# Giving my dog fish oil....yes or no?



## K9companions (Nov 13, 2008)

Okay, so I took everyone's advice and told my father to get me fish oil while he was out to help Hunter's coat. Well he got fish oil tablets. Is this okay? I've never given my dog fish oil of any type so I'm not sure if this is alright. My dog is only about 36 pounds and the tablets are liquid and 1000mg natural fish oil. Any ideas on how to give this to my dog or is it a bust; I have to get something else?


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## Renoman (Mar 20, 2007)

Are they tablets or capsules? If they're capsules you can do one of 2 things.
Poke a hole in the capsule and squirt the oil onto the food or you can give your dog the capsule whole. (Depends on whether or not your dog is good about taking pills.) Mine get the capsule whole in their food and they think it's a wonderful treat.

For a dog the size of your's I'd probably start with 1 a day.


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## K9companions (Nov 13, 2008)

Renoman said:


> Are they tablets or capsules? If they're capsules you can do one of 2 things.
> Poke a hole in the capsule and squirt the oil onto the food or you can give your dog the capsule whole. (Depends on whether or not your dog is good about taking pills.) Mine get the capsule whole in their food and they think it's a wonderful treat.
> 
> For a dog the size of your's I'd probably start with 1 a day.


Yeah, they are capsules. Hes good about taking pills so I can just give him the whole pill, I just wanted to make sure that for his size 1000mg wasn't too much.


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## Renoman (Mar 20, 2007)

Just put the whole thing in his food bowl. If he eats it great.. if not then you'll probably have to poke a hole and squeeze the oil onto his food. 

For a 36# dog, I think 1000 mg per day would be fine. You can always double check with your vet.


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## K9companions (Nov 13, 2008)

Renoman said:


> Just put the whole thing in his food bowl. If he eats it great.. if not then you'll probably have to poke a hole and squeeze the oil onto his food.
> 
> For a 36# dog, I think 1000 mg per day would be fine. You can always double check with your vet.



Great! Thanks! I'll start his first pill today.


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## flipgirl (Oct 5, 2007)

My dog is 17 lbs and I give her 1200 mg a day. Just make sure you keep the bottle in the fridge and in a dark container. And try to always get Atlantic salmon oil if it's salmon oil...less mercury in wild salmon. And no salmon from the Pacific Northwest as it has a toxin that is toxic to dogs. 

You should also give vitamin E to balance out the EFA's. I give my dog 120 IU's twice a week.


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## Don152 (Jan 31, 2008)

I give my 40 pounder one 1000 mg pill a day, just throw it in her food bowl with the kibble. I swear if I put river rock in her bowl she would eat it all up. So thats not a problem. After 4-5 months her coat does seem much nicer and she does not itch as much. (PS, you can also freeze the fish oil pills)


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## Canadian Dog (Nov 3, 2007)

flipgirl said:


> My dog is 17 lbs and I give her 1200 mg a day. Just make sure you keep the bottle in the fridge and in a dark container. And try to always get Atlantic salmon oil if it's salmon oil...less mercury in wild salmon. And no salmon from the Pacific Northwest as it has a toxin that is toxic to dogs.
> 
> You should also give vitamin E to balance out the EFA's. I give my dog 120 IU's twice a week.


I believe it's a parasite in PNW salmon which can harm dogs if fed the fish fresh. After it's frozen for 30 days it's fine. I doubt there is any toxin or parasite in the fish oil itself.


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## flipgirl (Oct 5, 2007)

Canadian Dog said:


> I believe it's a parasite in PNW salmon which can harm dogs if fed the fish fresh. After it's frozen for 30 days it's fine. I doubt there is any toxin or parasite in the fish oil itself.


Yes, thanks Canadian Dog, you're right, it's a parasite not a toxin. I wasn't sure if it would be in the fish oil or not but just in case the OP thought he could give his dog the actual fish, I thought I'd mention it anyway. Thanks for correcting me.


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## biggie (Dec 3, 2008)

hi, im new to this forum and also a new puppy owner. i have a 10 week old west highland terrier (name is biggie). i was wondering if its safe to add the fish oil to his diet at his young age. if not, what age is usually appropriate for this? he is on wellness puppy formula kibbles and canned(was told i should do both).
thanks in advance.


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## reynosa_k9's (Dec 14, 2007)

You can feed as much as one "300mg dose" per 10 pounds of dog; you
can also start with less if you want. There's little chance
of "overdosing", at worst your dog might have loose stools but I've
never seen this happen. If it does, just back the dose down some.
For a 50lb dog, five x 300mg would not not inappropriate.


Jihad
and the pound puppy crew.


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## chienslover (Dec 1, 2008)

Hello,

You can also find some food that already contain fish oil. It is made by nutritionist so your dog get the exact amount of fish oil your dog need. You know sometime with supplement you tend to give more than your dog needs and it ‘s not always good.
I found a dog food for my Cody that work really really well for his skin problems: ProSeries: www.proseriespet.com


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## BrendaKay (Dec 7, 2008)

Flaxseed oil can be used instead of Fish oil.I tried fish oil for a while with my two cattle dogs but one had stool issues and both had fish breath even after brushing their teeth.
Right now I'm using a product called Show Stopper.It's a powder that is added to the food. My dogs like the taste,I put it on their dry food and they eat it up.Here is the web site address www.an-nat.com


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## Great Dane (Nov 18, 2008)

I use Grizzly Salmon Oil as a supplement once a week into the raw diet and it works wonders in maintaining a nice glossy ****** coat. Just 4 or 5 pumps every week onto their food or in their water keeps them good.


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