How Common Are Supplements in Dogs? Evidence from the Dog Aging Project

Half of the dogs in a massive nationwide study are getting supplements—yet few products face drug-level scrutiny before they hit pet store shelves. We sit down with researchers Drs. Janice O'Brien and Audrey Ruple from the Dog Aging Project to unpack what owners actually give, why they reach for these products, and how the evidence stacks up against bold marketing claims.

We dig into the big three—omega-3 fatty acids, glucosamine and chondroitin, and probiotics—and map how usage shifts across life stages from puppyhood to senior years. You’ll hear why joint supplements surge with age, why probiotics peak early, and why omega-3s stay steady across all groups. We also explore reactive versus preventive habits, revealing that dogs perceived as less healthy are more likely to receive supplements, hinting at care that often starts after problems emerge.

From agility dogs to couch companions, we surface patterns you can act on, plus the surprising products owners report using, like bee pollen and dental powders. Our guests break down the current science: a 2022 meta-analysis showing no clear benefit for glucosamine and chondroitin, the context-dependent promise of omega-3s, and the strain-specific realities of probiotics. Along the way, we share practical scripts for better clinic conversations, from asking the right history questions to explaining evidence quality without jargon, and we set realistic expectations so supplements support—not replace—proven treatments.

If you’re a veterinarian, you’ll walk away with a clearer framework for counseling clients and documenting use. If you’re a pet owner, you’ll get simple steps to choose products wisely, track real outcomes, and talk with your veterinarian before you buy. Subscribe, share this episode with a fellow dog lover, and leave a quick review to help more listeners find evidence-based guidance on canine health.

AJVR article: https://doi.org/10.2460/ajvr.25.06.0217

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Transcript

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Lisa Fortier 0:35

Welcome to Veterinary Vertex, the Avium Made Journal's podcast, where we delve into behind-the-scenes looked with manuscript authors. I'm editor-in-chief Lisa Fortier, joined by Associate Editor Sarah Wright. Today we're discussing supplement use in dogs with Repeat Podcast guest Janice O'Brien and Audrey Ruppel. Janice and Audrey, thank you for being here with us again today.

SPEAKER_02 0:58

Thanks so much for having us. Yeah, thank you. Yeah, thank you for joining us, Janice and Audrey.

Why Study Supplements For Dogs

Lisa Fortier 1:03

Janice, let's start with you. What question or problem were you hoping to address with this study?

SPEAKER_03 1:08

So this one was kind of trying to be the first like broad strokes overview into the dog aging project's um supplement uh questionnaire and kind of looking at what are the most common supplements that are being given within the dog aging project, what types of dogs are receiving these supplements, um, and who are the owners who are giving them and kind of all those sort of questions, just trying to like frame, frame the things.

Sarah Wright 1:36

Yes, it's such an important topic. I have friends that are texting me all the time about supplements. I'm always saying, talk to your veterinarian because they know your pet better than I do. So, Audrey, why is supplement use an important topic to examine and companion animal medicine right now?

SPEAKER_02 1:52

Well, we know that supplement use for companion animals is a rapidly growing market, and it's something that has consistently been growing over the last um decade or so. And we think that's driven by pet owners' interests in preventive care and promoting longevity in their animals, but also for quality of life for their companion dogs. But at the same time, supplements for animals aren't regulated in the same way as drugs are, and they're not required to demonstrate safety or efficacy before they come to market, but they're often marketed in a way that really uses medical language. And so that disconnect makes supplement use a really important topic for evidence-based discussions.

Inside The Dog Aging Project

Lisa Fortier 2:33

Yeah, they can be tricky language to navigate for sure. Um, Audrey, for listeners, you mentioned a couple of times. For those who might not be familiar, uh, what is the dog aging project and how does it support research like this?

SPEAKER_02 2:45

Yeah, the dog aging project is a large longitudinal community science study that follows companion dogs located all over the United States, um, the continental US, and um Hawaii and Alaska as well. And really studying these dogs over the course of their lifetime. Um, owners contribute detailed information about their dog's health, diet, environment, behavior, and also veterinary care and health outcomes through through a set of structured surveys that are repeated every year. Um, so what makes this project unique is the scale and diversity of it, which makes it really a great opportunity to study questions like the one that Jan has had about supplement use.

