The short answer
A supplement sold for dogs in Canada can be a veterinary health product (VHP) notified to Health Canada, a veterinary drug with a Drug Identification Number (DIN), or neither. Health Canada lets a VHP make general health claims, such as support for healthy joints, and does not let it claim to treat, prevent or cure disease. A VHP must carry the words “Veterinary Health Product”, and Health Canada issues it a notification number (NN) that you can look up on a public list. The NN is not a finding that the product works: at notification the company attests that it holds evidence of safety and a reasonable expectation of effectiveness. A licence for a human supplement does not cover its sale for dogs. Ask your vet before you start any supplement.
PawTrace is not a vet. This guide shares what we found in the sources listed below; ask your vet about your own dog.
Quick highlights
- A pack marked “Veterinary Health Product” has a notification number (NN) you can look up on Health Canada’s public list.
- A VHP may make general health claims only, never a claim to treat, prevent or cure disease.
- The OVC rates omega-3 as high evidence for dog osteoarthritis and glucosamine-chondroitin as low.
- Too much vitamin D can lead to kidney failure: call your vet at once if your dog eats a vitamin D supplement.
Key takeaways
- Since November 13 2017, companies must notify Health Canada at least 30 days before they first sell a veterinary health product in Canada (Health Canada).
- A VHP is a low-risk drug in dosage form that maintains or promotes the health and welfare of animals. It is not for use to treat, prevent or cure disease. Health Canada’s example: a claim that a product “may help in the improvement of joint health and function” is acceptable, and “for the treatment of osteoarthritis” is not.
- When Health Canada accepts a notification it issues an NN and adds the product to a public list that shows the brand name, notifier, active ingredients, species and recommended use.
- VHPs do not need a DIN (Canada Gazette, May 17 2017). Health Canada’s veterinary drugs page says it assesses veterinary drugs before it authorizes them for sale (Health Canada).
- A licence for a human natural health product does not cover dogs: Health Canada’s 2017 Canada Gazette notice says an authorization under the Natural Health Products Regulations does not apply to the sale of the same product for animals, and the Merck Veterinary Manual (U.S.) says the safety of most over-the-counter human supplements has not been determined in animals.
- The Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) rates omega-3 supplements as high evidence for dog osteoarthritis, collagen and CBD as medium, and glucosamine-chondroitin as low. A 2019 systematic review found a very limited effect of probiotics on acute gut illness in dogs.
- Merck (U.S.) says iron and vitamins A and D may cause significant problems if overdosed. Ask your vet before you add any vitamin.
What Health Canada means by a veterinary health product
Health Canada runs a Notification Program for veterinary health products for companion and food-producing animals. It describes VHPs as drugs in dosage form (a tablet, chew, powder or liquid) used to maintain or promote the health and welfare of animals. Their ingredients include vitamins, minerals, botanicals, traditional medicines and homeopathics with a history of safe use (Health Canada VHP portal).
The rules sit in the Food and Drug Regulations (sections C.01.614 and C.01.615, current to September 30 2026). A VHP must show the statement “Veterinary Health Product / Produit de santé animale” on the principal display panel of the inner and outer label. The manufacturer or importer must notify the Minister at least 30 days before sale. Every active ingredient must appear on Health Canada’s List C, which the program calls the List of Permitted Substances. There is no required annual renewal of a notification.
Some products cannot be notified as VHPs. The program excludes products that treat, prevent or cure disease, injectables, antibiotics and hormones (with limited plant exceptions), tranquilizers other than products with mild calming effects, dewormers and insect repellents, pet food, and cannabis as defined in the Cannabis Act unless it is exempt through the Industrial Hemp Regulations (Health Canada, What does the Program exclude?). The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says pet food “is not a comprehensively regulated commodity in Canada” (CFIA, page modified December 13 2022).
Where a dog supplement can sit in Canada
| Category | How it reaches the shelf | What the label can claim | How you check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veterinary health product (VHP) | Notified to Health Canada at least 30 days before sale. Ingredients are on List C. The label shows “Veterinary Health Product”. | General health claims only. No claim to treat, prevent or cure disease. | Look up the NN on the List of Notified Products. |
| Veterinary drug with a DIN | Assessed by Health Canada before it is authorized for sale. | Uses as authorized by Health Canada for that drug. | Ask your vet. Health Canada points to its Drug Product Database and Notice of Compliance database for authorized veterinary products. |
| Natural health product made for people | Licensed for use “in humans” under the Natural Health Products Regulations. | Claims apply to people, not dogs. | Do not give it to your dog without your vet’s advice. |
| Pet food and treats | Excluded from the VHP program. The CFIA says pet food is not a comprehensively regulated commodity. | Not set by the VHP rules. | Ask your vet. Read the whole food label before you add a supplement (see our dog food label guide). |
What the label can and cannot say
Health Canada publishes examples of acceptable general health claims and therapeutic claims that a VHP may not make (Health Canada, What claims are acceptable?).
