Knowing which vitamins and nutrients your dog needs to thrive and be at his/her healthiest through every life stage is one of the big concerns we all have as dog parents.

So many questions... Am I giving my dog the right food? Is my pup getting the critical vitamins - and enough of them? Should I be using dog supplements, and for what? And the worries and questions go on...

That's why we asked certified canine nutritionist and Dogly Nutrition Advocate Savannah Welna to create a foundation of step-by-step guides with what dog parents need to know about 10 essential vitamins important for your dog's vitality and wellness.

In each guide, you'll get a good understanding of why that vitamin matters to your dog, how it works in your dog's body, how to know the proper amount - and simple steps to get the right vitamins from good, simple sources into your dog's bowl.

Here's an overview of the 10 guides and a brief look at what you'll learn in each. Enjoy - and if you have questions on vitamins and your dog, we're here. (Just jump into the Basic Nutrition Channel and ask!)

In these 10 guides on what you need to know about vitamins your dog needs, you'll learn:

• Why Vitamin A Matters for Your Dog's Health & Where to Find It in Foods
• Why Vitamin D Matters for Your Dog's Health & Where to Find It in Foods
• Why Vitamin E Matters for Your Dog's Health & Where to Find It in Foods
• Why Vitamin K Matters for Your Dog's Health & Where to Find It in Foods
• Why the B Vitamins Matter for Your Dog's Health & Where to Find It in Foods
• Why Vitamin B1 Matters for Your Dog & Where to Find It in Foods
• Why Vitamin B2 Matters for Your Dog & Where to Find It in Foods
• Why Vitamin B3 Matters for Your Dog & Where to Find It in Foods
• Why Vitamin B5 Matters for Your Dog & Where to Find It in Foods
• Why Vitamin B6 Matters for Your Dog & Where to Find It in Foods

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Needed Dog Vitamins Guide 1: Why Vitamin A Matters for Your Dog & Where to Find It in Foods

Most of us think of vitamin A for healthy skin but it's also a key nutrient for your dog's healthy eyesight and immune system.

In this first of 10 guides from certified canine nutritionist and Dogly Nutrition Advocate Savannah Welna on needed vitamins, you'll learn:

• What vitamin A does in your dog's body to keep your dog healthy
• Which plant foods (more than just carrots!) and which meat/fish sources deliver the most vitamin A
• What happens with vitamin A deficiencies
• Which other vitamins help or hurt vitamin A absorption
• How to figure out how much vitamin A your individual dog needs
• How you can easily add vitamin A foods or toppers to your pup's diet

Jump into the full guide here for all the details on vitamin A and your dog. Or, continue to see what's next in the guide to vitamin D and your dog...

Needed Dog Vitamins Guide 2: Why Vitamin D Matters for Your Dog & Where to Find It in Foods

Vitamin D (often called the "sunshine vitamin" since it's generated from sunlight not just food) is one vitamin most pet parents know is much needed but have many questions about. With so much controversy (and serious recalls) in commercial dog food surrounding its over or under delivery, it's even more important to know key details on vitamin D - from what it does, how to know the right amount for your individual dog, and good ways to make it part of your dog's food.

What you'll learn in this guide on vitamin D:

• How vitamin D works and what it does in your dog's body
• Where to find vitamin D in foods
• Which foods help with vitamin D absorption since it's a fat soluble vitamin
• What happens with vitamin D deficiencies or excesses
• How to know how much vitamin D your dog needs
• How to include vitamin D in preparing your own dog food or adding as a topper to commercial food for a balanced diet

Dive into the full guide now for the facts and nuances of vitamin D you need to know for your dog. Or, see what's next in this essential vitamins series with vitamin E.

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Needed Dog Vitamins Guide 3: Why Vitamin E Matters for Your Dog & Where to Find It in Foods

Vitamin E plays a critical role as an antioxidant throughout your dog's body (and ours) to maintain good health at every life stage.

In this guide, Savannah explains what that actually means as vitamin E acts as a protector of other vital nutrients like Omega 3s. It literally is anti-oxidation - fighting oxidative stress and effects of oxidation on nutrients and neutralizing free radicals in your dog's body that can damage cells contributing to aging and disease.

