Fish Oil for Dogs – Part 1

Meet Bailey!

Bailey is my 11-year-old Shepherd-Husky mix.

Bailey and I have walked over 11,000 miles during the last 10 years or so.

He occasionally comes to work. He is unofficially considered an employee at OmegaVia.

Like many parents, I have some regrets about how I raised Bailey.

I fed him junk kibble for the first 3 years of his life.

Buying fish oil for dogs never even crossed my mind, even though I was a nutritionist and was working for a dietary supplement company at the time.

That was 8 years ago.

Now Bailey gets fish oil supplements and Omega-3 rich natural foods.

What made me change his diet?

Fish Oil for Dogs: why?

Dogs suffer from Omega-3 deficiency just like humans.

But Omega-3 deficiency symptoms are hard to tell by just looking at the dog. Omega-3 deficiency interferes in the way tissues and organs work and it requires a much closer inspection before you can identify the deficiency problem.

Omega-3 Deficiency and Diseases in Dogs:

 

1. Heart health – yes dogs suffer from this too!
2. Skin health – dry, red, inflamed itchy skin.
3. Joint and hip mobility – hip dysplacia and other genetic diseases are not Omega-3 related, but fish oil will help your dog deal with the symptoms.
4. Mood  – anxiety (not separation anxiety…that’s a different can of worms and has to do with lack of leadership, exercise etc.)
5. Immunity – this is a group of diseases, but some can be treated with Omega-3.
6. Increased aggression – this is mostly a behavioral problem, but some studies have shown that aggressive dogs have less Omega-3 in their bodies.
7. Obesity – besides the obvious causes (over-feeding and lack of exercise), too much Omega-6 and too little Omega-3 leads to obese dogs.
8. Kidney health – fish oil can decrease blood pressure in your dog’s kidneys.
9. Allergies – this is related to skin disorders, but several allergies are out-of-control inflammation in your dog’s body. Fish oil can help reduce this inflammation and the resulting allergic response.
10. Poor wound healing – this also has to do with inflammation. Too much inflammation equals poor healing. Fish oil helps reduce inflammation in your dog and would heals faster as a result.

Well, that’s because fish oils provide similar health benefits for dogs as they do for people.

The Root of the Problem

It’s kibble.

Mass-produced kibble has hardly any Omega-3. This is because most Omega-3 is deliberately removed from dry dog food.

This seems like a foolish thing to do, but most dog food manufacturers REMOVE Omega-3 from their kibble.

Or they buy ingredients that have low-Omega-3.

Why? Because Omega-3 is a fat and it can turn rancid quickly. Rancid dog food smells bad. And if dog food smells bad, people will stop buying it.

Simple as that.

And what makes the problem worse…

In the place of Omega-3 fats, most dog food manufacturers add Omega-6 fats from corn and vegetable (soy) oils.

Omega-6 is not Omega-3 times two. Nor is it twice as good as Omega-3.

Omega-6 is cheap. And it doesn’t go rancid easily. So food processors LOVE it.

Replacing Omega-3 with Omega-6 just makes matters worse. Because Omega-6 competes with Omega-3. These two types of fats compete for positions in your dog’s body tissues. Think musical chairs. When there is so little Omega-3 and so much Omega-6, guess which one is going to win the musical chairs game?

Yup, Omega-6 wins and it gets incorporated into your dog’s tissues and organs. Dogs (and humans) convert the Omega-6 into compounds that irritate their skin and joints.

And too much Omega-6 causes inflammation and most of the diseases listed above.

Other Issues with Kibble

Not enough Omega-3 is just one of the issues with mass-market kibble.

Often, ingredients found in dog food are not there to nourish your pet – their function may be to help the kibble-making extruding machine function properly. Extruders work best at certain moisture and consistency. And this is sometimes the reason why there is so much grain, rendered animal parts and flour by-products in dog food. These ingredients are officially “food,” but they’re basically acting as ‘WD-40’ for the extruders.

Here is an excellent link that discusses what’s really in pet foods.

Thanks to Dr. Karen Shane, our wonderful and amazing vet, who gently nudged me so many years ago into switching from junk kibble to more wholesome foods. Bailey and I still drive 2 hours in LA traffic to her office for his check ups.

Part 2 of Fish Oil for Dogs will cover specific details of how to choose the right foods for your pooch.

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