| Area | General claim (acceptable) | Therapeutic claim (not permitted) |
|---|---|---|
| General health | “A factor in the maintenance of good health” | “Prevents infections” |
| Skin | “Helps maintain a healthy skin and coat” | “To relieve hot spots” |
| Digestion | “Maintains balance of healthy microflora” | “Helps combat digestive problems” |
| Joints and bones | “Recommended for support of bones, joints and cartilage” | “To reduce swelling and lameness” |
Health Canada also says the unqualified words “safe”, “non-toxic”, “non-poisonous” and “non-allergenic” are generally misleading, because no health product is completely safe. It says wording such as “natural alternative to” implies the product can replace a therapeutic product, which is misleading and risky because it could delay appropriate medical treatment. It discourages comparisons such as “better” or “stronger”. If a supplement label promises to relieve, treat or prevent a condition, ask who authorized that claim.
How to check a notification number
- Find the words “Veterinary Health Product / Produit de santé animale” on the front of the pack. Health Canada recommends that the NN also appear on the principal display panel. It is a recommendation, so ask the seller for the NN if it is missing.
- Open Health Canada’s List of Notified Products and search by the NN or the brand name.
- Compare the list with the label. The list shows the brand name, notifier name and address, date of notification, active ingredients, route of administration, intended species, recommended use and dosage form. Check that the species is dog and that the use matches the claim on the pack.
- If you cannot find the product, ask the seller which Health Canada category it falls in, and ask your vet. We found no Health Canada page that lists every other category a pet supplement can sit in.
- If your dog has a bad reaction, tell your vet. Anyone can also report a side effect on Health Canada’s VHP portal.
A VHP is not a drug with a DIN
The Canada Gazette notice for the 2017 regulations says manufacturers and importers of VHPs are not required to obtain DINs, and that the definition of “new drug” was amended to exclude VHPs (Canada Gazette, Part II, May 17 2017). The notice explains why the lighter pathway exists: many low-risk products had not been authorized because of the difficulty manufacturers have in generating enough scientific data on safety and efficacy to meet the new drug rules.
Before Health Canada issues an NN, the notifier attests that there is objective and credible evidence that the product is safe, and objective and credible evidence to support a reasonable expectation of effectiveness when the product is used as intended. Health Canada screens the notification form, and at the verification stage it considers the proposed health claims, the dosing information and the brand name (Health Canada, How to notify a VHP; Process and fees). It may ask for the evidence if a safety concern arises, a claim appears misleading or a complaint is made (Health Canada, Evidence to support a claim). In plain terms, an NN tells you the product is notified and its label fits the program rules. It does not tell you that a trial showed your dog will improve.
Supplements made for people
The Natural Health Products Regulations define a natural health product by its use in “humans”. The Canada Gazette notice says natural health products for veterinary use are regulated under the Food and Drug Regulations. The Merck Veterinary Manual (U.S.) says “Safety of most over-the-counter human drugs or nutritional supplements has not been determined in animals”, and it advises owners to talk to their vet before they give any human supplement on purpose (Merck, updated May 2026). For a human multivitamin, Merck says all active and inactive ingredients should be considered, and it lists xylitol among other substances potentially toxic to animals (Merck, reviewed June 2025). Our guide to human medicines dogs should never get and our guide to toxic foods and household hazards cover accidents.
What Canadian and veterinary sources say, by category
The table reports what each source found. Where we found no Canadian veterinary statement, it says so.
