# Fish Oil



## HobNob (Jan 10, 2011)

Is it ok to give dogs fish oil supplements made for humans? My hunch is that it is fine, but I figure if there are any oddities with this situation someone here would know. It seems fish oil products marketed for dogs can be more costly than those for humans. We'd like to give him liquid fish oil.

What have you found to be the most economical way to supplement with fish oil? And what is the recommended dosage?

Thanks!


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## Marnie (Oct 11, 2011)

I put a couple 1000 mg caps into the dogs food everyday. Human supplements are better quality and usually cheaper than the ones sold for dogs.


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## Fish (Oct 16, 2011)

Thats what I do for Ellie. She shares my fish oil supplements. For me, it works out to be cheaper than the pet specific supplements and I bet they are of higher quality. She gets dry flaky skin and since Ive been giving her fish oil its cleared right up. Her fur has become ridiculously soft and shiney. Everyone comments on her coat. 

Its kinda funny because each morning we both take fish oils together lol. 

You can use canola oil (about 1 table spoon per day) as a cheaper alternative, it still delivers omega-3 but not as higher dosage. Egg yolks (only) have omega 3 too, and lecithin (a sat. fat) which gives a shiney coat. If you include the egg white (good protein) cook it first as raw egg white contains an enzyme that interferes with vitamin B absorption. 

Personally, I think giving your dog fish oil supplements is one of the best things you could do for them.

Hope that helped


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## Draugr (Jul 8, 2011)

I give 2000mg daily to mine, the stuff meant for humans.

I also give 400IU vitamin E as I have read that the body will use up most of its Vitamin E supply metabolizing oils.


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## Scarlettsmom (Jul 12, 2011)

I give 1000mg daily. I squirt it on her food at night. She figured out how to surgically remove the capsule from her food.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

smart dog. 



Scarlettsmom said:


> I give 1000mg daily. I squirt it on her food at night.
> 
> >>>>She figured out how to surgically remove the capsule from her food.<<<


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i use a high grade/human grade salmon oil.
i don't know the correct dosage to use. i give
my dog a couple of squirts from the pump.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

I give my dogs the same fish oil capsules I take.


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## HobNob (Jan 10, 2011)

Thanks for the advice! Considering many of you give 1000-2000 mg daily without problem, I'll definitely lean toward a high dosage. Duke has allergies and is constantly scratching, chewing, licking himself. His skin/coat smells bad too. We are working on treating the allergies, and we really want to step up his omega 3 intake. If any dog needs a high dosage, it's Duke.


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## ChancetheGSD (Dec 19, 2007)

Just wondering, what are you feeding him?


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## HobNob (Jan 10, 2011)

ChancetheGSD said:


> Just wondering, what are you feeding him?


Currently he is eating Natural Balance grain-free fish & sweet potato formula. We switched him to this food after getting his allergy test results. We were feeding him Blue Buffalo Wilderness formula, but all of their foods contain yeast which he tested positive for. The Natural Balance food is on his approved list and is one of the more affordable foods. Ideally, I would feed him a food higher in protein and moisture. But we have to go with what we can afford. Eventually I'd like to switch to raw, but I just haven't been brave enough to dive in yet.

We supplement his food with coconut oil, probiotic, fish oil (started tonight), and quercetin + bromelain (started tonight...natural antihistamines & anti-inflammatory).


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## natalie559 (Feb 4, 2005)

Penny has flea allergy, which has been greatly controlled using comfortis. She gets carlson brand salmon oil, 1000mg tabs, 2 in am and 2 in pm- a higher dose b/c of the inflammation from the allergies. I chose this brand b/c it is tested to be potent and pure, it is from wild caught fish, it is capsuled to prevent rancidity and the cost is right. Remember though that capsules usually contain gelatin derived from beef, so if beef is a concern you would need to go liquid or find a capsule, like Monica Segals brand, that is not derived from beef. So I would give 4 a day minimum and you could even increase that due to allergies. Since you just started it, work the dosage up slowly to prevent tummy upset.

I buy the oil here, I order enough in the cooler months to last the year as I do not like the thought of shipping oils in the heat, they are fragile,

Carlson Norwegian Salmon Oil -- 180 Softgels + 50 Softgels Free - Vitacost

(whoa= price has gone up- used to be around $12, could look around for different price)

If the coat smells there is likely bacteria, yeast and or seborrhea present from the allergies. A good medicated shampoo will help with this along with a cool water bath. Before comfortis, bathing Penny helped her more than anything.


