Becki's Boys Posted February 4, 2007 Report Share Posted February 4, 2007 I heard that fish oil is very beneficial in a dog's diet. Is this true and if so is there any brand that is better than the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anda Posted February 4, 2007 Report Share Posted February 4, 2007 I give mine a capsule a day. Brand? Let me go check It was something that my husband bought for himself (2 bottles X 250 pills, nevertheless), never took ONE, and I ended up recycling them for Ouzo. It's "Nature's Valley". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerrigan Posted February 4, 2007 Report Share Posted February 4, 2007 I give one fish oil capsule a day to each of my dogs. Just make sure it is Fish BODY Oil and not Cod Liver Oil. Cod Liver Oil can cause a toxic build up of vitamins A & D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Becki's Boys Posted February 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2007 Thank you both. I have some fish oil already I just wanted to make sure it was OK before I started giving it to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSmitty Posted February 6, 2007 Report Share Posted February 6, 2007 If you supplement with fish body oil, you are also supposed to add vitamin E. There are some products that put them together, like Seapet. I'm sorry I don't remember the reason why you're supposed to do this, but if you do a little research, it's out there somewhere... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb Scott Posted February 6, 2007 Report Share Posted February 6, 2007 Be CAREFUL about using fish oil or other supplements indiscriminitely: This is posted with permission from a local agility competitor about her MACH pom Mitzi (obviously a pom is much smaller than a BC!) who has been extremely ill for the last several weeks: When I translated the biopsy pathology report (took two hours for me to understand one paragraph), I concluded that she had a disease that cats get when they eat too much fish - in our terms, it is called "yellow fat disease", in medical terms it is called "granulomatous steatitis". I had started Mitzi on a supplement of Omega 3s in late summer for her energy level, and when that bottle ran out I bought some salmon oil at a show which seemed to have the same benefits. What I didn't know, and that EVERYONE should be aware of, is that an overabundance of unsaturated fatty acids (fat) in the diet can be toxic (and fatal) if additional supplements of Vitamin E are not added as an anti-oxident. And we could have cured Mitzi easily if we had just taken her off of the fish oil and added Vitamin E to her diet early on. Unfortunately, the staff at MSU did not recognize this disease in a dog, leading to all of her biopsies and other complications Barb Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted February 6, 2007 Report Share Posted February 6, 2007 Wow, I wonder how much the pom was getting? I give each of my dogs a fish oil capsule per day, plus 400 i.u. of vitamin E. Boy also gets a teaspoon of salmon oil. I think I got the original dose information from my holistic vet, which is probably why I managed to do it right. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anda Posted February 6, 2007 Report Share Posted February 6, 2007 Oh-oh...I guess I should start giving vitamin E or stop the fish oil! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSmitty Posted February 6, 2007 Report Share Posted February 6, 2007 Yes, I had heard that you can give too much fish oil, so that's a case in point. And thanks, it also explains the vitamin E reasoning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK dog doc Posted February 6, 2007 Report Share Posted February 6, 2007 The point isn't to stop the fish oil so much as giving an appropriate dosage and balance of nutrients (fish oil is actually quite beneficial in a lot of ways, so long as it's given appropriately). There are some supplements that have vitamin E already in them, or you can give both from "single source" doses. Most dogs will eat vitamin E pretty readily if you poke a hole in the capsule and squeeze it onto the food. I use a supplement that already has the vitamin E in it because it's easier for me... and as a general rule I vote for easy whenever possible. I, too, wonder how much fish oil the pom was getting. Too much of anything is not a good idea, even water and oxygen. Fish oils incorporate into the cell membrane and improve the fluidity of the membrane. There's an optimum degree of fluidity... too rigid and membrane proteins have trouble moving through the membrane and therefore slow cellular metabolism. Too fluid and the membrane lacks integrety. Also, too much fat of ANY type can lead to fatty liver syndrome (not to mention pancreatitis), so you have to dose judiciously. Just for an additional FYI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Becki's Boys Posted February 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2007 Thank you all so much. I didn't know anything about the vitamin E neccessity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Beer Posted February 7, 2007 Report Share Posted February 7, 2007 So, what is a good dosage of fish oil for a medium sized dog? I see that the fish oil comes in 500 mg, 100 mg, etc. Also, what should the vitamin E ratio be? Would