A Dog and Fish Story: The Importance of Omega 3s in Your Dog’s Diet

Holy mackerel–it seems every aisle in the grocery store is crowded with human foods enhanced with omega 3s.  We know why:  it’s good for the heart, the brain, the skin, the joints . . . so, do the same benefits apply to dogs?  And if so, what’s the best source of omega 3 fatty acids for our furry friends?

One reason it’s so important for humans to consume omega 3s is that they are not produced by the body.  That’s why they are called essential oils.  The same is true of your canine companion.  Your dog gets omega 3s only if he eats them.

Omega 3s have long been given to dogs (and cats for that matter) to improve coat.  Research and practice shows that there are many more benefits for concerns such as:

• arthritis
• brain health
• immune system
• neural development of puppies
• allergies
• skin and coat

You may have noticed that many dog foods contain omega 3 fatty acids.  Here are a couple of things to keep in mind.  The first is that you want to make sure that the omega 3s come from fish and fish oil not vegetable oil.  The vegetable sources don’t convert well and are much less effective.  The other concern is that the balance between omega 3 fatty acids and omega 6 fatty acids should be 2:1.  The ratio in bagged pet food is often the reverse because the kibble is full of grain and cereal.  One easy remedy there is to use grain free foods enhanced with fish oil.  Or, as we have chosen, you can feed your dogs a raw diet.

What if you use a bagged food enhanced with omega 3 fish oil but you still see issues with your dog’s arthritis, allergies, coat or skin?

It’s time for fish or fish oil supplements.

If you choose to feed fish to your dog, please choose your fish wisely. We feed a raw diet and include 6″ long wild caught sardines.  Although we still supplement with fish oil pills, we also like feeding a small, whole, raw fish.  In order to minimize toxins like PCBs and mercury, choose wild caught fish and consult with fish safety lists like this one: http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=17694

A little bit more . . .

We also supplement with fish oil pills because we notice a lot of health improvements with just a little bit more fish oil.  We especially see this in increased pliability of our old girl’s joints and increased sheen in all the dogs’ coats.  Just as fish is often contaminated, fish oil supplements are often contaminated as well.  This list analyzes the safety of fish oil supplements http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=16536 HOWEVER, they recommend several that have recently been sued because of PCB contamination.  So please, do your due diligence and cross-reference your supplement choices.  To read more about the fish oils mentioned in the March 3, 2010 lawsuit, follow this link: http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=363337

Guaranteed Purity

If, like me, you just want a supplement you know you can trust . . . from a company that guarantees purity, then I recommend Shaklee’s Omegaguard.  Shaklee guarantees purity and goes above and beyond to do so.  Experts recommend fish oil that is molecularly distilled.  Shaklee’s goes through triple molecular distillation.  Experts also recommend fish oil made from small fish with short life spans.  Shaklee’s is made from small, deep cold water fish with short life spans (they are less likely to absorb toxins).  And Shaklee is a 54 year old leader in the natural nutrition industry and known for its integrity in science.

Just one serving (three softgels) of Omegaguard delivers 1000 mg of fish oil:  545 mg of EPA and 360 mg of DHA. My dogs love them so much that they come running every time I open my vitamin chest!  They eat them whole and pop them with their teeth, getting a yummy mouthful of pure fish oil.  I guess you have to be a dog to appreciate that.

Omegaguard is available at http://lifespring.myshaklee.com/us/en/products.php?sku=20244

Whatever source you choose, as long as it’s a pure, contaminant-free fish oil, your pooch will thank you!