Rethinking Supplements for My Raw Fed Dogs

by | Sep 2, 2019 | Dog Supplements

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I add whole foods to my dogs' diet to address a nutrient deficiency. I add supplements to my dogs' diet to address a health issue. This is my supplement list.

When I started feeding my dogs a raw food diet, I added every supplement I learned about to my dogs' diet. Over the years, as I learned more about dog nutrition, I began to see that I could replace many of the supplements with whole food. This was great because it reduced my budget, made feeding the dogs easier, and fresh food is more bioavailable (works better).

For this post, which was updated in December 2021, the supplements I'm listing are products (or food) given to my dogs on a daily basis. I've separated the list as follows:

This post is to give you ideas on what you can add to your dog's diet, but please keep in mind that I have senior dogs and a cancer dog in the house, which is why my list is longer than others. Also, when I say “daily,” I mean five days a week. I like to give my dogs a break from supplements two days a week (fasting days).

Supplements I Add to All of My Dogs' Meals

  • Fermented fish stock, sardines, or fish/hemp oil
  • Digestive Enzymes (Rodrigo and Scout only)
  • FullBucket Daily Canine Powder
  • Mushroom Boost
  • Rx Vitamins Hepato Support
  • CocoTherapy Coconut Oil/Golden Paste
  • Winpro Pet Joint Supplement

Fermented Fish Stock, Sardines, Fish/Hemp Oil

Whenever someone asks me what supplements they should add to a raw food diet, I always respond with fish for the Omega- 3 fatty acids. Although organ meat is also a source of Omega-3 fatty acids, I prefer that my dogs get them from fish sources.

Fermented fish stock (or fermented fish bone broth) packs a wallop and supports cognitive health, skin and coat health, gut health (and the immune system), joint health, and hearth health. It also helps the body naturally detox (great for liver and kidney health).

Fresh and canned sardines are a big part of my dogs' diet. I stock up on canned sardines when I can't find fresh sardines. Costco and Walmart have the best prices. My preference is the canned sardines in olive oil (yes, olive oil is safe for dogs, just adjust the diet because it adds more calories) and sardines in water with no salt added. I feed each of my dogs one can of sardines each once or twice a week, alternating with fish broth and fish oil.

Life Line fish/hemp seed oil is a new addition to my dogs' diet. I add this for all the reasons I add fish and fish stock to my dogs' diet. I chose this product over other fish oils because of the hemp seed oil, which has more anti-inflammatory benefits.

Digestive Enzymes for Dogs

I add digestive enzymes from Enzyme Diane's to Rodrigo and Scout's meals. Rodrigo has exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) which means that his pancreas doesn't produce digestive enzymes, so I add them to his diet. Scout is a cancer survivor and I've found that adding digestive enzymes help his gut health as he's going through treatment.

I mix the enzymes into all of their meals (even raw goat's milk) and allow to predigest (about 20 minutes) before feeding my dogs.

FullBucket Daily Canine Powder

I have been adding FullBucket to my dogs' diet for years and, today, all of the dogs get at least one scoop and Rodrigo gets two scoops of FullBucket in their meals. This is the only probiotic that has worked consistently for my dogs.

I alternate FullBucket with whole food options like raw goat's milk, kefir, and fermented foods.

Mushroom Supplement

More than 50% of dogs will receive a cancer diagnosis and it sucks. Someone recently told me that 700,000 dogs in the US are diagnosed with canine lymphoma each year. After we received our second cancer diagnosis, I stepped it up with my dogs. And when Scout came out of remission, I double downed and one thing that changed was adding a mushroom supplement to my dogs' diet.

Mushroom Boost by Long Living You is a combination of the mushrooms (lions' mane, chaga, maitake, shiitake, reishi) and boosts our dogs' immune system, supports cognitive health, and this supplement is safe to use with dogs.

I alternate this supplement with the Mercola Organic Mushroom Complex, which contains the same mushrooms.

Rx Vitamins Hepato Support

Although I don't intentionally expose my dogs to toxins, vaccinate my dogs, or use chemical flea/tick repellents, I think it's important to add a supplement to support healthy liver functions (milk thistle), help grow new tissue (B vitamins), while adding antioxidants to the system. Hepato Support does a great job at keeping their liver enzyme levels normal while helping the system purge toxins (like prescription medication or chemotherapy drugs).

I give each of my dogs one capsule daily. The instructions state twice daily, however, feeding fresh liver also supports liver health.

CocoTherapy Coconut Oil

Coconut oil has many benefits for dogs including supporting a healthy metabolism, improving nutrient absorption, and promoting good gut health. Each of my dogs enjoys a tablespoon full of coconut oil several days a week to support gut health, nutrient absorption, and the immune system.

Coconut Oil is a main ingredient in Golden Paste

I make my own golden paste; big batches that I freeze until needed. I add a 1/2 tablespoon of golden paste to everyone's meals to support joint health, keep cancer at bay, and reduce inflammation.