SPEAKER_03 3:29

I think for me, the the um most interesting or useful part of the DAP data set is that it is entirely owner-reported data. And so um it, you know, there's other types of data sets like, you know, sales data or you know, all those sites. Um, but you don't necessarily know how the supplements are being administered, you know, whether it's like a daily or occasional use kind of thing, and which types of dogs are actually receiving them. So the unreported data aspect of this, I think, is really useful.

Lisa Fortier 4:03

At a very high level, Janice, uh, what did you learn about common supplement use amongst dogs in this study?

SPEAKER_03 4:09

So in this study, um, supplement use was really, really common. Um, 52% of dogs were reported to be receiving a supplement of some kind. And I mean, I do think it's important to contextualize that the dog aging project is, you know, basically consists of dog owners that are voluntarily completing these very long surveys about their dogs. So, you know, this population is um special and may not be generally representative, but it was still, to me, kind of crazy. I was like, wow, that's over half of dogs that are receiving some sort of supplement.

Sarah Wright 4:46

Then going back to Audrey for a second, Audrey, what are some of the owner factors and the importance of studying supplement use patterns?

Which Supplements Top The List

SPEAKER_02 4:55

Well, I think that that's a really important context to remember with the dog aging project data is that we not only are collecting information about the dogs, but we also have owner-reported data about themselves. And so supplement use obviously doesn't happen in a vacuum when it comes to supplementation in our companion animals. It's shaped by how owners perceive their dog's health, aging, their needs. And that's something that this data set really lets us to start unpack.

Sarah Wright 5:22

And Janice, what types of supplements were reported most often?

SPEAKER_03 5:25

So among the ones that we um asked about, the most common ones were actually omega-3 fatty acids, and then followed next by glucosamine, andortin, and then probiotics as kind of like the topmost common supplements.

Sarah Wright 5:41

Actually, my cat is taking a supplement. First time I'm diving into supplements with my own pets, it was recommended by her internist, so it's the only reason why I'm doing it. Um, and it's funny to say that because a component of it is omega-3. So we've yeah, she's been taking that for a year now. And it's funny, um, my husband's like, we're all taking supplements now, including the cats. I'm like, Yeah, I guess we are.

Why Owners Reach For Supplements

Lisa Fortier 6:01

Yeah, well, I come from the horse world, so saddle up. And then you learn like this one doesn't, you can't open that one, and you can't leave that one open to oxidize. And so yeah, it gets complicated. Janice, what do you think drives owner interest in these particular supplements?

SPEAKER_03 6:22

So the Dumb Gauging project doesn't collect owner uh motivation data. Um, so the owners aren't directly asked like why they're giving the supplements. But I think from some of the questions that we were able to ask, like the comparison amongst uh the disease processes, um, you know, we know that dogs with certain conditions are more likely to receive certain supplements than others. And dogs with certain jobs are more likely to receive supplements. You know, like for example, agility dogs were more likely to uh to be receiving supplements, especially daily supplements, than companion dogs were. So it does seem like supplements are being given to help either, yeah, prevent or manage certain conditions.

Life Stage Patterns In Use

SPEAKER_02 7:33

And I think broadly, supplements offer owners a sense of agency. And that when a dog has a chronic condition or is diagnosed with something, um, supplements can feel like a proactive step on the on the owner's part. So even when the evidence for their use might be mixed or incomplete, I think it still gives them a sense of agency and a feeling like they're being proactive for their animals' health.

Sarah Wright 7:59

Yeah, definitely an important feeling. I know it's hard when you think you're like doing everything and you're like, what else can I do? Um, is there anything else? So definitely encourage, if there's any owners listening to this, to talk to your veterinarian um before kind of going rogue and getting your own supplements to see if they have anything that they may recommend. So, Janice, how does supplement use differ across life stages, such as puppies, adults, and senior dogs?

