Fulvic Acid for Dogs
A conversation between two doctors
Your dog's water bowl is the easiest thing in the house to upgrade.
A veterinarian and a functional medicine doctor sat down to talk about fulvic acid — what it is, where it went, and why they both put it in their own dogs' water.
See the fulvic drops Watch the full 30-minute conversation below. No email required.
Dr. Tom Walsh, DVM — canine rehabilitation
Stuart Hoover, ND — naturopathic doctor · 25+ years in functional health
Clear water in. Tea-colored water out.
What it actually is
It comes out of the dirt. That's not a marketing line — that's the whole story.
When plants decompose back into soil, they leave behind something farmers call humate. Inside that humate are two small molecules — humic and fulvic — and their job is to pull minerals and trace elements up out of the ground and carry them into the plant through the roots.
The animal eats the plant. The same molecules keep doing the same job inside the body, carrying nutrients and minerals across the cell membrane.
That was the arrangement for a very long time. Then commercial farming stopped resting fields, started spraying, and the biological activity in the topsoil largely stopped. The minerals stopped making the trip up into the plants — which means they stopped making the trip into your dog's bowl, too.
"These little molecules are nature's best transporters for getting things into the cell."
Stuart Hoover, NDFulvic acid supplementation is a way of putting that transport system back. Not a new compound, not a novel drug — a piece of soil chemistry that used to arrive in food by default and mostly doesn't anymore.
Why it lands hardest with pets
Nobody gets a semester on this.
"In vet school we got one nutrition class. Calories, weight loss, proper food. Dogs eat dog food, horses eat hay, keep moving."
Dr. Tom Walsh, DVMDr. Walsh is blunt about the gap in his own training, and Stuart Hoover — who came up through functional health, where nutrition is the education — spent decades watching the same pattern from the other side.
What they both kept running into: owners who would decline care for themselves and spend it on the dog instead. Retirees whose kids have moved out. Couples who chose pets over children. People for whom this animal is genuinely the center of the household.
Those owners ask good questions and get very little to work with. Trace mineral deficiency in pets is common and rarely discussed, because the food is assumed to have handled it.
What these two clinicians observe
The reports that come back, in the order they come back.
These come from Dr. Walsh's clinical work in his rehabilitation practice and Stuart Hoover's decades of consulting work — not results from a controlled trial. Every dog is different, and your veterinarian knows yours.
USUALLY FIRST
Energy and vitality
The most common early call: "this dog is just different." Owners describe an older animal moving more like it used to.
EASY TO SEE
Coat and skin
The change owners notice without being told to look for it — and often a signal that things are settling down in the gut.
UNDERRATED
Real hydration
Water in the bowl isn't the same as water in the cell. Fulvic supports the membrane function that gets it across.
FOUNDATIONAL
Gut and microbiome
Fulvic acts as a prebiotic. Both doctors put the majority of chronic complaints downstream of the gut.
OFTEN REPORTED
Calmer dogs
Better sleep and lower anxiety come up frequently — the reason Hoover first went looking for something for his own rescue.
GIVE IT TIME
Two weeks
Hoover tells everyone to bank on two weeks. Some owners call in days. He'd rather underpromise.
Straight talk
"It's too good to be true. It can't be that simple."
— Dr. Tom Walsh, about halfway through the conversation
He says it out loud because it's the honest reaction, and because the supplement industry has earned every bit of the suspicion attached to it. It isn't meaningfully regulated. Labels get copied. Imported product shows up under names that look like brands you know.
So here is what we are deliberately not telling you:
- We are not claiming fulvic acid treats, cures, or prevents any disease in your dog.
- We are not putting a percentage or a number on anyone's outcome.
- We are not suggesting you stop, change, or skip anything your veterinarian has prescribed.
- We are not telling you it works for every animal, because it doesn't.
What we will say is what these two doctors say: it's a foundational input, it's inexpensive, it's a few drops in the water bowl, and the downside of trying it for a month is very small.
Who's talking
Two licensed clinicians. Both on the Resona Health team.
We'll say the quiet part first: Dr. Walsh and Hoover both work with Resona Health and have a financial relationship with the company. You should weigh what they say accordingly — and then go watch them say it, because the conversation is unscripted and they spend a fair amount of it disagreeing with their own industries.
