Omega 3 Supplements

[Mollie&Me]

It has been suggested by my vet many times that my Husky x, Muggz, should be given a supplement for Essential Fatty acids, particularly Omega 3, to help with his skin and coat. I'm not inclined to buy that sort of thing directly from the vet because, IME, they tend to overcharge.

 

But I would like to get him, and maybe even the two BC girls since it can't hurt, on a supplement. Anyone have any suggestions? I read here that Vitamin E has to be provided with any fish oil supplements - are there any all-in-ones that have proven themselves?

 

Wellness makes a supplement called WellCoat (I like their Core brand of food) - would this be a good place to start? My only hesitation with this brand is the price that may be tagged on it (I don't know how much it costs, but if it's a waste of money, you know).

 

TIA!

[Guest maya's mom]

We put California Natural's skin and coat supplement over our BC's food once per day. She loves it, and her coat is so shiny and soft. It also eliminated dry skin flakes she had when we brought her home as a puppy. I pay $15.99 for the 16 oz bottle, and it lasts a very long time.

Here is some info from their website:

 

California Natural

Dog and Cat

Skin & Coat Supplement

 

Though California Natural pet food is complete and balanced nutrition, there are times when a supplement can help to counter the increased demands of aging, illness, high-energy activity, pregnancy, lactation and the stress associated with travel to shows and boarding.

 

California Natural Skin & Coat Supplement is loaded with natural vitamins and nutritional extracts that provide a full complement of antioxidants to enhance immune system response. Sunflower oil, rich in linoleic acid for healthy skin and coat, and flaxseed for a balanced fatty acid profile, gives dogs or cats the extra nutritional support when it's needed most.

 

California Natural Skin & Coat Supplement is available in 16 oz. and 32 oz. bottles.

[Root Beer]

I don't know about that one, but I really like the Grizzly Salmon Oil. The nicest thing about it is that it comes in a pump bottle and it is easy to dispense and I don't end up with a mess.

 

The downside is that Vitamin E is not included. I do have to add that separately.

 

Still, I like the product a lot and it has been a good value.

[Shetlander]

Quinn gets Flax Oil. It's not cheap but it lasts a long time at the amount he gets (2 tsp a day). I usually make 4 days worth of his meals and put the oil in at that time, so I'm ok without a pump. My dogs wish I'd take the bottle out twice a day because they all love to lick the (special, designated for this use only) teaspoon.

[Mollie&Me]

I'd prefer to stay away from Flax oils - I don't know about dogs, but in a lot of cases people are unable to derive fatty acids from flax, the conversion is ineffective. With fish oils at least I know they're guaranteed to reap the benefits.

 

I don't know about that one, but I really like the Grizzly Salmon Oil. The nicest thing about it is that it comes in a pump bottle and it is easy to dispense and I don't end up with a mess.

 

The downside is that Vitamin E is not included. I do have to add that separately

I do like the looks of the Grizzly Salmon Oil (thanks!). Do you purchase it online? What Vit. E supplement to you use?

[PSmitty]

I haven't used it (I give salmon oil and vitamin E in separate capsule form), but I've heard that Seapet is a good product that combines both.

 

http://www.seapet.com/Oil.htm#omega3E

[Shetlander]

I'd prefer to stay away from Flax oils - I don't know about dogs, but in a lot of cases people are unable to derive fatty acids from flax, the conversion is ineffective. With fish oils at least I know they're guaranteed to reap the benefits.

 

Interesting. Not what I've read for people and Quinn's holistic vet recommended it over fish oil. That may have to do with Quinn's needs specifically.

[MaggieDog]

I use fish oil capsules from the human supplement aisle - Whole Foods brand or NOW brand. Seems to be working well thus far.

[Root Beer]

I do like the looks of the Grizzly Salmon Oil (thanks!). Do you purchase it online? What Vit. E supplement to you use?

 

I do purchase it online. I can usually find a pretty good price through Amazon.

 

I usually use the Carlson Vitamin E Gem drops. You can find places to buy them through Google.

 

It's about $10.00 a bottle, but for one dog it lasts a good long time. I give about 5 - 8 drops per day with the salmon oil.

 

Sometimes I get the gelcaps from the drugstore and puncture them and squeeze them, though. It just depends. When I use the gelcaps, I squeeze one every other day or so.

[bob mathison]

It has been suggested by my vet many times that my Husky x, Muggz, should be given a supplement for Essential Fatty acids, particularly Omega 3, to help with his skin and coat. I'm not inclined to buy that sort of thing directly from the vet because, IME, they tend to overcharge.

