When it comes to supporting our dogs' health, we want every ingredient to have a purpose.
As dog owners ourselves, we're always looking closely at the ingredients panel. We want to know exactly what we're feeding and feel confident that the money we're spending is going towards ingredients that genuinely support our dogs' wellbeing.
That's one of the reasons we prefer powdered and freeze-dried supplements over soft chews.
More Active Ingredients, Less Filler
To create a soft chew, manufacturers often need to include ingredients that help bind the product together, maintain its texture, improve palatability, and extend shelf life. These may include starches, glycerine, gums, oils, flavourings, and preservatives.
While these ingredients aren't necessarily harmful, they generally aren't the reason you're purchasing the supplement.
Powders and freeze-dried supplements typically require fewer supporting ingredients, allowing a greater proportion of the product to be dedicated to the nutrients you're actually looking for.
Fewer Unnecessary Calories
Many soft chews contain ingredients such as oils, starches, sweeteners, or glycerine to create their chewy texture and appealing taste.
These ingredients contribute additional calories to your dog's diet. For dogs that are prone to weight gain or are already carrying a few extra kilos, every calorie counts.
Powdered supplements are typically much more concentrated and can deliver nutritional support without adding unnecessary calories to the bowl.
Better Nutrient Preservation
Some nutrients are sensitive to heat and can lose potency during manufacturing. Vitamins, probiotics, enzymes, antioxidants, and omega fatty acids can all be affected by high-temperature processing.
Freeze-drying is a gentle preservation method that helps retain the nutritional integrity of ingredients while removing moisture. This allows many nutrients to remain closer to their natural state.
While manufacturing methods vary between products, we appreciate the ability of freeze-drying to help preserve valuable nutrients.
Concentrated Nutrition
Because powders and freeze-dried supplements don't need to be formed into a chew, more room is often available for active ingredients.
This means you can often provide meaningful nutritional support in a smaller serving size, making it easy to add to your dog's daily meal.
Convenience Doesn't Have to Come in Treat Form
Soft chews are often promoted as an easy and tasty way to give supplements. And for some dogs, they work well.
For our family, though, nothing is simpler than sprinkling a supplement over breakfast. Our dogs already love meal time, and adding a powder takes only a few seconds while enhancing both flavour and nutrition.
Read the Entire Ingredient Panel
When comparing supplements, don't just look at the active ingredients on the front of the packaging.
Take a moment to read the full ingredient list. Pay attention to both the active ingredients and the ingredients used to create the product itself.
Ask yourself:
- How much of this product is made up of ingredients that support my dog's health?
- Are there ingredients that are only there for texture, appearance, or shelf life?
- Am I paying for nutrition, or am I paying for a delivery system?
Every dog is different, and there is no single supplement that is right for every family. But for us, powders and freeze-dried supplements offer a simple way to provide concentrated nutrition with minimal unnecessary extras.
And that's why they're the supplements you'll find in our own dogs' bowls every day.