Dr. Tom Walsh, DVM
Veterinarian · Canine rehabilitation
A licensed Doctor of Veterinary Medicine running a canine rehabilitation practice, where every dog gets PEMF therapy alongside laser and hands-on work. Blunt about how little his own veterinary training covered nutrition. Currently finishing a book on the five things every dog needs — environment, exercise, enrichment, nutrition, and a real role in the family — and on what's broken in veterinary medicine for owners and clinicians alike. Has his own dog on fulvic, and tops up the bowl by eye when the water starts running clear.
Stuart Hoover, ND
Naturopathic doctor · Founder, Essential2Health
A naturopathic doctor with nearly three decades in healthcare — beginning in hospital administration and as COO of a regional physical and occupational rehabilitation company — before moving into functional and foundational health. Founder of Essential2Health and Foundational Health Solutions. Once kept a product room with 300 supplements in it, before deciding most of it was management, not health. Has two schnauzers, both adopted retired breeders.
The full conversation
Thirty minutes, unscripted, no slides.
Soil chemistry, hydration, why dogs eat grass, what to ask a supplement company before you buy, and a detour into whether either of them trusts Amazon. Worth your time if you're the kind of owner who reads labels.
Using it
Drops in the bowl. That's the whole protocol.
DOSE
By body weight
Follow the directions on your bottle — dosing scales with your dog's weight, and the same bottle works for large animals.
TASTE
Odorless, tasteless
The water turns the color of sweet tea and nothing else changes. Both doctors report their own dogs went straight for it without hesitating.
REFILL
Watch the color
When the water in the bowl starts running clear again, it's time to add more. Dr. Walsh uses a stainless bowl and goes by eye.
START
Small at first
A little goes a long way. Introduce a small amount at the beginning, and talk to your veterinarian about your dog specifically.
Sourcing
Ask any company for the assays. A good one will send them.
That's Hoover's advice for buying any supplement, from anyone, including us. The first question he and Mark Fox asked when Resona started this was where to find the best available source.
US-sourced. Not imported and relabeled.
Third-party tested for purity, toxicity, and microbial activity — by an outside lab, not an in-house bench.
Sold direct. Marketplace listings get copied and counterfeited constantly. Buy from the source, ours or anyone's.
"A good company will be transparent and share that with you."
Stuart Hoover, ND
Questions owners actually ask
Before you put anything in the bowl.
How long before I'd notice anything?
Hoover tells people to bank on about two weeks, particularly for energy and general vitality. Some owners call sooner. He deliberately sets the expectation low rather than high, and some dogs won't show a visible change at all.
Will my dog actually drink it?
It's odorless and tasteless — the water changes color, not flavor. Both doctors report their own dogs drank it without hesitation. If yours is particular about water, start with a smaller amount and work up.
Is it safe alongside my dog's medication?
This is a question for your veterinarian, who knows your dog's history and what it's currently taking. Neither doctor in this conversation is suggesting fulvic acid replaces anything a vet has prescribed — Dr. Walsh prescribes medication in his own practice and is clear that there's a place for it.
Can I use the same bottle for my horse?
Yes — dosing scales with body weight, and Hoover has worked with equestrian clients using the same product. Check your bottle's directions for larger animals.
Can I take it myself?
Both doctors do. Dr. Walsh was about ten days in when this conversation was recorded. Human and canine cells work the same way here, which is a large part of why they find it interesting.
What's the VIBE they keep mentioning?
Resona Health's PEMF device. Dr. Walsh uses it on every dog in his rehabilitation practice; Hoover first came to PEMF looking for something for a rescue with severe separation anxiety. They discuss why the two work well together in the video above.
Start here
Give it one month and watch the bowl.
US-sourced, third-party tested fulvic acid from Resona Health. A few drops a day, for the animal that's been waiting by the door since you left.
Order the fulvic drops Questions first? Watch the full conversation above.The fulvic drops are one part of a larger system — PEMF devices, vagus nerve support, and the rest of what Dr. Walsh and Stuart Hoover use in their own work.
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