fish oil for dogs

[7mmfan]

How many of you give fish oil pills to your dogs? My dog has always had a great coat and skin, and recently she has developed scaly skin, her coat is getting dull and so on. She had a hot spot issue that we are still struggling with a little. I am going to be taking her to the vet to make sure there isn't an underlying health problem, but fish oil is one of those things that is supposed to help her overall health as well as her skin and coat.

If you do, how much do you give, and is there a certain brand to get or avoid?

[low97ram]

i have 2 labs, and we just go to Costco and get those huge bottles of fish oil capsules for them.  i think they are Natures Way or something like that.  the pill is pretty big (can't think of the dosage right now) and we give 2 a day (1 at each feeding).  We were getting the stuff at petsmart but was a tad spendy...so the vet just said get this stuff and we'd be fine.  In fact she said to work up to 2 per feeding since they both have hip displaysia.

hope that helps   

Pete

[7mmfan]

Thats what I figured. A guy told me that there are special high concentrate ones for dogs so you don't have to give them 2 or 4 pills a day. I figured anything like that would be a vet or a pet store and cost at least 2 times as much as the regular stuff.

I found them on sale at Fred Meyer yesterday buy one get one free, so I snatched up a few.

[Huntboy]

I get mine in a bottle that's all liquid and just pour some on their food.

[Stilly bay]

Yep, good for joints too.

[vandeman17]

We get ours at Costco as well and just give them to our dogs once per day. The pills are pretty big but they don't seem to mind a bit. Our 8 month old pup eats so dang fast I am sure I could put whatever the heck I wanted in there and she wouldn't notice the difference. 

[7mmfan]

Does anyone feel there might be an issue giving them whole pill as opposed to cutting it and squirting the oil onto the food? I can't imagine there is, but thought I would ask.

[ducksdogsdownriggers]

This is from my vet:  Doesn't really matter what oil you give your dogs has long as it has no fat soluble vitamins (sometime they add A or D for humans) as this could present a toxicity issue if your dog was to accidentally get into an entire bottle.    No issue giving them a whole pill.

[rosscrazyelk]

How many of you give fish oil pills to your dogs? My dog has always had a great coat and skin, and recently she has developed scaly skin, her coat is getting dull and so on. She had a hot spot issue that we are still struggling with a little. I am going to be taking her to the vet to make sure there isn't an underlying health problem, but fish oil is one of those things that is supposed to help her overall health as well as her skin and coat.

If you do, how much do you give, and is there a certain brand to get or avoid?

I give all my dogs fish oil pills.  It started when my oldest dog started getting what you are describing.  Turned out to be a thyroid problem.  But the hair is coming back nice and shiny

[wildweeds]

Quality dog food has everything the dog needs

[7mmfan]

Quality dog food has everything the dog needs

So thats the other question. What kind of dog food are you feeding your dogs, and how much does it run? She is a 65# lab.

[dallygirl]

I agree that quality dog food has everything the dog needs but adding fish oil to their diet is something you really can't go wrong with regardless what you feed.  The benefits of fish oil are enormous - not only is it great for skin and coat, it helps regulate the immune system, reduces inflammation, aids in mental development and more.    What kind of dog food are you feeding right now?   

We currently feed the Kirkland Brand Lamb & Rice with excellent results.  The big bag (can't remember if it is a 30 lb or 40 lb) runs about $35.  It feeds our large Coonhound and mini-Aussie for about 4-5 weeks.   Our Lab puppy is on the Kirkland Brand Puppy Formula.  It is extremely reasonable at $15 for a 20 lb bag.   I honestly could not believe how inexpensive it was for the formula...The Kirkland brand is made by Diamond for what it's worth. 

We also really like Canidae and Diamond Brand products in general.  When I discovered Kirkland was a Diamond product, that is when we switched because of the significant cost savings. 

[7mmfan]

This has been dead for a while, but here are the results almost 2 months later. I switched to Blue Buffalo, holistic premium dog food with no grain or grain products. Con; its expensive. Pros; the dog loves it, and I feed her almost a cup a day less then before due to no filler, so it almost equals out in the end.

I also started giving her fish oil pills with her meals.

Within one month, her skin problems had cleared up. Hot spots were gone, constant itching/scratching were gone. Shedding decreased and the  dry/flaky/dandruffy skin she had was gone. Her coat is back to the gleaming shiny coat she had as a young dog. Almost hurts to look at it in the sun!

Also, her energy level went back through the roof. She has never had a problem with energy, but she is more like she was at 2 years old.

Overall, it was an eye opening experience. What a difference just quality dog food made.

I want to try the kirkland stuff since it is so much cheaper, but am hesitant to go anywhere after seeing the results of what we are using now.

ANyhow, thanks for all the advice in this thread, it got us on track.