| Category | What the sources say | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Omega-3 (fish oil) | OVC rates omega-3 supplements as high evidence for osteoarthritis in dogs. Its table counts 10 trials (9 in dogs, 1 in cats), and 70% showed pain relief and improvement over time. OVC says further fish oil supplementation is “typically not recommended” for dogs already eating an omega-3 enriched therapeutic diet. | OVC, University of Guelph |
| Glucosamine and chondroitin | OVC rates them low evidence: “Little to no clinical evidence exists” for osteoarthritis in cats and dogs. Its table counts 9 trials (8 in dogs, 1 in cats), and 88.9% showed no pain relief or improvement. | OVC, University of Guelph |
| Collagen | OVC rates collagen medium evidence, from lower quality trials. Three trials had small samples and many did not isolate the effect of collagen. | OVC, University of Guelph |
| Probiotics | A systematic review of 17 studies found a very limited effect for acute gastrointestinal disease that may not matter clinically. For chronic disease, diet remained the key and probiotics did not add significant improvement. Studies were small and often underpowered. | Jensen and Bjørnvad, 2019 |
| Multivitamins and minerals | Merck (U.S.) says that in higher-income countries nutritional diseases are rarely seen in dogs and cats fed a good-quality, commercial, complete and balanced diet or a homemade diet formulated by a board-certified veterinary nutritionist, and that indiscriminate mineral supplementation should be avoided. | Merck Veterinary Manual (U.S.) |
| CBD and hemp products | OVC rates cannabinoid supplements medium evidence for osteoarthritis in dogs (7 trials: 14.3% showed pain relief and improvement, 71.4% improvement only). It says CBD is “not a regulated veterinary drug”, no therapeutic dose has been established, and owners should be aware of the potential for toxicosis, with extra caution for dogs that also have liver disease. | OVC, University of Guelph |
Probiotics: a closer look at the label
Evidence on whether probiotics work is one question. Whether the pack holds what it says is another. In a 2011 study in the Canadian Veterinary Journal, led by an OVC researcher, the authors bought 25 probiotics marketed for animals, read the labels and counted the bacteria. Only 4 of the 15 products that claimed a number of live organisms (27%) met or exceeded that claim, and only 2 of those also had an acceptable label (Weese and Martin, 2011). The authors wrote that veterinarians and owners should scrutinize commercial probiotics and demand evidence of quality control and efficacy. That study is 15 years old and we found no newer Canadian test of pet probiotic labels.
A 2025 OVC study in the same journal found that 6 of 12 conference abstracts on probiotics for gut disease in dogs and cats were later published, and that 5 of 7 abstracts reporting a clinical effect were published compared with 1 of 5 that did not. The author concluded that publication bias complicates assessment of the literature (Weese, 2025). Published studies can look better than the full body of work.
Risks: too much, and too many at once
Vitamin A. The Merck Veterinary Manual (U.S.) says vitamin A toxicity is rare in dogs, and that the most common signs in dogs are skeletal malformation, spontaneous fractures and internal bleeding. It also says feeding only liver can cause vitamin A toxicity in dogs and cats (Merck, updated September 2024). Merck says ingestion of vitamin A in supplements rarely leads to toxicosis (Merck, June 2025).
Vitamin D. Merck (U.S.) links vitamin D toxicity to excess vitamin D inadvertently added to commercial pet foods and to rodenticides that contain cholecalciferol. It says toxicity causes high blood calcium and phosphorus with irreversible soft tissue calcification and can be fatal (Merck, updated September 2024). After a substantial exposure, vomiting, depression and increased thirst and urination can appear within 12 to 48 hours (Merck, June 2025). The US Food and Drug Administration (U.S.) says vitamin D is stored in fat tissue and the liver, that a household member’s vitamin D supplements are one source, and that excess can lead to kidney failure and death. It tells owners to contact a vet immediately if signs appear (FDA, August 19 2024).
Other vitamins and interactions. Merck (U.S.) says very high doses of vitamin E can antagonize the absorption of the other fat-soluble vitamins, and it links excess vitamin E to hidden bleeding in patients on the blood thinner warfarin. OVC cautions that dogs with liver disease need extra care if given CBD. Your vet can only check for interactions if you list every product your dog takes, including food toppers and chews that carry vitamins. Do not guess a dose from a human label. We give no doses here.
Before you start a supplement: a checklist
- Ask your vet what problem the supplement is meant to address, and whether food, weight or a prescription is a better first step.
- Look up the NN on Health Canada’s list, and check that the species, ingredients and use match the pack.
- Read the claim. Wording that promises to treat, prevent, cure or replace a medicine goes beyond what a VHP may say.
- Add up the vitamins and minerals from the food, the chews and any supplement, and show your vet the labels.
- Give one new product at a time, so you and your vet can tell what caused a change.
- Call your vet if your dog vomits, stops eating, drinks more or seems unwell after starting a product, and report the reaction to Health Canada.
Myth vs fact
| Myth | Fact |
|---|---|
| If it is on a pet store shelf, Health Canada has tested it. | For a VHP, Health Canada screens the notification and checks the claim, dosing and brand name. The company attests that it holds the evidence of safety and effectiveness. |
| “Natural” means safe. | Health Canada says no health product is completely safe and calls the unqualified word “safe” misleading on a VHP label. |
| A supplement licensed for people is fine for my dog. | The regulations define natural health products by use in humans, and Merck (U.S.) says the safety of most human supplements has not been determined in animals. |
| More vitamins are better. | Merck (U.S.) says iron and vitamins A and D may cause significant problems if overdosed, and that indiscriminate mineral supplementation should be avoided. |
| Probiotics are proven for upset stomachs. | A 2019 systematic review found a very limited effect for acute gut illness, and a 2011 OVC study found most tested products with a live-count claim fell short of it. |
| A supplement can replace the medicine my vet prescribed. | Health Canada says wording such as “natural alternative to” is misleading because it could delay appropriate medical treatment. |
Frequently asked questions
How do I know a dog supplement is a veterinary health product?
