What is better for dogs? Regular fish oil or salmon oil?
Do you use a human product and if so, what is the dose?
Or is there a dog variety that’s reasonable?
TIA!
what do you mean by “regular” fish oil?
wild salmon body oil or sardine oil is preferable. I usually buy either Nature’s logic sardine oil or the Grizzly brand salmon oil because they come in liquid form and you just squirt it on the food, and both brands are reported to be reputable and of high quality.
The omega-3 fatty acids in these oils is unstable and I’d be kind of wary of buying some grocery-store brand.
Per our vet’s suggestions, we started adding salmon oil to our dogs’ food to help with dandruff. If I am remembering correctly, they said that we could use the fish oil capsules you get from grocery stores, but one of our dogs will not eat pills.
So we use the Costco salmon oil (just go to their site, search for salmon oil) which is 32.99 for two bottles with no additional shipping fees assuming you have a membership. I actually think this is cheaper than feeding the capsules.
“Fish Oil” doesn’t guarantee certain fish are being used. It could be a combo of several fish.
“Salmon Oil” is just what it says: “salmon oil.”
I know a lot of people that use the Grizzly brand because you can just squirt it on their food (easy for dogs that won’t eat capsules.)
I use the Costco fish oil for people (I have used other brands too, whatever is cheapest), and my dog gobbles down the capsules like they are treats. She actually picks them out of her food to eat first. I think she likes that they sort of squirt in her mouth or something… I guess like those Gushers fruit snacks I used to eat as a kid?
This is the advice I got when we started our greyhound on it:
"[I]A maintenance dose of Omega 3s would be 300 mg (combined total EPA & DHA) per 30 lbs. of dog and the theraputic dose of Omega 3s would be 300 mg (combined total EPA & DHA) per 10 lbs. of dog. Unless your dog is sensitive to soy, which is in many processed oils and need not be listed on the label, the numbers are what you need to know.
The mgs (usually 1000 or 1200) listed on the front of the bottle is them mg amount of the oil, not the concentration of EPA/DHA. Flip the bottle over and look for those two numbers. Also, be sure to check the “dosage” - some bottles will list the amount as 1 pill and some will list the EPA/DHA per two capsules. It’s how you can compare “less expensive” and “more expensive” fish oils to see what actually gets you the most bang for the buck."
[/I]
Definitely start slow though, or you will get some very loose stools. We started ours on one tablet every other day, then one a day, then eventually 3 a day. (She’s a 75 lbs.) Her coat has improved a LOT.
I use these for my blue Dobe; she is 62 lbs and gets 3 per day.
I decided to try out the Nutrivet brand from Petsmart. I have noticed an immediate difference- less scratching and shiny coats!
I used to use the Dinovite brand- lick-o-chops, but the Petsmart brand is just more convenient.
What a pain
I have never found squirting the salmon oil easy. Capsules are refused.
It stinks! It splashes. It runs down the bottle. I’ve tried different brands based on their different containers and never had much success.
I kept the bottle inside a small plastic bag inside a coffee mug. Inevitably the bag would be splattered with orange sticky residue and the coffee cup could be stained and sticky, too. Yuck. Oh! I keep food & supplements in a basket on top of the crate -in my room (apt living :lol:). So smell is a consideration.
Now he’s on a really oily food (TOTW salmon). Much easier to deal with than the darn oil!
Now he’s on a really oily food (TOTW salmon). Much easier to deal with than the darn oil!
sorry, doesn’t work that way. The active ingredients in the fish oil are unstable to heat, oxygen, and light. They may put the stuff into kibble, but by the time your dog eats the kibble the active ingredients have almost certainly broken down. The kibble processing, the trips on trucks, the storage at the store, the storage at home- the omega-3 fatty acids just don’t make it. Which is why all kibble-fed dogs need supplementation.
[QUOTE=bort84;5689481]
I know a lot of people that use the Grizzly brand because you can just squirt it on their food (easy for dogs that won’t eat capsules.)
I use the Costco fish oil for people (I have used other brands too, whatever is cheapest), and my dog gobbles down the capsules like they are treats. She actually picks them out of her food to eat first. I think she likes that they sort of squirt in her mouth or something… I guess like those Gushers fruit snacks I used to eat as a kid?
This is the advice I got when we started our greyhound on it:
"[I]A maintenance dose of Omega 3s would be 300 mg (combined total EPA & DHA) per 30 lbs. of dog and the theraputic dose of Omega 3s would be 300 mg (combined total EPA & DHA) per 10 lbs. of dog. Unless your dog is sensitive to soy, which is in many processed oils and need not be listed on the label, the numbers are what you need to know.
