Resources
What to add, and why
The supplements, tools, and brands I actually use
Supplementation is done with attention to detail. The goal is to add with purpose, and to know what each thing is doing before it goes in the bowl.
Read this first
When people ask me what supplements to add to food, they are really asking me two things. Is the meal balanced, and if it is not, what do I need to add to it. And then, what can I add to make it better.
Those are different questions with different answers, and neither one can be answered without looking at the whole meal.
There is no supplement list that works for every recipe. There is only the recipe in front of you and what it is missing.
Where to start
What you add depends on what your recipe needs
It is not possible to answer which vitamins and minerals to add without looking at the whole meal in its entirety. A recipe already heavy in organ meat needs something different from one built on muscle meat alone.
What follows are the supplements that people who cook for their dogs, and people who feed raw, most often need to add. Read it as a menu rather than a checklist.
Note: Some links in this article are affiliate links (Amazon Associates or other programs I participate in). At no charge to you, as an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Before you add anything
Every food carries a thermal nature, a flavor, and a direction it moves the body. A dog who runs hot needs something different from a dog who runs cold, and the same is true of what you spoon on top. Filter 209 foods and herbs by thermal nature, flavor, channel, and action.
Open the TCM Food Energy ListThe shortcut
Base mixes
The fastest and easiest way to start home cooked or raw meals. Rehydrate the base mix, add your protein and your Omega 3.
Filling the gaps
Vitamins and minerals
These are the nutrients a home cooked or raw recipe most often runs short on. Pick one to see what I use and what to watch for.
Taurine belongs on this list too, though it gets its own full page rather than its own tab here, since the food sources and the amounts are worth walking through properly: where taurine actually lives.
If you are feeding raw meaty bones you will not need calcium. Some dogs cannot eat bones, and those dogs still need the mineral.
Kidney disease. Dogs with kidney disease should use eggshell as their only calcium source, because of its lower phosphorus level.
Choline supports liver function and is commonly short in recipes without much organ meat or egg.
Cod liver oil is fed for two things at once, Omega 3 and Vitamin D.
Please make sure the one you buy is unflavored. If you have a recipe from me with cod liver oil in it, use this brand or another with the same amount of Vitamin D. Fresh food alternatives are wild sockeye salmon or mackerel.
Copper comes from organ meat. A supplement is for dogs who cannot eat it.
Best done under the guidance of a nutritionist.
Fiber for the stool, ALA oils for the fat profile.
Kelp covers iodine. Small dogs need very little of it.
Manganese is one of the most commonly short minerals in a muscle meat recipe.
Nutritional yeast carries B vitamins and most dogs take it readily.
Only needed when your dog’s test results show they are low on Vitamin D.
Always consult with your vet before feeding Vitamin D. Plan on bringing your dog in to have their Vitamin D levels checked every one to three months.
Vitamin E rises with the fat in the bowl. The more oil you feed, the more you need.
Zinc shows up in the coat and the skin before it shows up anywhere else.
Beyond balance
Health supplements
These are the ones used to boost a meal rather than complete it. Each has a reason to be there, and a reason to come back out.
Omega 3
Dogs must be fed Omega 3 because it cannot be synthesized in the body. It does not withstand heat well, so it is almost non existent in kibble.
Why feed it. It helps keep inflammation down, and inflammation sits underneath almost every ailment. It also supports heart health, eye health, brain and cognitive development, and skin and coat.
If you are feeding a small amount of fish every day then your Omega 3 is covered. If your dog has allergies, you may want to feed more fish or more Omega 3 to bring the ratio closer to two to one, or one to one.
I would never advocate for any fish oil, since it oxidizes and goes rancid very quickly. I prefer Omega 3 in powder form. Clients who have run the iFAT test to check their levels have seen the number improve after adding it. A phytoplankton supplement is another way to meet the requirement.
Powdered Omega 3 lets me raise EPA and DHA without adding oil. I aim as close to a one to one Omega 6 to 3 ratio as I can for my own dogs, and this has been in their food for the past few years. It also tests well on the iFAT results clients bring me. Powder is useful for any dog who needs the oil content watched, which makes it a good fit for pancreatitis.
