What type of fish oil suppliment.......

Question:
 do you guys prefer??
The colder this winter gets the more dull Orson's normally shiny coat seems to get. We switched his kibble to Blue Buffalo - fish & sweet potato (from chicken soup) and bought a fish oil additive. It's the kind they have a petsmart called "Veterinarian's Best, natural care" ingredients are: fish oil, vegetable oil, lecithin, d-Alpha Tocophery, fish liver oil, beef liver flavor. (in that order)
Opinions/advice?
(not sure where to post this, he isn't sick per se so didn't think it should be in health)

Answer:
i buy cheap fish oil gel caps from the dollar store.
fish oil 1000 MG soft gels
ingrediants: gelatin, glycerin, fish oil (herring, anchovy, mackerel, salmon)
what you bought sounds alot better than what i have!

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I have the kind you buy from RiteAid or your local drug store.
I have the GNC Fish Body Oils 1000 MG. Ingredients are.... Fish Body Oils, Gelatin, and Glycerin.

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I will sometimes pop a salmon capsuil in the dogs food, or sometimes feed them salmon from the can for the oils and such. Great coats and great results.

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This stuff I have is a bottle of liquid, I have to measure out the tsps full. So when you use the gel caps, do you just let the dog eat them (and does the dog eat them easily if you do) or do you break them open for the dog?
I think I would rather go with the gel caps too, less ingredients usually is the better road I would think.

Answer:
I get liquid salmon oil. I have used various brands. Right now, I'm using Grizzly Salmon oil.

Answer:
This stuff I have is a bottle of liquid, I have to measure out the tsps full. So when you use the gel caps, do you just let the dog eat them (and does the dog eat them easily if you do) or do you break them open for the dog?
I think I would rather go with the gel caps too, less ingredients usually is the better road I would think.
Major, if I put it in his food(kibble and canned) he eats it with no problem. But by it's self, he doesn't take it very well.
Lizzie :rolleyes: She'd take the pill in any way, shape, or form :p

Answer:
We use Girzzly Salmon Oil.

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Another Grizzly user.

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Thanks guys! I think I will look for some gel caps when this bottle starts to run out. One more thing,Orson is sometimes tricky with pills (he will sometimes work them back out of his mouth after clearing off peanutbutter) where do you grizzly salmon oil people usually find that just in case?

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Pet stores.. or you can order it online.

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I like:
www.seapet.com

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I get liquid salmon oil. I have used various brands. Right now, I'm using Grizzly Salmon oil.
Good stuff.

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I like:
www.seapet.com
My favorite dog supplement.

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I wanted the Grizzly Salmon oil, but my pet food store doesn't have it. So we use Herring oil. I haven't had any issues with it.
I'd much rather add a tasty oil to their food though, than have to give them for pils or capsules.

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I used capsules from the drug store. Grizzly is the most recommended oil I think. I think getting bottled oil is more cost effective as well

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Hmmmmm, I paid $10 for an 8 ounce bottle. He has to have at least 3 tsp each day (according to bottle) I haven't priced anything else yet, just assumed if the capsules were just as effective as the liquid, that I could find a better price on capsules. I don't mind measuring, or the price............just wondered what would be best route.
I wasn't quite sure if I liked the "beef liver flavor" listed on ingredients of this stuff. He seems to love it and licks the bowl clean, but he likes cat pooh too!

Answer:
3 tsp sounds like a lot. I think Mordy had recommended 1000mg per 50lbs or something like that. I can't remember exactly but what she recommended is how I got my dosage for my dogs. I give Gunnar 2 gel caps and Bruzer 1, that are 1000mg each a few times a week. I hide them in their food and they eat them. You need to add some vitamin E as well as that helps with the absorbing of the fatty acids.

Answer:
Danl, this liquid stuff is a mixture of vitamin E, fish oils, and Veggie oils, that could be why 3 tsps sounds like so much. (ingredients listed on first post) Orson is over 70 pounds. (he is the dobe in the picture)
I do think I am going to try the capsules though, and that grizzly oil sounds popular (with good results) too.

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I use the Timberwolf Organic salmon oil :D

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I'm surprised no one has mentioned contamination in fish oil from mercury, lead, dioxins, furans, PCB's, etc. Those are just as toxic for a dog as they are for humans!
A while back I did quite a bit of research on the various brands of fish oil for humans. There is an organization called International Fish Oil Standards (IFOS) that performs independent studies on many popular brands of fish oil.
The brand that I found that was both readily available and passed (by a significant margin) the IFOS standards is called 'Nordic Naturals'. This is the brand my wife and I have been using for a while. You can get it at pretty much any health food store (including Wholefoods), but I've found it's cheapest at Vitamin Shoppe.
Anyway, recently I started looking into fish oil for pets, and my first inclination was to check Nordic Naturals. Sure enough, they have a pet line!
Here's the URL:
http://www.nordicnaturals.com/PetOwners/PetOwners.asp
You can see their test results here:
http://www.nordicnaturals.com/images/3rdpartypet.gif
If you're interested, you can read the IFOS consumer reports yourself here:
http://www.nutrasource.ca/ifos_new/index.cfm?section=ifosconsumer

Answer:
irotas...good point!
How long does it take to tell if the stuff is actually doing anything??

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How long does it take to tell if the stuff is actually doing anything??
For a dog, I'm not sure. I just started thinking about giving our dog fish oil a few days ago, and we haven't purchased anything yet. Try it and see! :p

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Wow, thanks for that information...............it truly never occured to me!

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There's one other thing I've been curious about but have not yet found an answer for. Since fish is strongly acidic, how does it affect a dogs urinary pH? I've looked around but haven't found anything relating fish oil to pH.
P.S. Yes, I know that cranberry juice can be used to lower urinary pH. I just want to know if fish oil does the same. :)

Answer:
Another tidbit of information ...
From the Nordic Naturals website:
"While research indicates that a ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 of 5:1 to 10:1 is optimal for dogs, many pet foods contain primarily Omega-6 fatty acids from vegetable oils. This results in a highly unbalanced ratio dominated by Omega-6."
The cite the following source:
Vaughn D, Reinhart G, Swaim S, et al. Evaluation of dietary n-6 to n-3 fatty acid ratios on leukotriene B synthesis in dog skin and neutrophils. Vet Dermatol 1994;5(4):163–173.
Generally speaking, you want to strive to get as close to the 5:1 ratio as reasonably possible.
You may wonder what happens if you go beyond the 5:1 ratio. There are 3 important side-effects:
1) Omega-3 is a natural mood enhancer. I once read about a study that researching the effects of extremely high dosages of Omega-3 (on humans). The study was terminated (at a relatively high dosage, far beyond 5:1) when patients started exhibiting mania (i.e., excessive excitement). Imagine adding MORE excitement to a hyper young puppy!
2) Omega-3 is a powerful anti-inflammatory, which with respect to a typical human/canine diet is usually a very good thing. However, inflammation is sometimes necessary; it's one of your body's most powerful weapons against infection. Too much Omega-3 can reduce your body's natural defenses against infection.
3) Omega-3 is a natural anticoagulant (i.e., blood thinner). If your dog already has problems coagulating (i.e., blood clotting after injury) you may want to talk to your vet before increasing his Omega-3 intake.
Hope this is helpful to somebody. :)