Boston Terrier

Vitamins are a very important part of a dog's nutritional needs, and different vitamins have different effects. Therefore, the lack of any vitamin may seriously affect their health. Of course, nutritional needs vary in priority; let's first understand what the three essential vitamins for dogs are.

1. Vitamin A:

Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin mainly found in animal-based feeds. Plant-based feeds do not contain vitamin A, but the beta-carotene they contain can be converted into vitamin A within a dog's body.

The main physiological function of vitamin A is to maintain normal vision and the normal physiological function of mucosal epithelial cells. When a dog is deficient in vitamin A, it first exhibits decreased dark adaptation ability, possibly developing night blindness and keratoconjunctivitis sicca. Affected dogs' corneas thicken and keratinize, forming a cloudy appearance, sometimes with ulcers and perforations, potentially leading to blindness; growth is hindered and weight decreases.

When deficient in vitamin A, male dogs’ fertility decreases; female dogs may experience infertility, miscarriage, stillbirth, weak offspring, and give birth to blind puppies; puppies may show decreased disease resistance, diarrhea, and can suffer optic nerve atrophy leading to blindness and often die from pneumonia.

2. Vitamin C:

Vitamin C is also called ascorbic acid. Dogs can partially synthesize vitamin C internally, so under normal circumstances, vitamin C deficiency is uncommon. However, puppies grow quickly and are prone to vitamin C deficiency. In addition, sick dogs with decreased vitamin synthesis function can also develop vitamin C deficiency. Symptoms of vitamin C deficiency mainly include bleeding gums, fragile blood vessels, decreased disease resistance, and impaired iron absorption.

Although some fruits and vegetables contain relatively rich vitamin C, these foods have poor palatability for dogs. Supplementing vitamin C can be done by adding vitamin C tablets to dog food. Yet some owners report their dogs dislike eating vegetables! What benefits do vegetables have for dogs? Dogs that dislike vegetables or certain types of vegetables often do so because of their special flavors, high rough fiber content which is hard to chew and swallow, or due to picky eating habits.

3. Vitamin D:

The main physiological function of vitamin D is to regulate the body's calcium and phosphorus metabolism, maintaining normal concentrations of calcium and phosphorus in the blood, thus promoting the calcification and normal development of teeth and bones. When a dog suffers from vitamin D deficiency, it cannot maintain calcium and phosphorus balance, leading to bone diseases. Puppies can develop rickets, showing symptoms such as weight loss, emaciation, anemia, tail tip necrosis, and convulsions; adult dogs can develop osteoporosis.