The pandemic has shed some light on the importance of certain vitamins for the wellbeing of our immune systems and now pet owners are interested in the benefits of vitamin supplementation for their pets. The most talked-about vitamin tends to be Vit C which is a water-soluble potent antioxidant found in food. Do dogs really need supplementation? It depends! Most commercial foods meet the minimum requirement of Vitamin C but if you are to use it as a tool for healing, then higher dosages will be needed.

Vitamin C benefits include helping to shorten the flu and cold duration by its antioxidant effects in the blood. In many studies it also helped relax the blood vessels, causing lower blood pressure readings in both humans and animals. Vitamin C plays a role in collagen synthesis thus helping with wound healing and at the same time, it has antihistamine properties that could help alleviate allergies. In addition, Vitamin C has been found to raise the level of certain neurotransmitters implying that it could help battle depression and low energy levels, and fatigue. As if those weren’t enough properties; Vitamin C could help kill cancer cells! There is a lot of studies of Vitamin C’s therapy role in cancer in humans, and many veterinary integrative practitioners are trying to use those scientific findings to treat our pets.
The key for the cancer treatment is to administer an intravenous high dose of vitamin C as a slow infusion. This usually implicates that the pet has an IV catheter and is being hospitalized at least for the day. It could be used as an adjuvant to western oncology by helping minimize the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation. It could also be the primary treatment in cases where the pets are too weak to have chemicals in their bodies. The dosage and frequency of treatment will change according to the severity of the illness as this is a customized treatment. In our practice, we have used it to treat severe cases of pancreatitis and parvovirus because those are inflammatory conditions that cause a lot of oxidative stress. We also use it in Guinea Pigs because it is an essential nutrient and they require daily supplementation or their immune system will not function properly.
Is oral supplementation beneficial for our dogs and cats? In sick pets, supplementing their diets with Vitamin C might be helpful. Is too much C a problem? Usually, it is not a problem because this is a water-soluble vitamin that would be excreted in the urine. However, in some pets prone to having Calcium oxalate bladder stones or crystals, the extra Vitamin C is harmful because the byproduct of Vitamin C is oxalate. The usual dosages for dogs are 125 mg/day for pets under 20lbs, 250mg/day for pets 20-50lbs and 500mg to 1 gram/day for pets over 50lbs.
If your pet is suffering from chronic illness, allergies, or cancer, supplementation with vitamin C might be beneficial. Make sure to ask your veterinarian.