VitaHound » Dog Vitamins

Dog Vitamins

Staff — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 05:33:41 +0000

It has now been 90 years since it was observed that dog vitamins deficiencies could cause health problems just as it does in humans. Although in general dogs require low concentrations of vitamins they are still essential to good health. They are actually classified as micronutrients because compared carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and water the body needs them in relatively small amounts. One important fact about the majority of vitamins cannot be synthesized by the body so they must be provided with food or if necessary dog supplements.

Vitamins are organic substances that regulate the metabolism and assist the bio-chemical processes that allow basic cells to grow, reproduce, and remain healthy. Depending on the particular vitamin they are sometimes the catalyst or just a partner working with essential chemicals (enzymes) help make sure the process is carried out correctly in the body.

There are 13 identified vitamins. They are generally classified based on their solvability which determines how they are stored by the body. The classifications are fat or water. Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat soluble and vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, B12, and C are water soluble.

The fat soluble vitamins are stored mostly in the liver and somewhat in fatty tissue which is the same way the body deals with dietary fats. As excesses build up they are normally excreted through the feces. Since this class of vitamins is stored by the body many deficiencies develop slowly. But if proper diet is not maintained or supplemented your dog’s health is eventually adversely affected. One must be careful with trying to control these vitamins since the body can build up toxic levels that also either adversely affect the health or counter the good effects of the vitamins themselves.

The vitamins that are solvent in water are stored by the body in only small amounts usually not longer than a day and sometimes for as little as 4 hours. They are usually absorbed by the body in the small intestine with the excess simply expelled in the urine. Vitamin B12 is an exception in that the body can actually store up to five years of its need. With this class of vitamins it is important that your dog is provided a healthy diet or supplements that supply the daily requirements. Also since the body does not store these vitamins it is much less likely that toxic levels are reached.

The following table contains useful information on the 13 vitamins:

Generic	Chemical	Solubility	Dietary	Function	Toxin
Name	Name	Class	Dosage	Disease	Symptom
Vitamin A	Retinol, Retinal,	Fat	350ug	Night-Blindness	Liver problems, osteoporosis, skin
	Retinoid			Dry Cornea	discoloration, hair loss, excessive
	Carotenoid				skin dryness/peeling
Vitamin B1	Thiamine	Water	0.5mg	Beriberi	Drowsiness or muscle relaxation with
					large doses
Vitamin B2	Riboflavin	Water	1 mg	Ariboflavinosis
Vitamin B3	Niacin	Water	4 mg	Pellagra	Liver damage
Vitamin B5	Pantothenic	Water	4 mg	Paresthesia	Diarrhea, nausea
	Acid			(pins and needles)	heartburn
Vitamin B6	Pyridoxine	Water	.4 mg	Anemia	Nerve damage
Vitamin B7	Biotin	Water	30 ug	Deratitis	None Known
				enteritis
Vitamin B9	Folic Acid	Water	400 ug	Birth defects	Low risk other than hiding B12
					deficiency
Vitamin B12	Cyanocobalamin	Water	2 ug	Megaloblastic anemia	None
Vitamin C	Ascorbic Acid	Water	490 mg	Scurvy	Low risk
Vitamin D	Ergocalciferol	Fat	3 ug	Rickets Osteomalacia	Low risk
	Cholecalciferol
Vitamin E	Tocopherols	Fat	8 mg	Extreme low risk of	Low risk
	Tocotrienols			deficiency
Vitamin K	Phylloquinone	Fat	100 ug	Bleeding diathesis	Liver damage
	Menaquinones

Dog Vitamins Purest Forms

bigdog — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 20:00:13 +0000

When using supplements to add essential vitamins to your dog’s diet, knowing what substances the supplement is using as a source for the vitamins is important. Vitamins are derived from these substances using a multi level biochemical process that occurs in the intestines and liver. Various digestive problems your dog may have can limit the nutritional value of a vitamin supplement. The closer a substance is to the vitamins most active form the less it depends on the proper function of a dog’s biology.

A large percentage of the factors that get in the way of supplements working is the quality of the supplement itself. Much like other products there are countless choices of manufacture and the ingredients they use. The quality of a dog vitamin supplement should be measured by the ingredients used as the source of the vitamins. The highest quality dog vitamin supplements contain substances that provide the vitamins their most active form. The best of the best supplements also use a combination of substances that have synergistic relationship to increase the positive biological effects of the vitamins they provide. Dog Vitamins are extremely important for your dogs health and should be chosen carefully many products are absolutely useless to your dogs health.

B12 – Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin)

bigdog — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 19:18:30 +0000

Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin) absorbtion from food is a challenge; many things can go wrong in the process. As vitamin B12 is pulled out of food in the stomach, proteins secreted in the digestive tract, called salivary R-binders, attach to it. Acid in the stomach and pancreatic proteolytic enzymes are needed to release B12 from these binders. In order for B12 to be absorbed through the intestine into the blood the basics of the process described plus some additional complex chemical reactions are required. B12 is essential for recycling homocysteine and the formation of methyl donors that support cardiovascular function, sleep, blood cell formation, and nerve function. Deficiencies can lead to certain types of anemia. Most vitamin B12 supplements contain cyanocobalamin, which the liver must first “detoxify” by separating the cyanide molecule from the cyanocobalamin and attaching a methyl group in its place to form methylcobalamin. Methylcobalamin is the active form of B12 or tissue-ready form. Evidence indicates that the body utilizes methylcobalamin more efficiently than it utilizes cyanocobalamin.

B6 – Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)

bigdog — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 01:50:56 +0000

Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) is commonly derived from the substance pyridoxine. The most active form of B6 is pyridoxal 5-phosphate, a dog’s liver is responsible for converting the pyridoxine to the active form. Dog vitamins using pyridoxine may be limited in their effectiveness if the dog’s liver is not completely healthy.

Aspergillus Oryzae (vI-11)

Staff — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 20:23:18 +0000

Aspergillus Oryzae is a beneficial mold known as a protean spore, the substance is a fungal or microbial enzymes and is the most effective digesters of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates and have been found to be about 100 times more effective then other groups of enzymes. The enzyme possesses amylase, unlike humans dogs do not contain this enzyme in their saliva and therefore benefit from dog supplements that include Aspergillus Orysae. Amylase initiates the digestion of starch into several smaller molecules including maltose (disaccharide) and dextrin. Dog Health is highly dependent on their digestive systems ability to assimilate nutrients, aspergillus orysae aids the process, dog vitamins contained in dog food may not be utilized in a dogs digestive system is unhealthy.