Look for “Veterinary Health Product / Produit de santé animale” on the front of the pack, then look up the NN or brand name on Health Canada’s List of Notified Products. The statement is a legal requirement for a VHP. The NN on the pack is recommended by Health Canada, so ask the seller if it is missing.
Can a dog supplement claim to treat arthritis?
Not as a VHP. Health Canada gives “for the treatment of osteoarthritis” as an example of a claim a VHP may not make. The Food and Drug Regulations define a VHP as a drug that is not sold or represented for use in the diagnosis, treatment, mitigation or prevention of a disease, so a product represented to treat arthritis falls outside that definition.
Is CBD a supplement for dogs?
Health Canada says that currently there are no authorized veterinary drugs containing cannabis, including CBD, and that any veterinary drug with CBD would be a prescription new drug needing Health Canada approval (Health Canada, page modified March 7 2025). Ask your vet before you give any cannabis product.
Does my dog need a multivitamin?
Merck (U.S.) says nutritional diseases are rarely seen in dogs fed a good-quality, complete and balanced commercial diet or a homemade diet formulated by a board-certified veterinary nutritionist. Ask your vet whether your dog has a medical or dietary reason for a vitamin, and which one.
Can supplements interact with my dog’s medicine?
Yes. Merck (U.S.) links excess vitamin E to hidden bleeding in patients on warfarin, and OVC says dogs with liver disease need extra care if given CBD. Give your vet the full list of products, with brand names and NNs.
Where do I report a bad reaction?
Tell your vet first. Anyone can report a side effect from a VHP on Health Canada’s VHP portal. Notifiers of VHPs must report serious adverse reactions to Health Canada within 15 days.
Is there a Canadian vet association ranking of supplements?
We found no CVMA or OVMA page that rates individual supplements. The Canadian veterinary sources in this guide are the OVC joint supplement review and the OVC probiotic studies.
If you do not have a regular vet, or want a second opinion before you start a supplement, use our Find a vet directory. A listing is not a recommendation, and PawTrace does not rate clinics. For help from trainers, groomers or boarding when your dog needs a routine, compare options on our Dog services directory.
Keep reading
- Filling your dog’s prescription in Ontario: vet, pharmacy or online (2026)
- Never give your dog these 10 human medicines (even “just a little”)
- Toxic foods and household hazards for dogs
- Senior dogs: signs of ageing and what to do
- Is my dog getting old or getting sick? 10 signs to tell apart
Sources
All links were checked on October 23 2026. Sources marked (U.S.) are not Canadian.
- Health Canada: Veterinary Health Products Notification Program, About the VHP Notification Program (portal pages 1 to 9)
- Health Canada: List of Notified Products
- Health Canada: Veterinary Health Products (program overview)
- Health Canada: Veterinary drugs
- Government of Canada: Food and Drug Regulations, C.R.C., c. 870, sections C.01.614 and C.01.615 (current to September 30 2026)
- Government of Canada: Natural Health Products Regulations, SOR/2003-196 (current to September 30 2026)
- Canada Gazette, Part II: Regulations Amending the Food and Drug Regulations (Veterinary Drugs, SOR/2017-76), May 17 2017
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency: Pet food, treats and chews (modified December 13 2022)
- Health Canada: Towards a pathway for health products containing cannabidiol, veterinary drugs containing cannabidiol for animal use (modified March 7 2025)
- Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph: Joint pain in pets, how to recognize and treat osteoarthritis (June 9 2023, updated August 13 2025)
- Jensen AP, Bjørnvad CR. Clinical effect of probiotics in prevention or treatment of gastrointestinal disease in dogs: a systematic review. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 2019
- Weese JS, Martin H. Assessment of commercial probiotic bacterial contents and label accuracy. Canadian Veterinary Journal, 2011;52:43-46
- Weese JS. Evaluation of publication bias in the assessment of probiotic treatment for gastrointestinal disease in dogs and cats. Canadian Veterinary Journal, 2025;66:250-254
- Merck Veterinary Manual (U.S.): Nutritional requirements of small animals (full review November 2023, updated September 2024)
- Merck Veterinary Manual (U.S.): Poisoning from human over-the-counter drugs (full review October 2020, updated May 2026)
- Merck Veterinary Manual (U.S.): Toxicoses in animals from human multivitamins and supplements (full review June 2025)
- US Food and Drug Administration (U.S.): Vitamin D toxicity in dogs (August 19 2024)
General information only. This guide is not veterinary advice. Ask your vet before you give your dog any supplement, vitamin or probiotic. Written by the PawTrace Team.
Keep reading