What you'll learn in this guide on vitamin E:

• What vitamin E does for your dog
• Where to find it in foods: plant as well as animal - with sources like leafy green vegetables and avocado (Contrary to misinformation, avocado is great for dogs... obviously, only the flesh not the pit or skin.)
• Why your athletic or super active dog especially needs vitamin E
• How to figure out how much vitamin E your dog needs
• Which form of vitamin E Savannah recommends if you need to use a vitamin E supplement
• How to easily enhance your dog's food for vitamin E if you're feeding kibble, raw food, or wet food

For the complete story on vitamin E and your dog, head to the full guide here. Or, continue on to see what's next in essential vitamins with vitamin K...

Needed Dog Vitamins Guide 4: Why Vitamin K Matters for Your Dog & Where to Find It in Foods

Most of us think about vitamin K for its role in supporting proper blood clotting to prevent excessive bleeding from an injury or wound - if we think about vitamin K at all. But vitamin K is critical to your dog's bone growth and strength, joint health, healthy teeth, and in supporting proteins and their functions. In fact, 17 proteins are vitamin K-dependent for viability to do their jobs building your dog's health.

In this guide, Savannah shares everything you need to know about vitamin K and making it part of your dog's healthy diet.

What you'll learn in this vitamin K guide:

• What vitamin K does for your dog
• How vitamin K interacts with other vitamins and nutrients like calcium to increase their effectiveness
• Savannah's personal experience with vitamin K and her dog's dental health
• How to determine how much vitamin K your dog needs
• Where to find vitamin K in foods - from blueberries to fresh meats
• How to include vitamin K in your dog's diet

You can jump into the full guide on vitamin K here. Or, take a look at what's next in essential vitamins - the all-important B vitamins...

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Needed Dog Vitamins Guide 5: Why the B Vitamins Matter for Your Dog & Where to Find It in Foods

The B vitamins as a group are an engine for metabolizing nutrients (from fatty acids to proteins) and metabolizing energy to facilitate many important body processes key to your dog's health. At the same time, each B vitamin brings its own unique health benefits and therapeutic uses.

In this guide, you'll learn the many reasons B vitamins matter in dog nutrition and why for your dog, vitamins in the B group are needed daily.

What you'll learn in this B vitamins guide:

• Which vitamins make up the key B complex vitamins
• How the B vitamins help metabolize energy and nutrients for specific functions and overall health
• Why many diets are deficient in B vitamins - especially processed rather than fresh
• Which dogs might need B vitamin supplements
• Where to find B vitamins in foods and how they can be affected by cooking
• What you need to know about finding the right balance on amounts of B vitamins

In addition to the 7 B vitamins Savannah highlights, this guide also touches on biotin (B7) as well as choline which is often discussed with B vitamins.

You can go directly to this overview guide of B vitamins here. Or, continue on to the next guide where we begin to break out important B vitamins individually, starting with B1.

Needed Dog Vitamins Guide 6: Why Vitamin B1 Matters for Your Dog & Where to Find It in Foods

Since the B vitamins are water soluble vitamins, they are not stored in the body as fat soluble vitamins are. Within the B group, B1 (thiamine) is especially fragile and at risk of not being absorbed adequately along the way to doing its job in your dog's body.

In this guide, Savannah shares what you need to know about why and how to be sure B1 is a sufficient part of your dog's food every day.

What you'll learn in this vitamin B1 guide:

• What special role vitamin B1 (thiamine) plays in metabolizing carbohydrates and energy along with protecting brain health
• Where you'll find the richest sources of thiamine in foods
• Why many dogs may need thiamine supplementation - especially pups eating kibble or canned food
• Risks of thiamine deficiencies - contributing to disease such as diabetes
• How to include B vitamins in your dog's food - with simple toppers for kibble and canned food

Jump into learning about B1/thiamine in the full guide here. Or, continue to the next important B vitamin: B2/riboflavin...

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Needed Dog Vitamins Guide 7: Why Vitamin B2 Matters for Your Dog & Where to Find It in Foods

Why is vitamin B2/riboflavin considered one of the critical B vitamins for your dog's health and longevity? Dogly Nutrition Advocate and canine nutritionist Savannah Welna answers that question and shares what you need to know on vitamin B2 in this step-by-step guide.

