Multivitamins are commonplace in both human and veterinary health marketing. Vitamins and minerals are vital components of a balanced diet, and deficiencies can be associated with health conditions. Commercially available dog foods that meet AAFCO/FEDIAF (European version) standards meet the currently acceptable minimum requirements for these vitamins. Varying life stages also require different vitamin/mineral composition (e.g., young growing puppies need higher amounts of calcium compared to the average adult dog) and commercially available foods that meet these standards are widely available.

Supplementation of additional vitamins and/or minerals to dogs, in excess of the recommended daily amounts, has not been associated with a clinically appreciable benefit. That is, more of a “good thing” is not necessarily better. For example, research has shown that while increasing dietary intake of certain vitamins like cobalamin, pantothenate, and biotin can elevate blood concentrations, these increases do not necessarily translate to improved skin or coat quality(Tran et al., 2007).

However, there are certain disease states where supplementation may be indicated. This is beyond the scope of this mini review. Likewise, dogs fed an unbalanced diet would likely benefit from the addition of vitamins and minerals to make up for the deficiency in the diet (under the guidance of a veterinarian). Furthermore, specific classes of supplements, such as antioxidants, have been investigated for their ability to protect against DNA damage and improve immunological performance, such as establishing quicker vaccine-specific antibody responses(Heaton et al., 2002).

The Bottom Line

Dogs that are fed a balanced commercial dog food (e.g. meets AAFCO/FEDIAF standards) do not appear to benefit from the addition of a general multivitamin. This encompasses many health domains including skin/hair coat, gastrointestinal, and joint health/mobility metrics. Over-supplementation of some particular vitamins may also have a negative impact on health (e.g. overdoses of vitamin D), though this is usually the result of accidental large ingestions. However, it should be noted there is minimal research in this area and most literature focuses on the use of a specific vitamin for a specific health condition. Given the scarcity of evidence, definitive conclusions regarding the efficacy of a routine multivitamin to the average dog cannot be made.

This review does not address the question regarding vitamin supplementation in dogs with specific disease processes, or in dogs being fed an unbalanced diet. For dogs being fed an unbalanced diet, including a raw meat based diet, we recommend reading the review of raw meat based diets here. For owners feeding a home cooked diet with the addition of a multivitamin, we recommend consulting with a veterinary nutritionist.

Of note, there is recent marketing trend of dog foods that do not contain the addition of vitamins and rather relies on organ meat or natural sources for vitamins. This is also not evidence-based, and adherence to AAFCO standards regardless of vitamin source is advised.

General multivitamin

Weak Evidence

Evidence Snapshot

Evidence Review (Deep Dive)

The Bottom Line

Compare General multivitamin Products

No matched products are published yet

Key References

Evidence first

Veterinarian-authored

Independent