Fish Oil

The one supplement recommended for almost all raw fed dogs is fish oil.  Reason being is that meat in the grocery store is much lower in Omega 3 fatty acids than naturally raised meat would be. Feeding raw fish is not a good enough substitute to make up for lost Omega 3s though it does help. A dog fortunate enough to eat wild, non-farmed game such as venison, elk, moose, pheasant, and rabbit wouldn't need fish oil.

Omega 3s and 6s are very important so I want to briefly get into the science of it and talk about why adding fish oil is a good idea. This information is all based on human studies.

Fish oil contains both docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). According to Mercola, "These two fatty acids are pivotal in preventing heart disease, cancer, and many other diseases. Your brain is also highly dependent on DHA -- low DHA levels have been linked to depression, schizophrenia, memory loss, and a higher risk of developing Alzheimer's." According to the Mayo clinic, "There is evidence from multiple studies supporting intake of recommended amounts of DHA and EPA in the form of dietary fish or fish oil supplements lowers triglycerides, reduces the risk of death, heart attack, dangerous abnormal heart rhythms, and strokes in people with known cardiovascular disease, slows the buildup of atherosclerotic plaques ("hardening of the arteries"), and lowers blood pressure slightly. However, high doses may have harmful effects, such as an increased risk of bleeding."

There should be balance between Omega 3s and 6s with a 1:1 ratio. Store bought meat is high in 6s but low in 3s. Also stated on the Mercola site, "[the] University of Michigan researchers also agreed that including more omega-3 than omega-6 in your diet may help protect your tissues and organs from inflammation, one of the underlying causes of countless chronic diseases and aging."

Choosing a fish oil: For dogs you want to give fish oil, not cod liver oil. Go to a pharmacy such as Walgreens or CVS. Buying pet specific supplements from a pet store or anywhere else is often not a good idea for a couple reasons. Pet supplements are usually not regulated, and certainly not to the point that human grade supplements are. Pet specific supplements can also get away with not listing every ingredient. They can therefore add ingredients that are pointless at best and harmful at worst like flavorings.

Go to the store and start looking at bottles. Look at the ingredients listed on the back. There should only be fish oil, gelatin, and glycerin. The gelatin and glycerin are the shell of the capsule. There should be no Vitamin E, which is soy; no mixed tocopherols, which is soy; and no rosemary extract, citrus flavoring, or anything else. With salmon oil you may need to proceed with caution. Do some research on farmed salmon. If you can't find any fish oil that doesn't have mixed tocopherols or Vitamin E and you don't want to order any, then I say it's fine to use it. There is very little soy in a gelcap and I think the benefits outweigh the "rule breaking" of giving the dog soy. It's definitely best to avoid it if you can though.

Here are a couple examples of what to look for on the bottle.

[Note: I'm not specifically promoting these brands, these are simply two examples of fish oils that are good to use and I will be using them as references for how to read the labels. Click to enlarge.]

Ingredients are only fish oil, gelatin, and glycerin. It also specifies which fish are used.

Dosage: Look on the BACK of the bottle for the EPA and DHA information. Do not rely on what the front of the bottle says. The maintenance dose to bring Omega 3s and 6s back into balance is to give 100mg DHA+EPA per 10lb. For example, a 100 lb dog would need 1000mg, and a 15 lb dog would need 150mg.

On the first bottle look about 2/3 of the way down the label where it says "Fish Body Oil Concentrate." One serving size is 1760mg which is what the front of the bottle says. The next line down says 870mg of Omega 3s. That's why you need to look at the back of the bottle for the numbers, not the front! Then look at the top of the label- Serving size is 2 softgels. That means each gel is 435mg of Omega 3s. More typical is what is shown on the label of the second bottle, with each gel containing 300mg of Omega 3s.

A 300mg gel would be the perfect daily dosage for a 30 lb dog, or two per day for a 60 lb dog, or 3 for a 90 lb dog. What if your dog is in the middle like mine are? Both my huskies weigh about 40 lbs. They would need 400mg per day. If I give them one gel per day they would end up short by 700mg for the week. So I give them an extra gel twice a week to make up the difference. It does not have to be an exact or perfect dosage.