Omega 3

[domino304]

I read where Omega 3 was good for your dog. Is it a different Omega 3 or is it the same that humans take?

[Carol Osborne, D.V.M.]

Omega 3 Fatty acids are excellent for people and dogs. There are various vitamin-mineral supplements available that contain this or you could just add a little (~1/2 teaspoon) extra virgin olive oil to your dogs meals. Olive oil is a great source of Omega-3 Fatty acids. The omega-3's are the same for people and pets. If you give too much the result would be a bit of gas and/or loose stool.
Thank you
Dr Carol Osborne, DVM

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

The highest, most concentrated source of Omega 3 fatty acids are marine lipids (from fish) or Krill, and Flax Seed oil for dogs (cats are obligate carnivores and cannot metabolize flax seed oil as well as marine sources).  

Olive oil is a good source but not as concentrated.  

A Fox Terrier would require 500mg Omega-3 Fatty acids daily, preferably in divided doses.  The Omega-3 fatty acid product can be manufactured for humans or pets.    

As Dr. Osborne stated, begin with a much smaller amount and gradually increase over time to the recommended dose to avoid gastrointestinal difficulties.

Omega 3 fatty acids are helpful for the increased health of the heart and circulatory system, for joints, skin  the immune system, and more.

[Jim Humphries, B.S., D.V.M.]

Dr. Osborne and Dr. Cheng:  

Thank you for this posting.  I take fish oil three times a day myself but never really thought of doing this for my super pet family.  I began today.  I think the anti-oxidant effect is SO important and especially in giant breeds like I have I want to help them all I can.  

Interesting topic.  

[Jim Humphries, B.S., D.V.M.]

Some new information:  

In researching this I found a posting by Dr. Robin Downing at PetDocsOnCall.  She is a Pain Management Specialists in Veterinary Medicine.  
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Because of the absolute flood of data in human medicine about the role of omega-3 fatty acids in decreasing inflammation, I use supplemental omega 3's for ALL my patients with inflammatory conditions.

Here's where it gets tricky... You should NOT use human preparations because almost all of them contain rosemary oil to prevent us from burping our fish oil hours after we take it. Because we do not know the possible problems with rosemary oil in pets over time (and we have no way of knowing the concentration in an over-the-counter supplement), I do not recommend ANY human omega-3 preparations.

Some people talk about using "krill oil" as an omega-3 source. 2 problems - - it CANNOT be kept fresh so it begins to degrade as soon as it is manufactured, and it is NOT a sustainable source (krill is the primary food source for whales, so removing it from the ecosystem is a bad idea).

Another problem - - most fish oil supplement manufacturers do NOT reveal the concentrations of EPA and DHA in their products, and these are the omega-3's we actually need to know for appropriate dosing.

We work with a company called Nordic Naturals, and I use their pet-specific liquid omega-3 product. We refer to dosing guidelines that have come from oncology, and we dose to the DHA at 30 mg/kg/day.
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Here is that reference:  nordicnaturals.com/en/Pet_Products/10/For_Your_Pet/