As in the cases of humans, dogs, horses, cats, and so on, collagen is the body’s most abundant protein.
Collagen is like the cement that keeps everything in your body together. Collagen makes up about a third of your dog’s total body protein.
The production of collagen in your dog’s body naturally decreases with age. The quality of your skin and coat may also begin to decline around this time, and most cases of arthritis tend to appear around this time as well.
Protein hydrolysate for canines While collagen supplements won’t reverse your dog’s aging process, they will help him fight and delay many of its symptoms. Collagen seems to have some advantages, but can dogs take Biotin?
What Is Collagen?
In other words, collagen is a type of protein. It’s the primary source of protein for your pet. He feels it deep within his pores. His very marrow knows it. His joints and other connective tissues are affected as well.
It seems to be in every direction. Why? As a result, it serves as the glue that keeps your pet’s body together. His connective tissues would collapse without the scaffolding provided by collagen. And that architecture provides the muscular power that allows him to engage in strenuous physical activity.
Collagen comes in many forms, but one thing is certain: it is an integral part of your pet’s physiology, and supplementing his diet with it can improve his health.
Why Is Collagen Important?
As you might expect, such a plentiful compound serves multiple critical purposes in your pet’s body. His organs are shielded from harm by a layer of collagen.
Collagen helps keep skin and joints in good shape, which is important because they allow you to move around freely. It’s essential for a lustrous coat, too. In short, his Collagen needs to be in good shape for his bones, joints, and connective tissues to be healthy.
Your animal friend actually makes his own Collagen. However, his Collagen production decreases with age. Collagen production is also negatively impacted by exposure to environmental toxins, tobacco, or ultraviolet radiation.
All the more reason to include Collagen in your dog’s diet, right?
Benefits of Collagen for Dogs
Adding a Collagen supplement can help your pet wherever his naturally occurring Collagen is concerned, as it has a hand in so many of his body’s and his development’s processes.
Assuring he consumes enough Collagen every day will do wonders for his long-term health.
When It Comes To Mobility, Collagen Is King
Give your dog the energy and stamina it needs to excel at the dog park, catch the highest thrown balls, and run after the farthest thrown sticks with the aid of Collagen. Possessing strong muscles and joints is essential for freedom of movement. Furthermore, collagen is essential to their proper functioning and health.
- Collagen supports resilient cartilage in your pet’s joints. Additionally, it helps support healthy inflammatory responses, which may alleviate occasional joint discomfort. However, even if your pet isn’t suffering from chronic joint pain, Collagen can help his or her healthy muscles recover after a workout.
- To Maintain Muscle Health: Exercise places strain on your dog’s muscles, tendons, ligaments, and cartilage. After intense exercise, taking a Collagen supplement can aid in their recovery. Collagen is already present in those areas, but supplementing with more of it in a bioavailable form aids in his speedy recovery. A short rest will have him raring to go again.
In addition, collagen can offer some defense against injuries. Ligament and tendon health are especially important for dock jumpers and other extreme animal athletes. The suppleness of the connective tissues is maintained by collagen.
Collagen Supports Strong Bones
Aging reduces your pet’s natural Collagen production. His bone mass decreases as well. Your pet’s skeletal health can be supported by increasing his bone mass with a Collagen supplement.
Collagen Helps With Skin, Coat, and Nail Care
Collagen supplements are commonly used by humans to improve hair and skin quality. Even in humans, it aids in the maintenance of healthy, elastic skin and the promotion of healthy, long, shiny hair. Wrinkles are another problem that can be avoided.
Even though wrinkles are adorable on some breeds of dog (like Pugs and Shar Peis), it’s still important to take care of your pet’s skin and coat.
- Collagen improves the elasticity and durability of your pet’s skin. It’s good for your dog’s skin because it helps keep it supple and hydrated from the inside out. Itchy, flaky skin is a common complaint among pets. Hydration is crucial for soothing him whether he has seasonal allergies, hot spots, or other skin issues! Collagen is useful for this purpose.