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## dogmama (Nov 17, 2006)

HobNob said:


> Thanks for the advice! Considering many of you give 1000-2000 mg daily without problem, I'll definitely lean toward a high dosage. Duke has allergies and is constantly scratching, chewing, licking himself. His skin/coat smells bad too. We are working on treating the allergies, and we really want to step up his omega 3 intake. If any dog needs a high dosage, it's Duke.


Omega 6 is also necessary. It helps form healthy skin cells. I give human grade fish oil plus primrose oil for the omega 6. Some of the research is saying that our allergic dogs actually have skin problems - permeability issues I believe. Omega 6 helps with that. It used to be said that Omega 6 promotes inflammation but it seems to be different in dogs.

As the last poster said - what are you feeding? That is uber important.


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## dogmama (Nov 17, 2006)

dogmama said:


> As the last poster said - what are you feeding? That is uber important.


Oops, never mind, just read your last post. I can take 4-6weeks to see improvement with fish oil & dietary changes.


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## HobNob (Jan 10, 2011)

I'll be calling the vet tomorrow to discuss what we are doing with Duke and let him know how bad it has gotten. We are giving him 1,500 mg of fish oil a day (will ask if we can do more than that), plus quercetin with bromelain (will ask if we can up that dosage as well). He was on an Rx antihistamine. It didn't seem to be doing anything, but we ran out on Friday and I guess it was helping a little bit because over the weekend his itching, scratching, licking, and chewing got much worse. His skin is very irritated and red and bumpy in some areas. He even got a bath on Thursday with chlorhexidine & ketoconazole shampoo plus an anti-itch conditioner. Immediately after the bath he was still scratching. Over the weekend we bought some benzocain lotion and chlorhedidine spray to apply topically for some relief. It doesn't seem to do much. We've been giving him benadryl too. 

We will plan to start the immunotherapy as soon as possible, but must come up with something to give him some relief in the meantime. This is getting ridiculous! So frustrating!


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## HobNob (Jan 10, 2011)

This is the fish oil we are giving him:
Omega 3 Fish Oil 800 Epa / 500 Dha by Vitamin Shoppe - VS-2642 - at The Vitamin Shoppe


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## dogmama (Nov 17, 2006)

I recently went through that with Zack. October is his worst month. He had a skin infection that we're treating with antibiotics. I restarted his allergy shots. Sometimes I need to give him a low dose of steroids just to pull him through. You might investigate that while you're waiting for the diet, etc., to kick in. I HATE steroids, but when they're scratching to the point of giving themselves skin infections, what else can you do? My doggie derm isn't concerned about a few brief sessions of steroids each year just to get him through rough areas. Right now, EVERYTHING is blooming. Plus he's allergic to dust mites, my cat, etc.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

omega 6 , alpha linoleic acid is another essential fatty acid which must be supplied from a food source. The average human diet , and dogs', is greatly outbalanced in the fatty acid balance . Too much omega 6 . Our meat which is grain fed , corn fed , is higher in omega 6 than grass or pasture fed cattle , or wild caught game . Add that to the reliance on corn and grains and you have a problem .
Flax seed oil which starts as an omega 3 denatures and changes its chemical composition to an omega 6.

Fish oil not only provides omega 3 it also provides active forms of DHA and EPA . 

It is these two chemicals in the long chain fatty acids which have an effect on brain , eye , and nerve chemistry.

Experiments have been done with lab rats , with brain slides examined , which show better development of coritcal and limbic areas of the brain when the mother rat was given extra omega 3 rich foods when three weeks in utero and two weeks after. 
Rat pups which were not sacrificed showed less aggression and better social behaviour. They had less reactivity and had better co ordination .

To get the best effect the dose should be raised . The capsules are not enough and are an expensive way of doing it . Buy liquid fish oil and give a teaspoon daily .

You can also supplement by giving a salmon head .

Other thought -- recently there have been studies which suggest that a mammal benefits from omega 3 sourced from a mammal better than from a fish . This means seal oil. In my supplies I have fish oil , krill oil, and seal oil .

Carmen
Carmspack Working German Shepherd Dogs


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## EJQ (May 13, 2003)

Marnie said:


> I put a couple 1000 mg caps into the dogs food everyday. Human supplements are better quality and usually cheaper than the ones sold for dogs.


