVAPM is now a unique multi-disciplinary organization dedicated to advancing the field of pain management in animals. This multi-disciplinary organization actively works to gain and promote the knowledge related to the biology and clinical treatment of pain in animals. The Academy continues to seek to improve the standard of care for treating animals in pain by developing guidelines of care, providing continuing education, promoting humane and ethical research in animal pain and establishing credentialing of veterinary specialists in the area of animal pain management.

Mary Ellen Goldberg, BS, LVT, CVT, SRA, has been involved in veterinary medicine for over 33 years, and during that time, she has seen “pain management undergo a complete about face”. Intensely involved in analgesia work, Mary Ellen is currently the Executive Secretary and Co-editor of the IVAPM Newsletter and a member of the Examination Committee; she is a member of the American Academy of Pain Management (Human) and the American Society of Pain Educators.

Here is an excerpt, below, from remarkable review that Mary Ellen wrote for the IVAPM members:

“Pain management and osteoarthritis are not new topics, coexisting in discussions for decades. … When I look back on my ownership of pets, I can’t believe how I had certain signs and symptoms “staring me in the face”: As my dogs aged, I remember thinking they were old and stiff and accepted the conventional wisdom that this was a normal developmental process. I chastise myself now for not asking ‘Why’? Maybe because I, too, am now old and stiff, this has become a topic near and dear to my heart.

I attended a meeting for a newly introduced product, FLEX Rx, marketed by ProLabs^®Ltd., a subsidiary of AgriLabs^®Ltd. … FLEX Rx is a combination of catechin extracts from Scutellaria baicalensis and Acacia catechua. With a unique mode of action that inhibits 5-Lipoxygenase (5-LOX) enzymatic metabolism and evenly suppresses Cyclooxygenase (COX-1 and COX-2), it manages joint health without adverse effects. No other product on the market does both.

Osteoarthritis is sustained by the metabolism of arachidonic acid (AA). It is caused by injury or repetitive use and is not necessarily a disease caused by aging. AA inputs occur from damage to the joint and diets, particularly those containing corn. When AA can no longer synthesize through the COX route, it shunts to the 5-LOX pathway, inducing inflammatory leukotrienes.

FLEX Rx does not completely shut down COX-1 and COX-2 because there are certain benefits to these enzymes. FLEX Rx produces a balanced COX suppression, allowing the positive effects to occur while removing the negative ones. At the same time, FLEX Rx inhibits the negative effects of 5-LOX: pain and inflammation. It is the latter that causes the destruction of tissue.

Anybody who uses them is well aware of the problems that can occur from long term use of NSAIDS: gastric ulceration, peripheral edema, elevated systolic blood pressure (BP), renal insufficiency and hypertension with chronic COX-1 inhibition.

Here is the beauty of FLEX Rx:

• It has no side effects with fewer adverse effects than placebo in efficacy studies.
• It has been clinically proven to work faster than Cosequin DS (glucosamine/chondroitin sulfate).
• It can be safely combined with NSAIDS for a period of time; toxicology studies showed no resultant GI ulceration.

 FLEX Rx is a liver-flavored tablet that comes in a bottle of 60 chewable tablets. The active ingredients in FLEX Rx are currently available on the human market (Limbrel^TM) for “the clinical dietary management of the metabolic processes of osteoarthritis (OA).”

After attending the ProLabs meeting, I strongly recommend using FLEX Rx for joint health in dogs. FLEX Rx is available at your neighborhood or online retailer. For questions about using it for your dog contact: Joel Ehrenzweig, DVM at drjoel@prolabspets.com or 1-866-637-7716.