 

But I would like to get him, and maybe even the two BC girls since it can't hurt, on a supplement. Anyone have any suggestions? I read here that Vitamin E has to be provided with any fish oil supplements - are there any all-in-ones that have proven themselves?

 

Wellness makes a supplement called WellCoat (I like their Core brand of food) - would this be a good place to start? My only hesitation with this brand is the price that may be tagged on it (I don't know how much it costs, but if it's a waste of money, you know).

 

TIA!

[njnovice]

Mick had dry skin when we first got him. We started giving him a can of sardines packed in water once a week as a treat. It worked, and he loves them. The fish breath can be a downside, though. He's also a diva about the brand of sardines. He much prefers the brand from Trader Joes. He'll eat the other ones, but he's not as enthusiastic about it. Meanwhile, I can't tell the difference between the brands.

[Liz P]

CVS brand fish oil 1000mg capsules with added Vit E. Tested and proven to contain what the bottle says (many supplements don't). Recommended by doctors and veterinarians.

 

http://www.consumerlab.com/reviews/Omega-3...ne_Oils/omega3/

 

It was on sale last week, buy one get one free.

 

You really do need to give fish oil. The omega 3 FAs from plant sources have been found to be no more effective than placebo in studies.

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

I also agree with fish body oil versus the plant oils for dogs. I don't know about people, but the form it's in, in plants, is ALA, which takes an extra bit to convert into EFA and DHA. We have it more consistently - some dogs seem to completely lack the ability to do this.

 

Flax is sometimes recommended because it does have a nice complete and balanced EFA profile on paper and is more dense and slightly more stable than fish oil. But if the dog can't use it or worse is sensitive to it (like Ben is), it doesn't help much.

 

I like the Seapet brand now - it's pharmaceutical grade, cold water fish, tested for heavy metals, and includes the right amount of vitamin E. The "Gold" is really good for large households like mine. I just give about half a teaspoon to one teaspoon to each dog per day. I was spending a lot on the better grade capsules (like the CVS brand listed above, which I use for myself, actually).

 

Be careful about where you get your fish oil. I used a Walmart brand for a little while when we went through a money pinch. I should have saved my money. I got a batch that was "turned" a bit and every one of the dogs went from enjoying their little capsule snack to my having to hide it in their food. Then they would pick the capsules out. At that point I got a clue and snipped one open. Yuck! It reeked.

 

I'd like to try Iceland Pure too - but woo! The price! They don't have a concentrate either. If I just had one dog though I'd probably prefer them. It's all in the snazzy packaging. I want a shiny bottle.

[Scotimus]

This is what I use:

 

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2751967

 

or

 

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2750527

 

 

A lot of times I cant find the Omega3 Daily chews. I guess they are popular, which is when I get the ones made by the furminator folks instead.

[JohnLloydJones]

I also agree with fish body oil versus the plant oils for dogs. I don't know about people, but the form it's in, in plants, is ALA, which takes an extra bit to convert into EFA and DHA. We have it more consistently - some dogs seem to completely lack the ability to do this.

 

In people, the active forms are docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and I assume (though I've not actually seen this confirmed) that the same is true for dogs. Flaxseed oil contains mostly alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which may be converted to DHA/EPA with varying degrees of efficiency -- again, I assume this applies to dogs. The body uses DHA/EPA for a variety of things -- they appear to be important for neural function, among other things. In dogs, we note that Omega-3 oils promote good skin and fur health -- I have no idea if it matters whether it is DHA/EPA or ALA. There seems to be a little science and a lot of guess work here -- is there anyone who can point me to something more rigorous?

 

Bottom line is that, like most other things, you have to see what your dog does well on. Right now, for Senneca, that is a fish oil capsule in the morning and a tiny drizzle of extra virgin olive oil in the evening.

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

I'll get back to you on that.

 

ETA: We do know that we are talking about two different things, right? Skin/coat health is directly affected by n-6s rather than the n-3s, while n-3s help with utilization and also with anti-inflammatory properties that can help dogs with atopic allergy symptoms. Sometimes all of these issues get tangled up when we are discussing what oils help our own particular dogs. I recommend n-3s because they have been proven to be low in today's foods, are unstable, and are probably pretty much non-existent in commercial dry foods.

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

Okay, John (John, right?), if you've access to pubmed or something similar there are tons of studies that have been done on the effectiveness of the various EFAs. One, in fact, that I found just secondhand, noted that olive oil has no effect better than placebo on dogs with atopic dermatitis. That doesn't mean it's entirely useless, just that therapeutically it's not as good as the fish oil/borage seed combo it was compared to in that study. Another compared it to evening primrose oil and fish oil, with the same results.

