On this topic I found some new fish oil caps to give to my dogs, think they may be better than the other ones i was using, but it say it contains D-Alpha Tocopherol 33.56mg eq. to Vitamin E 50IU does this mean I don't have to give vitamin E separately? Hope i haven't missed this earlier in this thread. BTW they're Swisse Wild Salmon Oil caps.

undeserved, unwarranted political over-reaction on my part only weakly associatted to the topic at hand - sorry i seem to be doing more of that as i get older.

for the record without qualification i will commence the addition of Omega 3 + Vit. E. could you point me to the thread on dose, frequency etc or if you still don't mind the dog is around 20mo female, active & 32 kg.

the calcium etc i will figure from books/DVD's articles you pointed out.

thanks for your replies Connie.

No, you'd still need to give more.
That amount of Vitamin E is present as a preservative, not as a supplement.

For an adult GSD you should be giving about 200-400 IU of Vitamin E, depending on how *big* of a GSD. Medium sized dogs closer to 200IU, and large dogs closer to 400IU.

depending on how *big* of a GSD.

er not a GSD, is this breed specific info??

Not at all. I tend merely to specify a breed I know well, when referring to dog sizes, as a method of standardization.

What is a "small" dog to one person, is a medium to another, etc.

As far as salmon oil is concerned, you're aiming for 1,000mg for every 10 lbs of dog.

thanks i can get that

cheers

 Quote: peter cavallaro

... could you point me to the thread on dose, frequency etc or if you still don't mind the dog is around 20mo female, active & 32 kg.

the calcium etc i will figure from books/DVD's articles you pointed out.

Calcium isn't a necessary (or desirable) supplement unless you are doing home-cooked or for some reason feeding boneless meats. It "comes in" RMBs (and of course in commercial foods).

70 pounds or so would be about 7 grams (7000 mg) of fish oil and 200 to 400 IU of vitamin E (preferably d-alpha with mixed tocopherols) per day for a healthy dog not facing any particular inflammation challenges, IMO.

The E sounds vague, and is, because it doesn't come in a lot of sizes, and because 70 pounds is kind of an "in between" size for E. But more important, E has not been shown to accumulate to any level close to toxicity in dogs, even at very high lab trial dosages.

Most dogs love both, BTW. Mine consider E-caps to be doggy caviar, so no need to pierce and squeeze. I've encountered (or read of) very very few who had to be convinced (just by piercing it a bit so they could taste what was in there).

No need to get special made-for-dogs fish oil, but there are nice handy pump bottles. http://leerburg.com/47.htm

(With a dog this size, you will most likely want liquid fish oil as opposed to gelcaps, which get crazy-expensive for any size dog over 10 or 20 pounds. )

Of course, salmon (and other fish) oil, like all fat from meat and fish, includes some Omega 6 EFAs. But the ultimate effect of fish oil is to help bring into better balance the dietary ratio of 6s to 3s that has become so skewed in the last 150 or so years.

An interesting point in the above discussion on Omega 3s.
I am feeding amongst other things beef and lamb which would be raised on grass.Does this mean that I do not have to supplement with wild salmon oil ,which I am doing.Could I give too much Omega 3?I also give the vitamin e
Another question ,how many owners feeding raw include vegetables in the dogs diet?

The entire diet is comprised of naturally pastured prey animals?

Absolutely NO time in the feedlot?

Personally, I would continue with supplementation. Simply because it is inexpensive, I don't think you would be doing any harm, and could possibly be giving even more benefit.

I'd like to hear others opinions on this, though.

 Quote: Jack Gingell

Another question ,how many owners feeding raw include vegetables in the dogs diet?

I do, but it's a relatively minor part of the diet--maybe 3% by weight of the total diet. The vegetables I feed include (in order of frequency) green beans, broccoli, kale, carrots, peas, strawberries, blueberries, --and the occasional sweet potato.