- Care of the Coat: Your dog’s coat serves a purpose beyond just adding to his adorable appearance. It’s water-resistant and will keep him safe from mud and underbrush. He is protected from the cold and his body temperature is maintained by the undercoat. Caring for his coat with Collagen will help it stay healthy and strong. Collagen supplementation has additional benefits, including reduced shedding in pets.
For Healthy Digestion, Add Collagen to Your Dog’s Diet
People who are confused about the connection between Collagen and digestion are not alone. Though it’s rarely discussed, giving your pet a Collagen supplement can have some surprising benefits.
Since it’s used to construct the lining of your dog’s stomach and intestines, collagen aids in digestion.
It prevents the gastrointestinal (GI) tract from becoming porous due to the passage of food and stomach acid.
Additionally, it aids in protein digestion, which is essential to your pet’s metabolism. His inability to convert food into energy is directly related to his lack of collagen.
When Your Dog Doesn’t Have An Appetite, Try Collagen
You can try giving your pet a Collagen treat if he is picky about his food. It’s extremely tasty to your carnivorous pet because it’s usually made from animal protein.
He has found that supplementing his meals with Collagen has made him eagerly devour foods he previously rejected.
What Are The Best Collagen Supplements For Your Pet?
The benefits of feeding your pet a Collagen supplement are well-known, but how do you decide which one is best?
Though there may be more Collagen supplements to choose from than ever before, not all of them are made the same. Try to find pet-friendly formulations that are made with ingredients you are comfortable giving to your pet.
Can You Give A Dog Human Collagen Supplements?
Although Collagen is the same for both humans and animals, you should only give your pet a supplement that has been created specifically for him. There isn’t a great way to know if it’s safe to give your pet a human supplement.
Flavorings, additional nutrients, and other ingredients are commonplace in human collagen supplements.
Thus, while the Collagen itself might be fine for your pet to eat, the other ingredients probably aren’t! Instead, try to find a Collagen supplement that is specifically labelled as being pet-friendly.
PetHonesty Collagen Supplements
Several of PetHonesty’s Collagen formulas are not only safe for pets, but were developed with the needs of your animal companion in mind.
Collagen is just one of many ingredients like Glucosamine and Green Lipped Mussels found in PetHonesty PureMobility Chews that help support healthy joints. It’s a tasty snack that aids in movement.
Think about getting your senior dog a Collagen supplement made especially for senior dogs. Collagen, Hemp, Glucosamine, and more are found in PetHonesty Senior HempMobility, which has a chicken flavor. It’s specially formulated to aid your geriatric pet’s arthritic joints.
Picking the right Collagen supplement for your dog is important for his or her skin, coat, joints, bones, and general health and wellness.
When to Start Feeding Collagen Supplements
Although it’s true that puppies and young dogs don’t have the same need for collagen may as senior dogs, some forms of arthritis and joint disease in canines may begin at a younger age than is commonly believed.
Some dog breeds and strains are genetically predisposed to developing joint problems more frequently than others. It is true that large breed dogs are more likely to develop joint problems and arthritis, but this does not mean that smaller dogs are immune.
Including more collagen-rich foods in your dog’s diet at a young age may help delay the onset of age-related joint pain.
Collagen is a healthy supplement for your dog, but before you give it to him, you should talk to your vet.
Collagen, along with other natural products like turmeric, MSM, glucosamine, and chondroitin, can help your dog’s joints stay mobile and pain-free for longer.
You may find that you no longer need to give your aging dog prescription canine arthritis medications, or that you need to give them much less often.
Dietary Sources of Collagen
Collagen is made up of a wide variety of animal proteins and even some plant-based proteins. The most reliable sources of collagen for canines are:
- Collagen found in marine organisms includes fish skin, scales, bones, and fins. It is absorbed quickly and easily because of its low molecular weight.
- Collagen isolated from bovine (cow) sources has been shown to improve skin, bone, joint, and leaky gut health. Collagen production in humans can be stimulated by consuming bovine collagen.