SPEAKER_03 8:21

This one was so fun because it very much depended on the type of supplement. Um, so joint supplements uh were more frequently given to older dogs, which if you know, older dogs may be more likely to have conditions like arthritis. So that kind of makes sense. Um but for but it was still kind of wild that uh even puppies, like the amount of puppies that were reported to be receiving joint supplements was still pretty high. But like as as life stage increased, so did the proportion that were on joint supplements. Um probiotics had the opposite trend. So um the life stage that was most likely to be receiving probiotics was puppies, and then that decreased so that senior dogs were the least likely. And then omega-3 fatty acids uh didn't change at all across all life stages. It was like everybody, regardless of ages, is all you know receiving the same amount of omega-3 fatty acids.

Reactive Versus Preventive Use

Lisa Fortier 9:15

Well, I fit into that demographic for my animals. Uh Audrey, did the timing on in addition to the age of the animal, does the timing or purpose of the supplement seem to vary depending on the dog's health status, OA, kidney, skin?

SPEAKER_02 9:31

Yeah, it did. So dogs that were reported by owners to be in poor overall health were more likely to be receiving supplements than dogs that were perceived to be in excellent health. And that pattern really suggests that supplement use is being reactive. It is a reactive use of them rather than something that's being used on the preventive side.

Lisa Fortier 9:53

What do your findings suggest about how owners are making these decisions around supplements?

Guidance For Vet–Client Talks

SPEAKER_02 9:58

Well, as Janice mentioned, we don't collect information around motivation for those. And I think that it's really more suggestive in terms of thinking about owners being really deeply engaged and motivated to support their dog's health, and that supplement use might really reflect that they have concerns and cares and desire to do the right thing when it comes to the health of their animals. Um, and again, those decisions are not always guided by veterinary input or strong evidence, which creates both challenges and opportunities for clinicians in the trenches.

Sarah Wright 10:33

So you've shared a lot of great information today. And I really want to kind of boil it down to like what the veterinarian could take home with them that might help them have a conversation with the client about supplements. So, Janice, how should veterinarians interpret these results when talking with clients?

SPEAKER_03 10:48

So I think there's a couple things. Uh, for me, kind of personally, it was almost like a call to action when I was seeing um a lot of the supplements in the free text that I had never heard of before. Um, and so for me, it was like a, I need to look these up and see what they're being used for and look into research on their efficacy uh before even being able to have these discussions um with clients.

Lisa Fortier 11:14

Yeah, it's pretty dang hard to keep up, isn't it? And hard to find the evidence. A lot of it is quote behind the paywall on file. Uh it's it's really tough. Uh so Janice, when when a clinician is having these discussions, what are the main uh what are the main challenges?

Evidence Quality And Misconceptions

SPEAKER_03 11:34

Yeah, I think in that same vein, the biggest one is being able to understand the quality of evidence for a supplement, like being able to look into that research and understand, okay, what is the, what is it actually telling me? And then being able to then communicate that um clearly. And and to making that, you know, this is a supplement versus this is a medication, because that kind of came out in the data too, where a lot of times people were recording medications as supplements. Um I don't want that to be a mistake that people make.

Lisa Fortier 12:08

I think it's hard for me as a clinician when somebody would come up with a supplement or a different type of boot or something for their horse, and I'd never heard of it. And especially when I was younger, once I got a little more uh longer in the tooth, I was very comfortable saying, I haven't heard of that one. Can I see that? I would love to learn about it. Or let me look at that. And or what do you think about that? And and then to find out more what was, you know, the perma muscle and the MSM and all the things that keep popping up. So I think it's important also to just say, I'm I'm not aware of that. Let me look it up. Can you share that with me or send me a picture?

Sarah Wright 12:40

So speaking of research, and one of the things that we love talking about evidence. So, Janice, how does current scientific evidence align or not, with the most commonly used supplements identified in this study?

