Healthy Sources of Omega 3 for Dogs
Understanding Omega 3 For Dogs
EPA & DHA from oceanic marine-based sources, including fish, krill, mussels, and algae.
ALA from plant matter. This includes flaxseed oil, grapeseed oil, and other seed oils.
EPA & DHA are essential fatty acids and must be provided in the food. They are an important addition to your dog's diet: essential for brain and eye development of puppies, important for reducing the risk of various diseases, plus beneficial in improving conditions such as osteoarthritis and skin allergies.
Most kibble manufacturers add Omega 3 fatty acids to their foods. But they only add ALA sources (alpha-linolenic acid) from flaxseed oil. In fact, AAFCO only requires ALA sources — even though your dog (and cat) needs DHA and EPA!
A recent study shows that dogs fed only flaxseed oil have significantly decreased levels of omega 3. They fall short of the Omega 3 requirements for good health.
ALA is considered a short-chain omega 3 and may not be a sufficient source of omega 3 — since it doesn’t convert to EPA and DHA very well.
Marketing labels of your dog’s pet food kibble may suggest it’s rich in Omega 3 fatty acids — but it may be lacking EPA and DHA.
Omega-3 has been shown to support the reduction of anxiety & depression in dogs.
Omega 3 studies have shown that it can be extremely effective and an alternative consideration to NSAIDs
Key Takeaway — unless your dog is intolerant to fish and marine-based ingredients, if you’re feeding kibble, most everyone needs to supplement their food with a healthy marine-based Omega 3.
Good Sources of Omega 3
Dosages of Omega 3 For Dogs
Most supplements for Omega are offered at low maintenance dosages. For the average healthy pet, that supplementation level may be appropriate. But if you have a senior, allergies, joint health, cognitive disorders, seizures, cancer, or other inflammatory conditions you may need a much higher therapeutic dose.
In short maintenance dose is 50-100mg / kg / day. We move up to 150mg / kg / day for arthritis and allergies. 200+mg / kg / day for seizures, cancer, and chronic inflammatory conditions. You’ll always want to introduce at low dosages and build your way to a therapeutic dose of Omega 3.
Join me in my forum or facebook to learn more.
Omega 3 in Kibble Dog Food
It is likely to be insufficient in volume and runs the risk of going rancid before your dog consumes the entire bag of kibble. Even if you’re storing kibble in what you think is an air-tight container it may not be ideal. Generally speaking, all kibble feeders should consider an Omega 3 supplement.
You have great options for Omega 3 Supplementation from Volhard/Adored Beast, Dr, Ruth Roberts or Standard Process in My Amazon Store. Use my Linktree to find or join me on FB to discuss!