a softgel that has 500 mg fish oil and 10 IU of Vitamin E be appropriate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anda Posted February 24, 2007 Report Share Posted February 24, 2007 Got a question on the never ending fish oil subject Soooo... after my last post on this thread, I stopped giving my dog the daily fish oil capsule. Guess what.... He almost instantly started shedding LIKE CRAZY! I had forgotten how much hair he can actualy leave around the house! I had first started the fish oil regimen back in June-July or so, when he first started shedding, and I was bragging everywhere how it had stopped within a couple of weeks or even less. And continued the fish oil caplets every day since. After 2 weeks of swimming in dog hair, suddently a light bulb went on and (after checking with the vet last week about how safe it is to give it without vitamin E - lazy me, didn't get a chance to go buy some E- ), I restarted the fish oil. I don't think I am imagining, but I am pretty sure he stopped shedding. I don't think it's simply a coincidence. Or is it?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diane allen Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 Grizzly Salmon Oil comes highly recommended by many sources. I did the "prick the capsule" for awhile, but my dogs have been on Grizzly for several years and are doing GREAT on it. I get many comments about how great their coats look, and we have no skin issues. The dogs love it! (so store it carefully away from their reach!) There are those that recommend capsules over liquid - but if you keep it in a cool place, and don't unnecessarily expose it to air (the Grizzly comes in a pump bottle - so yeah, there's some air in there...), it should be fine without additional E. I just got tired of puncturing the capsules every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 Kristine, I give a 1,000 mg fish oil capsule and 400 i.u. vitamin E capsule daily. My old guy with skin trouble gets two fish oil capsules *plus* a teaspoon of salmon oil each day. They all get additional fat in the form of a tablespoon of safflower or olive oil on their food. I ordered to pint (I think) of salmon oil from Timberwolf Organics, kept it in the fridge, and it lasted for several months for one dog. FWIW, I have just one dog who won't eat the capsules as part of their breakfast. That would be Lark the picky eater. So I only puncture capsules for one dog. If I had to do it for everyone, I would have to come up with some other system. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haleigh Posted March 7, 2007 Report Share Posted March 7, 2007 I give a 1000 mg capsule of the vitamin shoppe brand fish oil every other day with breakfast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Beer Posted April 24, 2007 Report Share Posted April 24, 2007 Sorry to bump up an older thread, but I wanted to say that I decided to try fish oil for Speedy after this discussion, and it has done GREAT things for his skin and coat! I do supplement with Vitamin E, as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkie Posted April 24, 2007 Report Share Posted April 24, 2007 mind sharing which brand your using? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Beer Posted April 25, 2007 Report Share Posted April 25, 2007 I got Carlson Very Finest Fish Oil because I didn't want to deal with puncturing capsules. I give him one teaspoon a day. It's lemon flavor - you can't get it "unflavored", but he doesn't mind the lemon flavor. In fact, I let Dean lick the spoon after I measure out the fish oil for Speedy and he does so eagerly. It's kind of pricey, but for one dog a bottle lasts a good while. I also got Carlson E Gem vitamin E oil, and plain old vitamin E gelcaps from the pharmacy - I think the brand was "Nature Made". I plan to continue to get the gelcaps even though I have to puncture them. One gelcap is 200 iu of vitamin E while I have to put 20 drops of the E Gem in to get the equivalent. It's too expensive that way and during the weeks that I've used the gelcaps, the results have been equal. I might change my mind after squeezing gelcaps for a while, though!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkie Posted April 25, 2007 Report Share Posted April 25, 2007 I got Carlson Very Finest Fish Oil because I didn't want to deal with puncturing capsules. I give him one teaspoon a day. It's lemon flavor - you can't get it "unflavored", but he doesn't mind the lemon flavor. In fact, I let Dean lick the spoon after I measure out the fish oil for Speedy and he does so eagerly. It's kind of pricey, but for one dog a bottle lasts a good while. I also got Carlson E Gem vitamin E oil, and plain old vitamin E gelcaps from the pharmacy - I think the brand was "Nature Made". I plan to continue to get the gelcaps even though I have to puncture them. One gelcap is 200 iu of vitamin E while I have to put 20 drops of the E Gem in to get the equivalent. It's too expensive that way and during the weeks that I've used the gelcaps, the results have been equal. I might change my mind after squeezing gelcaps for a while, though!! thanks! i'll check on it. Not sure if you have costco or sam's club but they usually sell them by huge bottles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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