Yup - that's exactly what I do and you're right the human caps are less expensive.


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## HobNob (Jan 10, 2011)

carmspack said:


> omega 6 , alpha linoleic acid is another essential fatty acid which must be supplied from a food source. The average human diet , and dogs', is greatly outbalanced in the fatty acid balance . Too much omega 6 . Our meat which is grain fed , corn fed , is higher in omega 6 than grass or pasture fed cattle , or wild caught game . Add that to the reliance on corn and grains and you have a problem .
> Flax seed oil which starts as an omega 3 denatures and changes its chemical composition to an omega 6.
> 
> Fish oil not only provides omega 3 it also provides active forms of DHA and EPA .
> ...


I did not plan on supplementing omega 6 because I am used to the whole "abundance of omega 6 in our diet" thing as is the case with humans. That being said, Duke is on a grain-free food, so I suppose he may not be getting enough omega 6...?




dogmama said:


> I recently went through that with Zack. October is his worst month. He had a skin infection that we're treating with antibiotics. I restarted his allergy shots. Sometimes I need to give him a low dose of steroids just to pull him through. You might investigate that while you're waiting for the diet, etc., to kick in. I HATE steroids, but when they're scratching to the point of giving themselves skin infections, what else can you do? My doggie derm isn't concerned about a few brief sessions of steroids each year just to get him through rough areas. Right now, EVERYTHING is blooming. Plus he's allergic to dust mites, my cat, etc.


Duke was on prednisone for a short while...I guess a month or 6 weeks. It was miraculous! All of his allergy symptoms subsided. During this time, Duke became sick with diarrhea. It was never determined exactly what was wrong...only that he had an overgrowth of bacteria in his stool. We feel pretty confident that this happened because of the immuno-suppresive nature of steroids. We know long-term use of steroids is not a good idea. I really do not want to put him back on steroids, although it is tempting because I know how well they work! We will keep that as a last resort option, and use it the same way "dogmama" uses it...just to get him through a particular season.

Have any of you heard of Ambrotose? It is made by Mannatech. It's a human supplement. I have taken it personally, but some people use it for their pets for immune system diseases. Ambrotose is a complex of glyconutrients. Complex carbohydrates which reduce inflammation and promote immune system health. Testimonies exist of people who have had success treating lupus, MS, arthritis, and other immune system disorders with this supplement. I had over half a bottle left from when I used to take the supplement. I decided to give it a try with Duke. We'll see what happens. I have a friend who used to give it to her GSD with good results. Fingers crossed!


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## dogmama (Nov 17, 2006)

HobNob said:


> I did not plan on supplementing omega 6 because I am used to the whole "abundance of omega 6 in our diet" thing as is the case with humans. That being said, Duke is on a grain-free food, so I suppose he may not be getting enough omega 6...?


Please report on the Ambrotose - I'm always looking for answers!

I was thinking about Omega 6 because a grain free, fish based diet may not supply enough Omega 6. As far as I could tell by researching on Google Scholar, there hasn't been a lot of studies on this but it looks like dogs may react differently to omega 6 than humans. I have bad arthritis & my PCP recommended a multiple omega supplement saying that omega 6 is vital for connective tissue, cartilage, etc., health.

Have you started immunotherapy shots yet?


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## mwiacek10 (Nov 8, 2010)

When my boxer had heart disease the specialist had him on fish oil. It's not only good for their skin!


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## HobNob (Jan 10, 2011)

Have not started immunotherapy yet. May need to wait until after Christmas. I may be being a little negative, but I'm not expecting much from immunotherapy since it can take at least 6 months to take effect, and only about 60% of users report improvement in symptoms. Hopefully we'll be part of that 60%!


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## dogmama (Nov 17, 2006)

HobNob said:


> Have not started immunotherapy yet. May need to wait until after Christmas. I may be being a little negative, but I'm not expecting much from immunotherapy since it can take at least 6 months to take effect, and only about 60% of users report improvement in symptoms. Hopefully we'll be part of that 60%!


I've been told that it can also help the allergies from getting worse. So, even if it just gives you a modest effect, maybe it will help in the long run. I don't know about the 6 month waiting period for it to take effect - I think we had more like a 3-4 week wait. It doesn't completely alleviate the itching but it helps. Zack doesn't get skin infections from scratching while he's on it.


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## Cheerful1 (Sep 27, 2011)

I just purchased Nordic Naturals Omega 3 for Joey. Hope it will help.


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