Hi all,

I would like to know if I need to supplement vitamin E with the fish oil at the same time, or if I could feed the fish oil in the morning and add the vitamin E in her evening meal.

I have always fixed her meals with both. But since she has sensitive stomach, I have to give a couple in the morning and a couple in the evening. She had diarrhea once when I tried dosing her fish oil all in one meal, and I don't want that to happen again because it smelled bad.

So essentially, she is getting 400 iu of vit. E daily and I was told 200 iu would be enough.



Also, I bought a whole salmon head for my pup at the Asian market today! I am so excited!

I wonder if I should just throw the whole head out for her, or - super gross - hack it up to use over a few days.

I can't stand fish heads.

I think of you give part of her salmon oil with each meal and her vitamin e in one meal you will be fine.

Sometimes I forget to add one or the other and I add it to the next meal.

Also, there is one kind of fresh salmon that you do not want to feed....I cannot remember which one (I do not have a lot of access to fish here)....Northwest or something...if you do a search for "feeding, salmon" here on this site, I am sure it will come up...(unless you already know about it... )

Hi Carol,

Thanks for the feedback. ) That's good to know.

I am quite sure it's the Pacific salmon that we are warned about, but thanks for the heads up all the same.

I sure hope feeding a whole head is OK. I mean, I have seen whole lamb heads fed to dogs. It's pretty gross-looking, and I can't stand touching it. I just took off the pectoral fins, almost killed myself doing it! Janka is sitting just outside the kitchen, looking very intenty at me.

Too bad I can't use a fish head for drive work.

Salmon oil and VT E do not need to be given at the same time. Both are essentially fat soluble and shooting from the hip I would say that the absorption rates would be higher if fed after a meal or at least at different times. IMO dogs do not need VE every day and to much can be toxic. If he is eating 2X as much as was recommended that can be the cause of his upset tummy and digestive issues.

You definitely do not want to feed to your dog raw North Western Salmon. My vet sat me down told me not to feed any raw salmon. While the major cases of dog deaths are from salmon caught North of Oregon why risk it.
I live in Sacramento and catch a lot of my own salmon and steelhead my dog will not get them raw.
As far as I know there has been no cases of death from farm raised, Atlantic or Pacific salmons caught south of Oregon but my dog will not be the first.

Hi Rei,
we tried feeding Max a whole salmon head once.
He had no idea what to do with it. Tried pulling at it but I think he got confused cos it was so heavy.
So we had to hack it up for him, he ended up eating most of it but wouldn't touch the bit with eyes.
He was quite unsure with the whole thing even after we cut it up. Let us know how Janka does with it.

wanted to show you a link to one study, there have been many, showing over increase chance of death. http://www.news-medical.net/?id=6240

looking though some research articles on how and why it upset the digestive processes.

I personally alternate salmon oil and vit e each meal. It works well.

As far as salmon being fed from the pacific nw, it is unlikely that any of you will be doing so unless you do so on purpose.

Generally pacific salmon is insanely expensive here and even more so in other parts of the country and here there is no such thing as generic salmon. It's either King, Chum, pink, sockeye, chinook, or steelhead (which is not a salmon but behaves like one). Currently in my supermarket a sockeye runs about $10 a lb and last time at walmart I could buy a whole atlantic for $7 and with the restrictions on fishing this year I expect this price to double or triple for our local fish.

So generally speaking no person selling salmon will ever mess up calling a pacific salmon anything but copper river, columbia river, elwha river, etc etc followed by the name of the kind of salmon because the difference in quality and price would make it foolish to do otherwise.

Hello Jeff Cambeis,

Thank you so much for the information and link.

Could you advise on how often I could feed her vitamin E then? Would dosing her on alternate days be OK for her system, while allowing for absorbing the EFAs?


Rhonda,

Unfortunately, the head was not a hit with her. I think she was unsure on what to do with it. It was all slimy and slippery, and was huge, heavy and hard! I tried ripping the flesh ( ) and holding it out for her, and she just mouthed it.

It was a HUGE hit with my cat though! My pup stood over Kennedy Kittay and watched him go at it. She did finally eat a few ripped off bits of salmon after. But I think she basically thought, "That head? It's ALL you, Kennedy!"

My husband tried to take a photograph, but the darn batteries died then.

Well, we tried. No luck.

I can get a cow head at a local butcher ... ...

Hello Rei
The primary role of Vitamin E is to protect other vitamins A, D,and C, it also helps protect cell membranes. It acts as an antioxidant. The problem is our body works by oxidation reactions things like oxygen and ATP are oxidants.. The general theory behind overdosing on Vitamin E is that it cause to body to become reactionary and become to favorable to oxidants.

Basically the body tires to equilibrating but goes to far in favoring oxidants.

As far as how much your dog should get. If you are feeding 100% raw meat 100-200 IU every day or every other day is plenty.
I give my dog one 100 IU Vitamin E maybe once or twice a week (when I know we will spend allot of time in the sun). I feed her raw in the mornings and about 1 cup of high quality kibble at night. Kibble has some Vita E.

Every few weeks I purchase a big thing of peeled garlic. I chop it in a food processor and soak it in same container I bought it in. I add olive oil and vegetable oil. I use a table spoon in with her raw. It also works great for cooking and IMO has more than enough Vita E

The key is to remember Vita E is fat soluble. The body stores it. Most SCIENTIFIC studies say an adult needs only 5-60 IU. 100-200 I doubt very much will harm you.

Hope this helps. Also there are non scientific studies that make claims that 1000 IU will greatly benefit your health. They are usually done by the same people who want to sell you the 1000 IU pills or make you feel guilty if you don't. IMO they are trying to prey on people who really care about health and have a lack of confidence in main stream medicine.


P.S.
I would kill to find a butcher close to me that I could actually buy a cow head. Here in Sacramento even the Butchers are large scale commercial companies. I can not even find chicken backs.

Hi Jeff,

Appreciate the additional info!

I didn't know garlic has Vit. E either. I learn something new and valuable everyday! I add a small clove of garlic along with her meat once a week.

If I head up San Francisco to visit my friend, I can throw a head into the cooler for you if Sacramento isn't too far.

I am just not ready myself to deal with a head though. A whole rabbit, with head attached, is my next ambitious attempt.

Yeeuuck.