- Collagen from pigs is extracted from their skin, bones, and other connective tissues.
- Collagen from chicken, turkey, duck, and other common poultry helps maintain healthy cartilage.
- The collagen in eggs is also very useful.
Examples of collagen-adding vegetables are:
- Vegetables with lots of leaves
- Plants in the red and yellow color families
- Beans
- Berries
If you decide to feed your dog a vegetarian collagen source, do so responsibly and in the right amounts.
An example of a food that, if given in excessive amounts, can be toxic is garlic. Dogs should only consume about 1/6 of a teaspoon of garlic per 5 pounds of body weight per day.
This amount of garlic has many health benefits, but it is not nearly enough to provide the highest quality collagen. If you’re concerned about your dog’s health, it’s best to provide a diet rich in a variety of plant and animal ingredients, including collagen.
In this context, it is important to note that even collagen-rich vegetables that are generally safe for pets, such as tomatoes, can be harmful if fed in the wrong amounts or ways. Tomatoes that have reached full ripeness are completely safe to feed to your dog, but there are some parts of the tomato plant that are toxic.
Collagen Chews for Dogs
Natural collagen chews for dogs are a great way to increase your dog’s collagen consumption because they satisfy his natural instinct to chew. Canines can get the dietary collagen they need from a backstrap or beef tendon, and they’ll love every minute of it.
The connective tissues on a dog’s knuckles, shoulders, and kneecaps are a great source of collagen, so you can feed them raw bones as well.
Bone Broth for Dogs
Dog bones broth is another excellent source of collagen, and it helps repair the intestinal lining the most.
As demand has increased, a few commercial bone broth products have emerged, most of which are very basic preparations made with coconut oil and are meant as convenient supplements.
Bone broth from Honest Kitchen comes in several varieties, including beef and turkey. Open Farm offers grass-fed beef bone broth.
If you would rather make your own bones broth than buy it from a pet store, you will find that the process is quite simple. A crockpot and Mason jars are required. Just do what I say:
- Cooking with Apple Cider Vinegar:
- Do a 24-hour slow cook.
- Stretch every skeleton
- To increase the positive effects, try adding turmeric, kelp, or coconut oil.
- Wait until the mixture has cooled completely.
- Fill Mason jars with the concoction.
- After storing in the fridge, the mixture has a three-day shelf life. Put any surplus in the freezer
If you’re going to buy or make bone broth, make sure it’s organic. That way, any lingering pesticides or antibiotics won’t be ingested by your dog.
Raw Diets and Collagen
Feeding a raw diet is a great first step in providing collagen for your dog. Collagen production is aided by the amino acids in beef and chicken, making raw diets a good option for arthritic or mobility-impaired dogs.
You can add raw bones and beef tendons to your dog’s raw diet because they are great sources of collagen.
How Much Collagen Can You Give a Dog?
When added to your dog’s natural diet, there is no risk of an overdose from collagen. How much of a supplement your pet needs is determined by factors like his size and weight.
Fortunately, collagen supplements have a flavor that dogs find irresistible.
Some forms of collagen supplements can be used to conceal medication or other supplements your dog is less likely to wolf down due to their unappealing taste.
Human Collagen for Dogs
Humans ingest canine collagen for many of the same reasons that dog owners give it to their pets. As a species, we aim to lessen the discomfort of arthritis, increase the pliability of our joints and tendons, slow the onset of wrinkles, and bolster our muscles.
Wrinkling is the canine equivalent of addressing issues with the coat and skin. Collagen makes up the bulk of a dog’s healthy coat and skin.
Can you feed your dog human-grade collagen, or do you need to buy special collagen supplements for dogs?
If the item contains only dog collagen, then you can give it to your pet after determining the appropriate dosage based on his weight.
However, it is important to be wary of the fact that most human collagen biotin supplements also contain other ingredients.
There are ingredients here that dogs shouldn’t have at all, and others that have more of a certain substance than a dog should have.
Collagen and other supplements formulated for canines can help your pet in many ways.