Can Dogs Drink Ensure?
Ensure is a dairy supplement made with a mixture of ingredients to satisfy nutritional needs. It has high-quality milk, soy proteins, vitamins, and minerals.
Is Ensure Good For Dogs?
The supplement contains healthy nutrients and calories essential for your dog’s health. The supplement’s ingredients maintain your dog’s growth and good health.
However, given that it is made for human consumption, it can have some side effects on your dog. This dairy product contains lactose, which some dogs’ digestive systems are intolerant to. Drinking the supplement can cause indigestion and stomach upset in your dog.
So, Can I Give My Dog Ensure?
While Ensure contains many healthy nutrients, it is better for your dog’s health if you do not give it to them, especially if your dog is lactose intolerant.
Dogs also don’t need supplements in their diet as their food already contains enough nutrients. While an occasional drink of Ensure will not hurt them, it is unnecessary.
Consult your vet before giving your pup Ensure. They will inform you why your dog should not drink it. If the vet gives you the go-ahead, they will recommend the correct amount you can give your dog.
Due to the supplement’s high lactose content, you should not mix it with other dairy products. Too much lactose content puts your dog at more risk of stomach upset. Instead, combine it with plain water before giving it to them.
Benefits Of Ensure Ro Dogs
Most people use Ensure to help their dogs add weight. Some of them swear by the drink because of its alleged benefits. Some of these benefits are:
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Contains Fundamental Nutrients
Ensure contains nutrients that are essential for your dog’s body functioning. It contains vitamins, such as vitamins C, A, and K.
It also contains healthy proteins, which are vital for your dog’s growth and development. Taking the drink can help replace missing and worn-out tissues and improve your pup’s coat and skin appearance.
Moreover, the proteins in the supplement contain compounds that rebuild and strengthen your dog’s joints as it ages.
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Boosts The Immune System
Supplements ensure your dog’s immune system is strong and ready for any foreign bodies that might harm it. Thus, giving your dog Ensure helps their body fight against diseases.
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Speeds Up Absorption
Ensure is designed to supply a nutrient-rich diet that improves the absorption rate of essential compounds. It guarantees maximum absorption of nutrients in your dog’s body.
Risks Of Giving Ensure To Your Dog
Ensure contains high levels of sugar, which can lead to weight gain. Therefore, you should only serve the drink in minute amounts.
Although you might want your underweight dog to add some weight, this is not the best way to do it as the drink contains unhealthy sugars. You can ask your vet for healthier ways to help your pup add weight.
Another risk of Ensure is lactose intolerance. You can test if your dog can drink it by giving them a tablespoon or two and observing their reaction afterward. Do not give them the supplement again if you see them acting weirdly.
Some Ensure flavors also contain chocolate, which is toxic to your furry friend. Giving them a chocolate-flavored drink can result in stomach pain and, in severe cases, can lead to death.
Additionally, the drink supplement contains phosphorus compounds that are dangerous to your dog’s kidney. This puts them at risk of developing kidney diseases.
Conclusion
Most veterinarians do not recommend Ensure due to its adverse health effects. Regardless, the drink has some essential nutrients that your fur baby can benefit from, especially if there is a deficit in its meals.
If your dog does not suffer from lactose intolerance, you can give it Ensure. You can also give it to elderly or sick dogs to improve their health. While at it, exercise moderation and avoid Ensure with chocolate flavors or other harmful ingredients.
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