 

What interested me was that the studies I was finding were using fish oil combinations as a control, as it were, to determine the effectiveness of an unknown. So I find that fish oil is well accepted for its therapeutic value.

 

ETA: I seriously have no brain today. References to get you started:

 

A double-blind comparison of olive oil and a combination of evening primrose oil and fish oil in the management of canine atopy. Bond R, Lloyd DH. Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, Royal Veterinary College, North Mymms, Hatfield.PMID: 1481346 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

 

Efficacy of fish oil concentrate in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Volker D, Fitzgerald P, Major G, Garg M. Discipline of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, and the Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia.PMID: 11036827 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

 

This is one of the ones that indicates that fish oil might have a more direct role in anti-inflammatory processes. PMID: 12296294 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

 

A blinded, placebo-controlled study of the efficacy of borage seed oil and fish oil in the management of canine atopy. Harvey RG.

[martySQ]

Quinn gets Flax Oil. It's not cheap but it lasts a long time at the amount he gets (2 tsp a day). I usually make 4 days worth of his meals and put the oil in at that time, so I'm ok without a pump. My dogs wish I'd take the bottle out twice a day because they all love to lick the (special, designated for this use only) teaspoon.

About the essential fatty acids absorbtion...I was told to take a little cottage cheese with the flax seed...but it's ground flax seed, not flax seed oil. I'm not sure why that wouldn't work for a pooch too. For my old diabetic cat, I sometimes sprinkle ground flaxseed over his food to help with hunger issues and blood sugar spikes. I also give him a bit of cod liver oil (yum, yum) in winter. But, that's the cat and not the dog...

[Mollie&Me]

ETA: We do know that we are talking about two different things, right?

We (me) do (LOL).

Omega 3 does have an affect on skin health (it keeps skin cells fluid and strong, which is why they tend to market Omega 3's in skin creams and the like) - one of the symptoms of Omega 3 deficiency is dry skin. The thing about the omega 3 & 6's of EFA's is that these two work as checks and balances to each other.

 

I recommend n-3s because they have been proven to be low in today's foods, are unstable, and are probably pretty much non-existent in commercial dry foods.

Huskies, as a breed, have an increased need for EFA's per my vet, and fish oil seems to address this best (or so I've been told). We struggled with really bad IBS with Muggz (apparently this is common in Huskies who eat dry dog food), which was greatly helped by switching him to a grain-free diet, but I was also told that having him on omega 3 supplements will help even more, and also address his dry skin/resulting dry coat issue. Muggz is my first Husky(x) so I'm learning as I go with him

And the reasons you state above, Rebecca, are why I'd add the supplements to my BC's diet as well

 

Now I just have to find someone who has Grizzly Fish Oil. Amazon won't ship it outside of USA, and I can't find any online retailers in Canada that carry it.

[sluj]

We (me) do (LOL).

Omega 3 does have an affect on skin health (it keeps skin cells fluid and strong, which is why they tend to market Omega 3's in skin creams and the like) - one of the symptoms of Omega 3 deficiency is dry skin. The thing about the omega 3 & 6's of EFA's is that these two work as checks and balances to each other.

Huskies, as a breed, have an increased need for EFA's per my vet, and fish oil seems to address this best (or so I've been told). We struggled with really bad IBS with Muggz (apparently this is common in Huskies who eat dry dog food), which was greatly helped by switching him to a grain-free diet, but I was also told that having him on omega 3 supplements will help even more, and also address his dry skin/resulting dry coat issue. Muggz is my first Husky(x) so I'm learning as I go with him

And the reasons you state above, Rebecca, are why I'd add the supplements to my BC's diet as well

 

Now I just have to find someone who has Grizzly Fish Oil. Amazon won't ship it outside of USA, and I can't find any online retailers in Canada that carry it.

 

I don't know if KVVet will ship to Canada (they don't say that they don't), but they have a reasonable price.

[SoloRiver]

I've been giving my dogs Costco fish oil capsules (intended for humans) and they are doing fine with them. Annoyingly, I need to pop Solo's open because he won't eat them. They are considerably more cost-effective than Grizzly. I think Grizzly is an excellent product but I would not go out of my way to get it if I were in Canada.

[Bill Fosher]

Has anyone seen any info on dogs getting n-3's from plant leaf sources (as opposed to seeds)? We humans are supposed to eat kale, spinach, etc. Generally speaking, seeds (grains) are high in n-6's, leaves are high in n-3's. In the natural world, n-3s tend to bio-accumulate because the salmon eat the krill that have eaten the plankton that are rich in n-3's.

 

Grass fed ruminant meat is also high in n-3's.

 

I'm wondering if I can take advantage of the fact that my dogs love spinach and grass fed mutton here ...