What you'll learn in this vitamin B2 guide:

• What role vitamin B2/riboflavin serves in your dog's body - metabolizing fat, carbs, and protein with a special focus on fat metabolism
• Why vitamin B2 matters for all dogs - especially overweight, high-exercise, and high-carb or high-fat diet dogs
• How vitamin B2 contributes to a wide range of health benefits (+ fun fact: in humans, research is showing positive effects on migraines)
• Why it's possible many dogs are getting suboptimal amounts of riboflavin
• What happens with a riboflavin deficiency
• Where to find riboflavin in foods
• How to determine how much riboflavin your dog needs

Go directly to the full guide here for the complete story on vitamin B2/riboflavin. Or, keep going to see what's next in essential B vitamins: B3/niacin...

Needed Dog Vitamins Guide 8: Why Vitamin B3 Matters for Your Dog & Where to Find It in Foods

Niacin's critical job is turning food into energy to fuel important functions in your dog's body, everything from the digestive system to cognitive abilities. Like other B vitamins, it's water soluble and not stored in the body, so it's important to include niacin-rich foods in your dog's bowl every day.

What you'll learn in this vitamin B3 guide:

• What niacin does for your dog in specific ways and as part of overall health
• Why your niacin sources should be primarily animal-based foods (plant-sourced niacin is hard to digest and absorb)
• Where you can find niacin in foods
• How to know how much niacin your dog needs
• How to include niacin in your dog's raw and homemade food or as a simple, fresh food topper to kibble or canned dog food

You can find the full guide on B3/niacin here. Or, continue to see what's next in key B vitamins with B5/pantothenic acid.

Needed Dog Vitamins Guide 9: Why Vitamin B5 Matters for Your Dog & Where to Find It in Foods

The list of crucial health benefits vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) brings to your dog (and you) is long. It's a critical element for your dog (and you) to be able to metabolize all macronutrients, neurotransmitters, hormones, and hemoglobin. With all that work to do in our bodies, you can see why it matters that we give our dogs sufficient amounts and in absorbable whole food form for our dogs to thrive.

What you'll learn in this vitamin B5 guide:

• What vitamin B5 does for your dog
• What studies are showing on vitamin B5 and support against arthritis
• Which foods are the best source for absorbable, accessible vitamin B5
• How to know how much vitamin B5 your individual dog needs
• How vitamin B5 deficiencies can affect skin and GI health
• How to prepare and serve vitamin B5 so it can get to work to support your dog
• How to add fresh, vitamin B5-rich foods to enhance kibble

You can get right into learning what matters on vitamin B5 and your dog in the full guide here. Or, continue on and get the highlights of the final, featured B vitamin: B6/pyridoxine...

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Needed Dog Vitamins Guide 10: Why Vitamin B6 Matters for Your Dog & Where to Find It in Foods

Vitamin B6 is a critical player among this group of critically important B vitamins. All the B vitamins benefit the brain, brain function and a healthy nervous system, but vitamin B6 is integral to regulating mood and preventing mental fatigue.

Most of us know about serotonin, the feel-good neurotransmitter that helps us - and our dogs! - feel calm and relaxed. But not as many of us know that vitamin B6 is necessary to produce serotonin.

Vitamin B6 is also an anti-inflammatory throughout the body (think arthritis and joint health), and in current research, the use of vitamin B6 reduced the risk of age-related macular degeneration by 35-40%. Those are just some of the hints of how vitamin B6 benefits your dog. Savannah shares everything you need to know about vitamin B6 and your pup in the full guide.

What you'll learn in this vitamin B6 guide:

• The many ways vitamin B6 matters for your dog
• How vitamin B6 works in your dog's body to help your dog thrive
• Where to find vitamin B6/pyridoxine in foods
• Why it matters if your vitamin B6 sources are plant or animal-based
• Steps to evaluate vitamin B6 in your dog's diet and add the form/amount your dog needs

Jump into the full guide on vitamin B6 for your dog here. Or, if you haven't started these 10 guides on essential vitamins yet, great - you can get started at the beginning with Vitamin A and Why It Matters for Your Dog and continue through the full guide series.

Check out the Basic Nutrition Channel on Dogly

With this series of guides, you'll have a good understanding of the vitamins your dog needs, the role they play separately and together in your dog's best health, and how to include them in your dog's diet.

Keep learning about vitamins and minerals for dogs by continuing in the Basic Nutrition Channel to Essential Nutrients (from Nutritional Requirements to Proteins to Carbs and Fats). Or, you can hop over to the Improving Kibble Channel to learn everything you need to know about easily and significantly enhancing your dog's nutrition when you're feeding kibble.

And if you need help, you can ask the Dogly Advocates in any channel or work with them one-on-one through Dogly.