Surprising Products And Data Gaps

SPEAKER_03 12:52

So, yeah, I feel like um there's a lot of mixed feelings, even in even in the research community, about about them. Um, like a 2022 meta-analysis in dogs and cats found no effect of glucosamine and chondroitin um on joint uh disease. Um, but there are significant limitations to a lot of the research surrounding glucosamine and chondroin supplements. So, you know, I still think that they're the jury's still out and and a lot more research does need to be done uh before we can truly make conclusions. And then on omega-3 fatty acids, it's also kind of hard because they're given for a wide variety of of conditions, like they are being given for um everything, including joint, heart, skin, kidney, cognitive conditions. And the number of studies on omega-3s for each of those conditions can vary widely. So yeah, it really more research that you know, the scientists say more research is muted.

Lisa Fortier 13:57

Yeah, it's a tough one. What do you think in your practice and what your studies sort of the most common misconceptions about supplements?

SPEAKER_03 14:05

Yeah, for me, it's really the quality of evidence that we have for some of them. You know, a lot of a lot of the studies that examine the efficacy of certain supplements are very small. And, you know, I'll ask myself, do I really want to be making clinical recommendations based on a study of, you know, X number of dogs? Like how many patients am I going to be recommending this for? Um, and how much do I actually understand about this supplement before I do so?

Final Takeaways For Vets And Owners

SPEAKER_02 14:29

I think it's also the case that there's major misconceptions from for dog owners and that supplements seem to be considered inherently safe because they're considered a natural additive. And so I think that there is a bit of a confusion around the supplements and what types of levels of efficacy and safety we have in terms of the data that support their use. Um, and then I think as Janice mentioned earlier, um, owners in our study frequently were listing drugs as supplements and vice versa, which I think really highlights how unclear these categories can be from an owner's perspective, that those two things seem to be interchangeable for some dog owners. And I think that's something for us to be aware of.

Sarah Wright 15:14

And Janice, what gaps in knowledge does the study highlight?

SPEAKER_03 15:18

I think for me, the free text analysis highlighted many supplements that um have not been well studied. Um, so like there were ones that I had never heard of prior to this study, actually, like bee pollen and some like dental powders. Like I was very familiar with dental chews, but I had never heard of dental powders being used as a supplement. Um, or perhaps supplements that I had heard of before, but that were perhaps being given for uh conditions I had never heard of be them being used for. So yeah, I think there's a lot of room for future research into how these supplements are actually being used.

SPEAKER_02 15:56

And we still don't know how supplement use affects long-term outcomes in our companion dogs. And so, or even which dogs benefit from which products? And so I think that that's something else that we really need to focus on, as well as as Janice has mentioned earlier, those owner motivations and how those motivations really influence decision making in this space.

Lisa Fortier 16:18

Yeah, well such important information. Um, one final question for each of you. We'll start with Janice. What is one key takeaway you hope veterinarians or pet owners take away from your research?

SPEAKER_03 16:30

I think for me, it is that thinking about the difference in between a supplement and a medication and keeping that difference clear. So that way, you know, if we're if we as veterinarians are making that recommendation, or if as a pet owner you're feeding a supplement to your pet to maybe help manage a condition, but you're not seeing a huge clinical improvement, you know, don't don't think that that's like the end of the road in managing that condition. Like you tried something and it didn't work, therefore we're all done. You know, I think I think keeping the idea that there can be medications um in mind is important.

SPEAKER_02 17:07

Love it. Audrey? I think for the veterinarian, the key takeaway is to make sure you're really asking the question and gathering history um from pet owners about uses of medications to make sure you're specifically including supplementation um in those in those questions and trying to gather that information. And I think for pet owners, the takeaway is to talk to your vet about all medications and supplementations and supplements that you're giving to your pets that they can um record those and keep an eye out for for long-term effects of those medications and supplements.

Sarah Wright 17:44

Yeah, thank you both. Really great information about considerations and important limitations to consider regarding supplement use. So thank you again for joining us. We love having you guys on the podcast. You always learn something from the dog aging project data. Thanks so much for having us.

SPEAKER_03 17:57

Yeah, thank you.

Read The Study And Leave A Review

Sarah Wright 17:58

And for our listeners and viewers, you can read Janice and Audrey's article on AJVR. I'm Sarah Wright here at Lisa Fortier. Be sure to tune in next week for another episode of Veterinary Vertex. And don't forget to leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.