Joint Supplement

And, finally, all of my dogs are on a joint supplement by Winpro Pet. I don't believe that feeding bone broth, duck feet, and fermented fish stock is enough to support joint health. When I first discovered Winpro Pet, I tried the joint supplement with Sydney who had poor mobility. Within 48 hours, she was running around the house and yard with the other dogs. She remained active until she was diagnosed with cancer thanks to her diet and this supplement.

Supplements for My Senior Dogs

We have three senior dogs in the house and I now add Golden Years by Dr. Harvey's to their diet. I originally purchased this supplement for Scout, who has cancer, and decided to give it to all three of our seniors because there is a generous amount in the container (plenty for all three dogs).

Golden Years is a powder supplement that is made with herbs and whole foods that work together to improve our dogs' energy and mobility, help the body fight chronic illness and disease, while preventing oxidation and increasing longevity.

Supplements for My Cancer Dog

I have a long list of supplements that I give to my cancer dogs. I'm not going to go into a deep dive into each supplement – instead, I'll share what I'm adding to Scout's diet and give a brief explanation of why I chose each supplement. Here goes.

Apricot Seed Capsules – apricot seeds are bitter, so I give my dogs the capsules to avoid that bitter taste. These were developed out of two beliefs. (1) Cancer is caused by a deficiency in Vitamin B17 and apricot seeds are a great source amygdalin (B17). And (2) a compound called laetrile converts to cyanide (after digestion), which people believe will kill cancer cells. There are studies on the effectiveness of apricot seeds, however, nothing definitive at the moment: Amygdalin from Apricot Kernels Induces Apoptosis and Causes Cell Cycle Arrest in Cancer Cells

The maximum acceptable dose is 0.37 grams (or three small seeds), so, to be safe, I give Scout 2 capsule daily, which equates to 4 seeds or 90 mg (or 0.09 grams) of amygdalin (B17).

PaoV – this is a supplement made from the bark of Pao Pereira tree and supports the immune system while helping the body safely detox. Scout gets two capsules daily.

Artemisia Trinity – this is a supplement made from wormwood that helps the body fight parasites, supports the immune system and cellular health while promoting overall health and wellness. But the reason I add it to Scout's diet is because artemisinin rocks at killing cancer cells. According to the University of Washington, artemisinin “kills approximately 100 cancer cells for every healthy cell, about ten times better than current chemotherapies.”

Chinese Herbs – I give Scout a combination of two herbal blends sourced from a holistic veterinarian. Xiao Chai Hu Tang and Modified Hoxsey with Boneset. These supplements boosts the immune system, protect health cell production, while promoting apoptosis (cell death) in cancer cells.

4Life Transfer Factor Plus – this is a supplement produced by an MLM and I am not a fan of direct marketing. But a friend I trust recommended this product for Scout and, after reading the reviews of others who saw positive results in their cancer pets, I ordered a couple of bottles.

This supplement supports the immune system with zinc, a mushroom blend that includes maitake, shiitake, and agaricus, cow colostrum, and chicken egg yolk. I give it to Scout to boost his immune system so that he can maintain energy while his body rids itself of the cancer.

Supplement List for New Raw Feeders

When you look at the list of supplements I add to my dogs' diet, you might think that I'm nuts. But this isn't a list for every dog or every raw fed dog. This is a list for my dogs and the supplements meet a specific need for each dog. So, please, DO NOT run out and order any of these supplements unless your dog has a need that the supplement can address.

If we were to add a young do to our family tomorrow, I wouldn't add any supplements to the diet other than whole foods.

Nutritionally Complete Raw Diet

I start with a base of 80/10/10 – 80% muscle meat, 10% bone, and 10% organ meat. I eyeball these amounts; I do not use a calculator. For every 8-quarts of the 80/10/10 mix, I add 1 cup of the Paradigm base mix by Dr. Harvey's and this gets me pretty close to “balance.”

Whole Food Supplements

  • raw (or cooked) eggs 3-4 days weekly (nature's multi-vitamin)
  • sardines for omega-3 fatty acids 2 days weekly, alternating with fish broth or fish oil
  • oysters for zinc (added to every other 80/10/10 blend for variety)
  • duck necks, duck wings, and green tripe for calcium (especially for a growing puppy)
  • fermented foods (kefir, fish broth, vegetables) for gut health and the immune system

I wouldn't start looking for pill/powder supplementation unless (1) the dog needed support due to a health issue or (2) I couldn't source whole foods. My goal is to keep raw feeding as simple (and affordable) as possible while meeting my dogs' nutritional and health needs.

I know this post is a lot to take it so I hope that it's helpful.

I add whole foods to my dogs' diet to address a nutrient deficiency. I add supplements to my dogs' diet to address a health issue. This is my supplement list.

Read More About Raw Feeding for Dogs

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1 Comment

  1. chris on October 1, 2019 at 5:21 pm

    One of the problems of buying stuff on amazon anymore is there are so many fakes out there. I keep seeing articles that amazon is getting really bad for fakes-so how do you know if the supplement you are buying is the real deal. I even heard that they send them to China and they duplicate the label and everything (not sure if this is true but something to be aware of) so I try to stay away from buying things from amazon and go straight to the supplier even if it costs a few cents more.

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