Vitamins can give your puppy the proper nutrition that can help it grow into a healthy adult dog. Choosing a vet-approved, vitamin-enriched dog food will go a long way toward helping the puppy thrive. It can be harmful to give your puppy vitamin supplements that can cause it to grow too big or too quickly. Rapid growth spurts in puppies can cause added stress to its body and damage muscle, bone and ligaments in the process. Some vitamin supplements are safe and beneficial. Be sure to consult your veterinarian before giving your dog any vitamin supplements.
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Vitamin A
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Dogs can develop a condition known as Vitamin A responsive dermatosis. This condition causes seborrhea, a foul odor, thick foot pads and scales on the abdomen and chest, especially the nipple area. Another effect of this condition is hair that pulls out easily, often resulting in hair loss. Vitamin A responsive dermatosis is more common in cocker spaniels and may or may not be due to a lack of Vitamin A in the diet. According to Pet Education.com, this condition improves with supplementation of Vitamin A. Puppies that suffer from Vitamin A responsive dermatosis will need extra Vitamin A in their diet for their entire lives.
Fatty Acids
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While fatty acids are not classified as vitamins, they are an essential part of a puppy's diet. Dogs produce some of the fatty acids necessary to be healthy. However, dogs do not produce all of the important fatty acids, known as essential fatty acids. According to Pet Education.com, essential fatty acids such as omega-3 and omega-6 are important in preventing conditions such as heart problems, cancers, yeast infections, arthritis, autoimmune disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, colitis and dry hair coats. Puppies will benefit from supplementing with omega-3 and omega-6, and many dog foods now contain these vitamins.
Vitamin C
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According to Vetinfo.com, Vitamin C should never be included in a puppy or dog's diet. This is because a dog makes all of the necessary Vitamin C naturally and supplementing with this vitamin can cause a myriad of physical problems. Feeding your puppy a Vitamin C supplement or a dog food that is high in the vitamin, can cause adverse health affects as it grows, such as liver disease, kidney disease and several types of bone diseases.
Vitamin D
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Vitamin D is an important part of a puppy's diet. Known as the sunshine vitamin, Vitamin D plays an integral role in regulating calcium and phosphorus in the puppy's body. According to Pet Education.com, Vitamin D is important in skeletal growth, muscle control and nerve functions. Puppies can be deficient in Vitamin D, which may lead to rickets (bone demineralization). For this reason, most veterinarians recommend adding Vitamin D to your puppy's diet. While Vitamin D toxicity is rare, a puppy that received an excess of Vitamin D could have large amounts of calcium deposited in the heart, soft tissues and muscles.
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