The mgs (usually 1000 or 1200) listed on the front of the bottle is them mg amount of the oil, not the concentration of EPA/DHA. Flip the bottle over and look for those two numbers. Also, be sure to check the “dosage” - some bottles will list the amount as 1 pill and some will list the EPA/DHA per two capsules. It’s how you can compare “less expensive” and “more expensive” fish oils to see what actually gets you the most bang for the buck."
[/I]
Definitely start slow though, or you will get some very loose stools. We started ours on one tablet every other day, then one a day, then eventually 3 a day. (She’s a 75 lbs.) Her coat has improved a LOT.[/QUOTE]
Thank you! That’s exactly the info I was looking for!
Have any of you noticed a difference in your dog’s soundness? I know some people notice less stiffness/soreness when using fish oil and I wondered if it was the same in dogs.
You may end up with a dog who refuses to eat anything that has even been NEAR the salmon oil. I bought some of that Wild Salmon oil in the squirt container and put it on big fuzzy dog’s food, and he took one sniff and left it there for 12 hours, until I finally threw it out and gave him non-oiled food.
Same with the capsules - he won’t go near them even if they’re wrapped in peanut butter.
My dogs all get 2 salmon oil per feeding (2x a day) and gobble them up like candy. They are shiny and healthy and have “great” poops… if there is such a thing. My dogs are VERY pleased when they bite into and break a capsule. They love the flavor. BUT then again I can feed them COQ10 and vitamin C without issue. They just eat.
I buy the salmon oil that smart pak carries. My dogs have been on it forever.
My akita had a skin condition and would get hot spots, my lab also had skin issues.
The salmon oil addressed those issues and we were able to get off the merrygoround of antibiotics, ear cleaning, etc, etc
Love salmon oil, especially smart paks!
Btw, if anyone wants my 98% full, 17 oz bottle of Naturally Wild salmon oil, I’ll send it to you for the cost of postage. PM me.
[QUOTE=wendy;5689949]
sorry, doesn’t work that way. The active ingredients in the fish oil are unstable to heat, oxygen, and light. They may put the stuff into kibble, but by the time your dog eats the kibble the active ingredients have almost certainly broken down. The kibble processing, the trips on trucks, the storage at the store, the storage at home- the omega-3 fatty acids just don’t make it. Which is why all kibble-fed dogs need supplementation.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the info, wendy. I did not notice any big difference using fish oil, and I tried for about a year.
Finally spoke to my vet about continuing it. Vet asked what kind of food (food & treat protein is all fish) and said additional fish oil is probably not necessary. If I stop and he gets flaky or itchy, then I know it helps. No diff when I stopped. Presently, you wouldn’t know this pup has a myriad of skin issues, some solved and some still a mystery: he is shiny black, no flakes and no itchier than your average dog who loves butt scratches :D. --Sorry to derail a bit!–
BTW my own drs recommended fish oil due to degenerative discs/lots of back issues: didn’t notice a difference for myself, either.
But you need omega-3 fatty acids whether or not you have overt symptoms of some kind. They are essential. Most modern diets (human and dog) have a vast excess of omega-6 fatty acids and a serious deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids. Some individuals show overt symptoms of bad skin/allergies/itchy, but a deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids contributes to all sorts of things, like joint pain, slow to heal, get sick often, brain doesn’t work quite as well as it should, arteries are slowly clogging up, etc.
Puppies/children especially need supplementation- the brain doesn’t develop properly without enough Omega-3 fatty acids. Iam conducted a notorious study showing that puppies raised on “complete and balanced” kibble were seriously hyperactive, slow to learn, and generally mentally backward as compared to puppies raised on kibble supplemented with fish oils.
Other problem is many dog food companies try to use flax as their source of omega-3s- problem is many dogs (not all) seem to be unable to digest/utilize flax in this way.
Just wanted to add: virgin unrefined organic coconut oil has done wonders for some people/dogs.
I think it was starting to make a difference with our girl, but after about 4-5 weeks she decided she hated it and wouldn’t come near anything that even smelled a bit like it. Which is funny, because for the first 4 weeks, she’d eat it off of a spoon and it was the first thing she gobbled up in her food dish. Who knows…
Anyway, I know some people who swear by it, so it might be a thought. We used it in addition to fish oil (again, you have to go veeeery slow with both or you will get some loose poops at first.)
if they won’t eat salmon oil, you can try: feeding canned salmon or sardines; oil from sardines; or Smartpak sells Lipiderm which doesn’t smell fishy. Olive oil, walnut oil, and canola oil have some omega-3’s but you’d probably have to add an enormous amount.
and um sorry, but coconut oil is a really good source of omega-6 fatty acids but has almost no omega-3’s.
