Fish Oil Dosage

[Chelsie]

Since Sam's vet suspected he could have allergies he has been on a fish oil supplement. The vet said he needed 3000 mg a day. Yesterday at the dog park a lady there, who is a vet tech, said the proper dosage is to take the dog's weight and multiply it by 20 and that this is the amount of EPA they should get. With this calculation he would need 6-7 capsules a day. She also highly recommended digestive enzymes and to do a liver cleanse twice a year. I knew when she was talking that I for sure would be checking in with my DoodleKisses! Any thought on these topics?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Digestive enzymes are a waste of money, and this woman sounds like a whack job, to be very honest. Liver cleanse? What on earth is that, and what is it for? In 55 years of living with dogs and 36 years of owning and caring for my own dogs, I have never heard one person with any reliable veterinary knowledge even mention such a thing. And I have a dog who has allergies among other health problems and is under the care of 3 different veterinary specialists besides his regular vet. I would completely ignore this lady's advice.Most vet techs are trained on the job and have no formal veterinary education. Listen to your vet. You are lucky to have a vet who is even educated enough to know that Omega 3 fatty acids help with allergy symptoms. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

Could not agree more. Liver cleanse is pure hokum. All these folks who advocate cleaning various organs from colons on up are just plain ridiculous and I would not listen to any advice from such a person. Unless a dog has a specific deficiency digestive enzymes are pure hokum too. Too much fish oil can cause bleeding. Ignore all this woman's advice.

[Chelsie]

I already knew not to listen about the liver cleanse...it sounded odd to me when she was talking about it! I know it is a huge trend in the human nutrition world and I thought it could be a new trend in pet nutrition as well. I was trying to search on here about the digestive enzymes because it also sounded odd to me, but I couldn't find anything. Just so I know when I see her again, why are enzymes a waste of money? I was more curious about how much fish oil Sam should be getting. Does it matter if it's salmon, cod liver, or a fish blend? I will stick with his 3000mg a day! Thanks to you both!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Digestive enzymes are a waste of money because your dog doesn't need them; unless he has a some type of malabsorption or pancreatic disease, he makes his own from the amino acids in his food. So do you and I. The enzymes found in food are digested by the stomach and play no role in the digestive process anyway. (So much for the "raw foodies" claims that cooking food destroys the enzymes in it; so does the digestive process, lol). As far as their being a "trend" in human nutrition, not in the scientifically educated community, lol.  Here's a great article about a human digestive enzyme; read the comments made by Quackwatch addressing each claim: http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/PhonyAds/mp.html

[Chelsie]

The trend I was speaking of is just that, the trendy cleanses and detoxes all the celebrities rave about. I get lots of questions from people asking about them. We already know the scientfically educated community isn't trendy, eating healthy and exercising never are!

[Heather & Jake]

You do not want cod liver oil, as for a fish blend as long as the label indicates the types of fish used, it is fine.

[Heather & Jake]

The fish oil dosage I've used is 100 mg of DHA+EPA per 10 lbs for daily maintenance. Use 3x that amount for a therapeutic dose. I stay away from any product using soy and tocopherol as it is often used as a preservative in fish oil so make sure you read the labels. As well as the DHA+EPA dosage, you want the type of fish and all ingredients to be clearly indicated. I've been using GNC salmon oil 1000... the human kind works great and is cheaper than those marketed in the pet industry.