I went to order my fish oil today to find out there are many different kinds of oil derived from marine life. Cod Liver Oil, Salmon Oil, Wild Fish oil, anchovy oil. All of them have the Fatty acids and Omega 3's. Which is the best oil to give for skin itching and dryness?

 Quote: lisa harrison

I went to order my fish oil today to find out there are many different kinds of oil derived from marine life. Cod Liver Oil, Salmon Oil, Wild Fish oil, anchovy oil. All of them have the Fatty acids and Omega 3's. Which is the best oil to give for skin itching and dryness?

Liver oil is kind of dicey for several reasons, IMO, including the large amounts of oil-soluble vitamins in a daily therapeutic dose.

Most of the fish-muscle oils (or fish body -- the oil that is not liver oil ) are pretty similar in DHA and EPA content.

Omega 3 EFAs (DHA and EPA) are the big factor.

So-called "balanced" oils, "balanced" in 6s and 3s (Omega 6 and Omega 3 EFAs, or "essential fatty acids") or maybe 3-6-9, are not what I am looking for.

The point to me of adding long-chain Omega 3s to the daily diet is to address the modern imbalance toward 6s. This is a result of several things, but largely from modern big ag practice of feeding grains to slaughter animals. A dog (or a human) used to eat pasture or wild animals, both of which store Omega 3s in their fat and meat.

Capsulized: 6s trigger the formation of hormones that favor inflammation (a necessary healing process) and long-chain 3s trigger the formation of hormones that favor anti-inflammation. A diet lopsided in 6s (supermarket poultry, for example) figures in with inflammation gone amok, such as in diabetes, osteoarthritis, and so on. Most ailments have an inflammation factor; some are basically inflammation-caused.

ALA (from flax, canola, etc.), or Alpha Linoleic Acid, is converted inefficiently (maybe a top rate of 15%) by humans into these long-chain Omega 3s, but the dog's rate is around zero. This is why dogs need the "premade" Omega 3s, especially from marine products.

Wild salmon and wild small fish are low in heavy metals like mercury. Big top-of-the-chain fish (and lots of farmed fish) are generally high.

Many folks use this: http://leerburg.com/47.htm

and http://leerburg.com/53.htm

Thanks for the links. I was leaning toward the Grizzly Salmon Oil, that is the one I think I will try.