brookcove
Posted : 6/18/2009 12:48:57 PM
My dogs and I take essentially the same supplements. Mine is actually more expensive than the dogs' though, since theirs is liquid and mine is capsules. It's Sea Pet/Sea Starr Gold. I also use Carlson if I'm putting in an order there instead. IF I get the Carlson I just use the capsules for everyone except Zhi and Sam. Sam gets the kid's strawberry flavored capsules in the morning, and one of mine at night, and Zhi just gets her own 3-6-9 supplement (lemon flavored ).
You totally get what you pay for when it comes to fish oil. Infact, if you get oil that's rancid through poor processing and/or transportation and storage, it's worse than nothing. Rancid fish oil is a carcinogen (cancer causing agent). And impure oil can contain harmful heavy metals and toxins.
Fish oil should be sourced from cold water, screened for impurities, and processed using a method which minimizes contact with oxygen and light (look for "nitrogen flushing";).
The combined EPA and DHA in the oil should be, for the money you'll spend, around 700 mg PER CAPSULE - be careful because labels play fast and loose on this. You'll find something that offers "360 mg of EPA+DHA per SERVING" and then find out a SERVING is three capsules! Where's the savings in that? It is the EPA+DHA which provides the primary benefit of fish oil, so paying for a 1000 mg capsule that only has 150 mg of combined EPA+DHA is pretty much a waste of money. A therapeutic dose for a medium sized dog would require ten capsules!!!
I've used both moderate quality and oils that meet all the standards above. I can tell you there's a HUGE difference in the higher quality product. I use it for mood moderation and anything less than the premium products are a waste of money - may as well flush them down the toilet as bother to take them. I take four a day of a highly concentrated product (the Sea Starr Gold) so bang for the buck is a good deal for me.