Dog Community

fish oil supplement. how much? (jm)

Posted : 12/16/2008 6:04:14 AM

needed something to help with their dry coats, but had a bit of trouble finding something. now at the new place i live the supermarket carries human grade fish oil supplement.

"alaska deep sea fish oil" omega-3

1g per capsule

is this ok to give long term? i mean the capsules are huge, so i cant swallow them (dunno what they were thinking) and let's face it, it's fish oil. the dogs love it, when i just squirt it on their food, but me, not so much. i guess i wanted to ask

a) is omega-3 what i should be giving, or should it be both omega-3 and omega-6 or what?

b) they will definately have this for now (200 capsules) and if it's not ok, i'll get something else, once this is finished. but how much to give? one capsule a day? or each meal?

HALP!

erica1989

Posted : 12/16/2008 11:37:48 AM

That seems like a lot.... Casey gets 200mg daily - along with vit. e.

Sometimes, I bump it up to 400 mg, when it's really dry out.

Myra

Posted : 12/16/2008 12:10:22 PM

I don't think there's a good hard-and-fast dosage for fish oil for dogs.

What I've always heard and gone by is 1,000 mg. per every 10 to 20 pounds of body weight per day. You can safely give much more than that, but it's usually done when you need to achieve the anti-inflammatory effect for things like allergies or arthritis.

I think it's best if giving more than one pill a day to divide it up between morning and evening, if possible.

janetmichel3009

Posted : 12/16/2008 4:27:47 PM

hmm... k thanks guys. i guess i'll just try one every day and see what that does then. i could adjust from there. what about the omegas? omega-3 or omega-6 or both???

Myra

Posted : 12/16/2008 4:46:46 PM

Fish body oil (or salmon oil) is Omega 3 and that's what dogs need.

They need Omega 6 fatty acids, too, but most commercial pet foods already contain more than enough.

Here's an article that gives a very good overview of the types of essential fatty acids and what they're beneficial for --

EFA Article

janetmichel3009

Posted : 12/17/2008 1:55:52 AM

awesome! thanks!!

lmack1129

Posted : 12/17/2008 11:22:42 AM

I give my dogs this salmon oil from icelandpure.com it's odorless and safe. I love it!