Fish Oils?

[Luke GSP]

My GSP Monte has had a skin irritation and I was wondering if fish oils might help as all the "Sensitive Skin" foods seem to contain Omega 3 and 6. Are there any recomendations? :D

[Norskgra]

I give all my dogs fish oil capsules each night. I also have an old Kelpie x Labrador who always had skin problems but they cleared up once I started her on the fish oil.

[Emily Howard]

Also give Aloveen shampoo / conditioner a go. I've found it really good for sensitive skin.

[Wuhana]

i believe they do i have 3 pugs and use either sardines in oil or cod liver oil every day on meals they love it and thier skin is beautiful.

[Luke GSP]

Are they any type of fish oil in particular as I read somewhere that Cod Liver oil is not good for dogs?

[Chubbz]

Just wondering if it is ok to give dogs fish oil products formulated for humans, or if they have specific products for use on dogs only?

[Norskgra]

Just wondering if it is ok to give dogs fish oil products formulated for humans, or if they have specific products for use on dogs only?

I feed mine human quality fish oil capsules without any problems. I normally feed them either Natures Own or Blackmores, which ever is on special.

[flycow]

I used to feed mine flaxseed oil which is rich in Omega3, then I changed it to Fish oil capsules for human, whichever brand is on special. I feed one capsule every night, seems to help with the itching from grass seeds.

Edited December 13, 2006 by flycow

[bloss344]

Are they any type of fish oil in particular as I read somewhere that Cod Liver oil is not good for dogs?

Fish oil is actually 'fish body oil' and Cod Liver oil is from the liver. The CLO is very high in Vitamins A and D which should never be fed in excess. Cod liver oil does have it's uses for dogs and people and is fine to give if you need the vitamin A and D, it doesn't contain much Omega 3 though. A balanced diet shouldn't need the addition of these vitamins. For skin and coat always use fish body oil. Wild salmon is the best if you can get it.

[White Shepherd mom]

For those that feed the capsules - do you feed the capsule with the casing? Is that ok for the poochies?

(sorry for the silly question!)

[sas]

We feed 1 x Thompsons Fish Oil Cap with included Vit E per 10 kg's every day and I swear by it, we used it on a previous foster as well in conjunction with Vit E applied to the skin (see photo below of foster dog and the difference in 30 days).

In pets, fish oil is useful for reducing inflammation in pets with allergic skin disease and kidney failure. It possibly also helps pets with heart disease and osteoarthritis. Studies show that pets fed high doses of fish oil also have better control of cancer. Extra vitamin E is needed when giving fish oil on a regular basis as fish oil supplemented for many months can lower vitamin E levels which can be the cause of bleeding disorders (most fish oil supplements contain additional vitamin E for this reason.)

Side note: You have to use the Fish Oil with Vit E included otherwise you'll need to give a Vit E tablet every 2nd day.

White Shepherd, our capsules are clear with yellow liquid, the dogs love them and we don't have to resort to hiding them in their food. They capsule is safe for dogs.

Luke, have you tried feeding pooch a non red meat diet?

This is the one we've always used:

Edited December 13, 2006 by sas

[Carla2]

Most definately, and also if your doggie is itchy, take it off dry food for a while to test if that's the culprit, if of course you feed dry food, if you are feeding red meat change also to chicken and fish, but try one at a time.

Hope this helps, I hate seeing the poor darlings scratching at themselves

[shmoo]

try not to over do the amount of oils in his diet as this can cause his coat to be too oily and become itchy etc.

its a fine balance!

[flycow]

For those that feed the capsules - do you feed the capsule with the casing? Is that ok for the poochies?

(sorry for the silly question!)

I slit the capsule and squeeze out most of the oil into the food, left capsule in food too. This is because pup likes to chew the capsule and spit it out before chewing again so some oil is dripped onto the ground if I leave it whole. Depends on your dog, if they will swallow it, you can give it neat. ;)

[Norskgra]

I just feed them whole. The dogs come running as soon as they hear me rattle the container.

[chuckie500]

I copied this out of an article i found on the net. There were other sections but this part mentions fatty acids:

I use "Megaderm" by Virbac. One of mine was on steriods, but i have elimated some things in his diet, am more careful about dust, and paspalam weed in the lawn, and only give him the supplement ocassionally. No more steriods or any medication.

ATOPIC DERMATITIS IN THE DOG

by

Stephen Shaw, BVetMed, CertSAD, MRCVS

"Specific Therapy

A variety of drugs are now available for treatment. Generally they are used in combination rather than alone. Their use is summarised in figure 6.

Essential fatty acids are now widely used for skin conditions. They are known to have few side effects and will help about 25% of allergic dogs significantly. Antihistamines potentiate the action of essential fatty acids (synergy) and so combination therapy would appear to be valuable. Several veterinary products are licensed for use.

Antihistamines were widely dismissed as unhelpful in atopic disease until recently when new studies both in the UK and USA have shown considerable benefits from their use. No veterinary products are available and the human drugs , chlorpheniramine, hydroxyine, and clemastine have all shown to be useful.

Steroids are widely thought to cause side effects which outweigh their potential for good. Despite this popular view, steroids are the drug of choice in severe cases of atopic dermatitis and, used appropriately, when complicating diseases are under control, side effects are generally minimal.

Hyposensitising Vaccines ( also known as desensitising vaccines) are prepared from the allergens identified as important at skin test. By administering these allergens subcutaneously over a long period the immune response to them is modified and pruritis is reduced. They are seen to be beneficial in about 60% of dogs, and take up to nine months to have effect.

Allergen avoidance is useful when house dust mites are known to be the problem. Exposure to bedrooms should be avoided by house dust mite allergenic patients to minimise exposure to the allergen. When pollens and moulds are involved avoidance is practically impossible as these allergens travel for miles on the wind, although obviously very large sources of pollens, for instance hay meadows for grass sensitive individuals should be avoided. "

[White Shepherd mom]

Thanks for the advice on the casing guys! (Will also look for one with Vit E included!)

[Luke GSP]

Thanks for the advice everyone I will try these with Monte. Sorry for not responing earlier but we have had a bit of a tragedy. We were hoping to pick up our new dog in the next couple of weeks ,she was a 2 year old ex show dog who had just had her first litter with a great attitude and stunning looks but unfortuanetely I received a call from the breeder yesterday and she has been killed in a tragic accident. Kids are devasteted as am I to be honest.

thanks again for the advice