Adding Omega-3 Oils to Dog Food

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Question: I am totally confused about adding oils to dog food. I know there are fish oils, salmon, mackerel, sardine, anchovy, but I also have read that soybean oil, cod liver oil, wheat germ oil and flaxseed oil mixed together is good to use.

And I’ve heard that a ground-up mixture of flaxseeds, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds works good too.

Is one better than the other? Would it be advisable to do all three but not at the same time? Do different things on different days?

Any information would be so greatly appreciated for adding omega-3 oils to dog food.

That is a great question. There really is a lot of contradictory information out there. To make this a brief answer and not go into crazy detail, the science shows that omega-3 fatty acids are really beneficial for the body. They are a great source of antioxidants and help the cells to repair themselves and decrease dangerous oxidants that the body builds up. Decreasing the oxidants causes inflammation to decrease as well. This is good all over the body, from joints to blood vessels to skin.

Adding Omega-3 Oils to Dog Food

The best source of omega-3 oils is fish. Salmon is an excellent source. The omega-3 oils from fish are already in their bio-available forms (DHA and EPA). The body doesn’t have to do any extra conversions to use them.

Adding Omega-3 Oils to Dog Food. Photo: Stephen Cummings/Flickr.com

Flaxseeds also are high in omega-3 fatty acids, but the body needs to convert them to their active forms. A pet with no medical problems should be able to convert them.

I normally recommend fish oils (typically from salmon or a fish blend) to most pet owners because they work great and the body doesn’t need to further process them. Alternately, a more convenient option may be to buy omega-3 supplements for dogs or cats (gel caps) There are omega-3 soft chews for dogs as well.

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