Digestive enzymes
Our dogs produce digestive enzymes in their own body. The question is whether the diet is asking for more than the pancreas wants to make.
- Dogs fed a kibble diet can benefit from enzymes, which lowers the load on the pancreas to produce what it needs to digest dry food.
- If you add vegetables to your dog’s meals daily, that should provide all the enzymes they need.
- If you do feed a supplement, look for enzymes made from plant ingredients.
- Dogs fed a fresh food diet with vegetables in it most likely will not need any addition.
Why feed it. To decrease the work your dog’s pancreas has to do when digesting kibble.
Probiotics
Probiotics feed your dog’s microbiome. They are useful supplements for the short term, and a dog fed a nutritionally complete fresh food diet will not need them in supplement form.
Before you reach for one, read why I do not recommend probiotics for dogs with gut issues.
Probiotics typically offer three to thirty five different bacterial species. The microbiome contains twenty to thirty thousand different species of organisms. Feeding probiotics over a long period will throw that balance off.
If your dog is prescribed an antibiotic, or is in dysbiosis, you can feed a soil based probiotic for two weeks. Just like with fresh food, rotate among different brands.
More on when to reach for it in the watery diarrhea article.
Milk thistle
Milk thistle helps keep your dog’s liver healthy, and it helps detoxify.
Why feed it. To detox your dog after flea medication doses, vaccines, and antibiotics.
Feed it for three weeks, then take a break for a week or two before starting it again.
Mushrooms
Quercetin
Quercetin is known as nature’s Benadryl and can help reduce the itch.
Why feed it. As a natural alternative to Benadryl. There is more in the quercetin article.
Red Rover is built from whole foods that contain quercetin rather than the isolated compound. It blends organic raspberries, blueberries, apples, and cranberries, with apple skins for the quercetin and blueberries for anthocyanin, which supports the brain and nervous system.
A standing rule
Rotate and rest your supplements
Just as we rotate food ingredients, rotate the supplements. Keep two to four different brands and switch between them.
Skip the big bottle and buy the small one. Freshness holds better in a smaller container, and it forces you to switch brands when you reorder.
Every supplement in the bowl should have a reason to be there and a date it comes back out.
The kitchen
Tools
Measuring small amounts accurately is most of the work. These are what I use.
Measuring spoon conversions. Anytime you see a fraction in one of my recipes, this is how the spoons are labeled.
- 1 g equals one TAD
- 0.5 g equals one DASH
- 0.25 g equals one PINCH
- 0.12 g equals one SMIDGEN
- 0.06 g equals one DROP
Ingredients like kelp sometimes need less than a DROP. For tiny dogs that is a few small pieces.
The rest of the shelf
Topicals and herbs
Topicals
Background on the yeast picture is in the Malassezia guide.
Traditional Chinese herbs
Kan Herbs can be found on Amazon, though that reseller is not authorized by the brand. Email me and I can help you order any formula your TCVM vet has already recommended. The Gold Standard range covers allergy, digestion, joint, and DM, and was formulated by Dr. Steve Marsden.
Working with this
Supplement with purpose
A supplement list is only as good as the recipe underneath it. If you are not sure what your dog’s bowl is missing, that is the thing to look at first, and it is the thing I do in a consultation.
About the author
Hannah Zulueta obtained her Certificate in Canine Nutrition from CASI Institute. She is also studying for her Doctorate in Acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Herbalism from Pacific College of Health and Medicine. If you are as keenly interested in health for yourself, visit her website for human health, Satori Acupuncture and Herbs.
She resides in San Diego with her three dogs, Maggie, Orbit, and Mr. Higgins.
She is available for one on one consultations. She develops evidence based recipes that meet both NRC and AAFCO nutritional standards while integrating the therapeutic food principles of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine into her formulations.
You can also find her sharing free content on Instagram.
The information on Daily Dog Food Recipes or any of its media platforms is intended for nutritional informational and educational purposes only. Any statements made on these platforms are not intended to diagnose, cure, treat or prevent any disease or illness. Please consult with your veterinarian to discuss your dog’s medical care.