Fish Oil

Fish Oil

We started adding one fish oil capsule a day to Piper and Murray's food after talking to our vet about the positive affect it can have on a dog's skin and coat.  Piper has very few issues with his skin and coat, but Murray has ongoing skin inflammation that pops up from time to time.  We started giving fish oil about a year and a half ago, and I can say we did see small improvements after about a month.  There is a slight fishy smell to their breath, but it's nothing terrible.  One important side note...please talk with your vet before starting your dog on fish oils.  It is a blood thinner, and your vet will be able to tell you if this is safe for your dog, depending on other conditions and medications.  You will also want to be giving out the correct dosage for your size dog.  If given in too large an amount, it can cause diarrhea, so watch this when it is started.  My dogs are a little under 100 pounds each and we give a 1200 mg fish oil pill.  They seem to be doing well on that dosage and we are working on losing weight, so it seems to be the perfect dosage for us.  Here are some good guidelines to keep handy, but of course, please double check with your vet. 

Weight of dog            Daily fish oil dosage for dogs
5lbs                           100mg
10lbs                         200mg
20lbs                         400mg
30lbs                         500mg
50lbs                         1000mg
100lbs                       2000mg

It takes a month or two to really see anything improving with the skin and coat.  So give it some time.  Most of the benefits are actually unseen.  Those benefits are:

skin and coat improvement

helps treat inflammatory diseases such as arthritis and allergies

helps strengthen immune systems

helps decrease blood pressure

improves brain functions

helps weight loss