Canine Food Supplement: Keeping Your Dog Healthy Adding canine food supplements to your dog's diet is a good idea. Even if you feed your dog a balanced diet, supplements can add the extra nutrients that your dog needs. All dogs should have some type of additional supplement on a regular basis. A Healthy Diet is not Enough If your dog already eats a balanced healthy diet, you might think that this is enough to keep your dog in top shape. While a diet full of nutrient-packed food is essential, canine food supplements should still be added to your dog's diet. The Role of Supplements Supplements add extra nutrients to a diet. While well-balanced dog foods provide the recommended amount of vitamins and nutrients, this amount is not the maximum amount needed. Because each dog's size, shape, and activity level requires different nutritional needs, that recommended amount might not be adequate for your dog. Supplements to Add Dogs of any age will benefit from a canine food supplement such as a multivitamin. In addition, elderly dogs require vitamins that are specially formulated for their age group (this is also the case for younger dogs). Additional supplements such as Vitamin E and Vitamin C are debatable, but generally considered beneficial.