Fish Oil

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Fasb's Owner

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So I've been giving Fasb a tablespoon of coconut oil per day - mostly to try to ease his joints. Coconut oil is my secondary supplement. He gets one Cosequin tablet DS tablet in the morning. He's responded well since I put him on Cosequin. Basically, coconut oil is a supplement to the supplement.

Anyway, I need to find something else. He took the coconut oil ok at first, but it's become a hassle with him. I don't think he likes the taste. He turns to turn his nose up at it. Sometimes, he will eat it out of my hand with some coaxing, sometimes I have to smear it on a treat to get him to eat it. I have tried various ploys to get him to ingest it, including melting it to a liquid. No luck. This week, he probably got more like half a tablespoon than a tablespoon daily. He wouldn't eat it all.

The vet originally suggested either coconut oil or fish oil. I'm thinking a fish oil caplet would be easier to get in him at this point. I have fish oil gel caps on hand (1000mg, 300 mg Omega-3). From everything I've read/been told/heard, it's ok to just give him a fish oil supplement for humans. Is that right?'

Basically, I want to be sure this is ok before I try it. I expect some of you give your dogs fish oil, right? Do you just buy a bottle at the grocery store or is their something else I should know before i give it to him.

FYI: the bottle I have on hand is Sundown Naturals / 1000 mg (orange) gel caps (w/ 300 mg Omega-3). IIRC, the vet told me I could give Fasb up to 1500 mg a day. I'll probably call the vet tomorrow to verify that.

Thoughts? Does this sound safe to try or do I need to buy a supplement formulated for dogs? At this point, I think it'll be easier to get him to swallow a capsule. Since he's not wanting to eat the coconut oil, it's hard to get the amount in him that the vet recommended.

Thanks.
 
Before I started giving my dogs coconut oil I gave them 1200mg Omega 3 fish oil capsules for people and then after that fish oil in a bottle for dogs. You can use either. About the coconut oil, how do you feed it to him? Do you give it to him straight or in his food? If you want to you could give it one last shot and put it in his food if you haven't already. But if he dosen't like it, their's no point in forcing it on him.
 
My only caution with fish oil is ....weight gain!

I started my boys on it about 10 months ago and fed for about 8 months....Indy turned into a porker. Yes, there could be other reasons why but when I looked at the calorie count it is super high.

Do about 1.5 months ago I switched him to olive oil instead of fish oil. He has lost almost 2 pounds without any change in his food levels.

Don't get me wrong....I think its awesome, but just monitor....
 
I give my Gypsy fish oil and have been using Nordic Naturals Omega-3s for pets. I originally started giving it to my cat who was having some itchy skin issues and his behavior has improved 100%. Gypsy's improvement has been slower, but her eyes are as clear as they were when she was a baby! (She's eleven!)

I take Nordic Naturals myself, and have been for five years now. They were recommended to me by a doctor/nutritionist, so it made sense to use the same brand for the animals. A lot of other brands I looked into had a lot of preservatives.

I'd say go for it! The dosage is right on the bottle, and there is a smaller bottle for cats/small dogs that comes with a dropper. I buy the bigger bottle now, and they are exactly the same (ingredients, etc.), except obviously the price is more. They're cheapest at Vitacost.com.

I started Gypsy on 1/2 tsp a day, and am now up to a full tsp a day. It doesn't have a fishy smell to it AT ALL, and if it does, it's gone bad and Nordic stands completely behind their product and will replace it. I've never had that issue, knock on wood.

Good luck! :biggrin2:
 
I gave the boys fish oil from capsules for humans but it was a pain in the rear so I found a smokin deal on Salmon oil at Amazon. Lots easier putting a tsp on their food from the squirt bottle each day than messing with the capsules. Since I feed raw its a supplement that's necessary.
 
Shopping at the pet store today and I noticed Greenie's makes a joint care supplement (contains fish oil, green-lipped mussels and flaxseed, according to the label. Good dose of glucosamine/chondroitin).

Anyone use this? Fasb seems to like the taste of his regular Greenie bone, so I'm considering picking up a box of these to give him in the evening (in place of his normal after-dinner treat). I'm assuming I can give him his Cosequin tablet in the morning and the Greenie bone in the evening.
 
I use the fish oil caplets from Costco, pretty cheap and my girls just chew them down. Couldn't be easier and no mess. They also get VP Joint and Muscle formula. BTW they are having a Black Friday sale 50% off with code VPblackfriday.

Have had no problems with weight gain on the fish oil caps! They get one a day.
 
Blithe Spirit and I both take the same fish oil caplets from the drugstore. Two for me and one for him. I just throw it in his dish with his dinner, although he will eagerly take it from my hand. My vet had suggested it for my previous dog, not a Sheltie, and when I got Blithe his breeder had been giving it to her dogs.
 
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