animalrehabilitation.com Blog

We’ve discussed fish oil supplementation for dogs here on the blog before. You are probably trying to incorporate more omega-3′s into your own diet. What about your pet’s diet? I would love to hear from you what your experiences are or if you have additional information. I’ve included below some information that my regular clients already know about.

Here is a snippet from the 3/9/10 Vet-Advantage weekly e-zine (“bold” lettering is my doing):

Study shows possible benefits of omega-3 fatty acids for dogs with arthritis
The results of three studies published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) show possible benefits of omega-3 fatty acids for dogs with arthritis. In the three studies, the dogs that were fed the foods containing high omega-3 fatty acid concentrations experienced less pain associated with the disease and greater mobility.

In the first study, dogs with chronic pain associated with osteoarthritis showed improvements in their ability to play and rise from rest at six weeks after being switched to a diet containing high concentrations of fish oil omega-3 fatty acids.

The second study showed that limb strength in dogs improved with omega-3 dietary intervention, according to Dr. Kevin Hahn, director of research and chief medical officer at Hill’s Pet Nutrition Inc.

Veterinarians were able to reduce the dosage of carprofen in the third study, a common NSAIDused for pain relief in dogs with osteoarthritis, while still providing pain relief to dogs that were fed food supplemented with omega-3 fatty acids.

Dosage amounts were not given but this is important information to know!

Here are 2 more links to investigate:

Fish oil information in great detail here!

Fish oil study discussed in a blog here!