I bought the Grizzly Salmon oil from Leerburg and it doesn't say anywhere on it that it needs to be refridgerated, but since I was refridgerating the Flax seed oil I was using beforehand, I wondered if it might be beneficial to do so? It IS kept in a dark cupboard, but occassionaly in the summer, our kitchen does warm up a bit (we're in VT, so not THAT warm :grin...

With the oil, I'm also now giving the reccomended vitamin E, from Leerburg (Oscar eats the capsule just fine). We feed twice a day and I'm wondering, if I split the Salmon oil into 2 portions, do I need to split the E as well, or will it still be effective if I only give it once a day? I understand that it's job is to balance out the E depletion of the oil, just not sure how quickly all of these digestive/absorption actions happen. If I need to split it, I'd probably just give 2 seperate capsules, as they're pretty small and would be hard to evenly divide... maybe he needs 2 anyway - he's 90lbs+ and gets 4 pumps of the salmon oil (2 in the morn, 2 at night)...

On top of all that, does he need a vit C supplement as well (he already gets daily veggies and kelp/alfafa)?

Also, I had been giving a tablespoon or so of plain yogurt every morning, but have recently read that, like grains, dairy has no place in a dog's diet... could this be doing any harm, or is it just not necessary? I know I need to stop projecting my own human dietary needs on my carnivorous pet...

Thanks for any thoughts on all this,
~Natalya

Last first: Most dogs do great with fermented dairy like yogurt, kefir, etc.

IMHO, milk and yogurt are very different things. As far as plain cow's milk goes, dogs are scavengers and probably do fine with the occasional serving of it, but I probably would avoid a commercial food that contained it, along with soy and a few other ingredients that seem to cause fairly frequent problems.

You don't need to split the E. It is metabolized over approximately 10 hours (or so I have read).

C is up to you. I feed produce and I don't feed C. But if I had a dog with a condition that would benefit from more C than dogs manufacture on their own (plus the C in the produce I give), I would absolutely reconsider that. Many people on this board do indeed give extra Ester C.

Fish oil -- The one I use does say to refrigerate it.

In general, even if it does not say that on the bottle, refrigeration may extend the shelf life. Oils from polyunsaturated fats are particularly susceptible to light and heat.

Grizzly says theirs can be kept at room temperature, as long as it's away from light, but that room temp means 70 degrees, and not 90 degrees. So when in doubt... yes, refrigerate it.

888-323-5575 is their toll-free number.

Thanks Connie!! Always my best dietary resource! I'll put that oil in the fridge.
I think I might also need to give him more E anyway, as the reccommended amount in IU (now that I look at the bottle) is actually over twice what I've been giving for his weight. Want to make sure all these supplements are equally proportioned...

I like feeding a little yogurt, partly because it sort of binds the misc. bits like produce, oil, powdered supplements and the like into a mushy stew around the RMBs that's easier (and I imagine tastier) to lap up. I was just concerned that too much of that bacteria could cause problems... sounds like it's probably OK.

I admit, ever since I started feeding raw, I love to just sit and watch Oscar eat! Not as much as he loves TO eat, I'm sure...

~Natalya

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

You don't need to split the E. It is metabolized over approximately 10 hours (or so I have read).

Thanks Connie -- I supplement fish oil in the am and Vit E in the pm meal so I was interested in the response to Natalya's post.

Natalya -- I use the Grizzly product and just feel better refrigerating it even though it doesn't specify that you need to.

I like watching my dog eat and enjoy her meals too.

Edited by Katie O'Connor (06/04/2007 02:56 PM)
Edit reason: add comment

 Quote: Natalya Zahn

I like feeding a little yogurt, ..... I was just concerned that too much of that bacteria could cause problems... sounds like it's probably OK.

Oh, I don't think that's possible, really.... I think that the probiotics in yogurt (and in the Leerburg probiotic supplements) are 100% beneficial and have no downside.

 Quote: Katie O'Connor

I supplement fish oil in the am and Vit E in the pm meal

Thinking that over ... I think I'd opt for giving the E in the morning with the fish oil. I was just thinking that if it's given in the evening and metabolizes over 10 hours or so, then the supplemented E is pretty much gone from the system by morning.

Overthinking it, I'm sure, and probably not crucial.... but if it's convenient, that's probably the way I'd go.

 Quote: katie o'connor

Natalya -- I use the Grizzly product and just feel better refrigerating it even though it doesn't specify that you need to.

Thanks Katie. Sometimes it's hard to know - some oils have "live" qualities that need to preserved with cooling, but all of our cooking oils just sit in the room temp cupboard without problems... maybe they're all of very poor nutritive quality now because of it, but they're really just for frying pan lubrication anyway . I tend to go by the instructions on the bottle... but since this is 100% for supplemental nutrition, I'll take all the precautions I can to keep it in peak condition.

~Natalya

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

 Quote: Katie O'Connor

I supplement fish oil in the am and Vit E in the pm meal

Thinking that over ... I think I'd opt for giving the E in the morning with the fish oil. I was just thinking that if it's given in the evening and metabolizes over 10 hours or so, then the supplemented E is pretty much gone from the system by morning.

Connie -- now that I think about it you are probably right. I will supplement the fish oil and E together in the same meal.

Can you explain the benefit/relation to giving them together? I am not sure of the reason/s why -- and I would like to learn.

Katie,

I'm sure Connie can answer in more depth than I can, but this is from Leerburg's vitamin E product info:

"We always give Vitamin E along with salmon oil as part of our natural diet, as this good omega 3 will deplete the body reserves of Vitamin E used to stabilize these highly reactive oil molecules."

It's not so much that it's a bonus supplement, rather one that counteracts the downside to supplementing with fish oil - vitamin E depletion. Therefore, they really need to be given in tandem to maintain a balance.

Hope I have that right...

~Natalya

Natalya -- that makes perfect sense. I thought it had something to do with maintaining a balance.

Thanks!