A clients vet told them to pour olive oil on their dogs food for a shiny coat. Anyone ever hear of or do this?

The dog does have a very shiny coat. It is a Science Diet dog (Ugh!)

Olive oil, if I remember, is an Omega 6. Some dogs need more Omega 6 if they have problems. Rare though it may be, some dogs DO improve with added Omega 6. Googling can help clarify it. It makes mine worse, but that just means they get enough of it.

I'd attribute it to the extra fat.

Oh boy Oh boy, sumthin I know sumthin about.

Not all Olive oils are equal, if the bottle just says "Olive Oil" it usually made in a centrifuge from the left overs of the intial pressing where you get the high value Extra Virgin. More often then not the grocery store brands will be cut with canola oil or what ever is cheapest. I suspect PennsOil or QuakerState in some of it. Real EVOlive Oil runs anywhere from 20 to 30 dollars a gallon

Woo hoo! Go Dennis!

 Quote: Michael_Wise

I'd attribute it to the extra fat.

Me too.

And like Dennis, I'm darned particular about oils, which are not only not so healthful but can actually become carcinogenic when treated the way many supermarket brands are treated.

I buy all cold-pressed (no heat, no chemicals) oils and I treat them like the valuable ingredient they are.

Olive oil doesn't have much Omega 3s; it does have flavenoids, which have similar (kind of) benefits. But the 6:3 ratio in evoo is comparatively pretty good (about 8:1), and the ratio is actually more important than the straight amount of 3s. However, most of olive oil's fatty acids are actually oleic acid (an Omega 9).

But all this aside, remember that even oils loaded with short-chain 3s (flaxseed, for example) don't afford the dog the DHA and EPA that are so deficient in modern diets. The dog doesn't have the mechanism that humans have (and it's not that great in humans, either) to convert ALA to long-chain 3s.

So if I wanted to add fat, period, I'd add either raw animal fat or cold-pressed oils. But for the long-chain 3s that are in such short supply in modern slaughter animals , I want marine sources.

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

 Quote: Michael_Wise

I'd attribute it to the extra fat.

Me too.

And like Dennis, I'm darned particular about oils, which are not only not so healthful but can actually become carcinogenic when treated the way many supermarket brands are treated.

I buy all cold-pressed (no heat, no chemicals) oils and I treat them like the valuable ingredient they are.

Olive oil doesn't have much Omega 3s; it does have flavenoids, which have similar (kind of) benefits. But the 6:3 ratio in evoo is comparatively pretty good (about 8:1), and the ratio is actually more important than the straight amount of 3s. However, most of olive oil's fatty acids are actually oleic acid (an Omega 9).

But all this aside, remember that even oils loaded with short-chain 3s (flaxseed, for example) don't afford the dog the DHA and EPA that are so deficient in modern diets. The dog doesn't have the mechanism that humans have (and it's not that great in humans, either) to convert ALA to long-chain 3s.

So if I wanted to add fat, period, I'd add either raw animal fat or cold-pressed oils. But for the long-chain 3s that are in such short supply in modern slaughter animals , I want marine sources.

That's why fish (salmon etc) is a good way to go

of course you can spend days arguing who's got the best OO, the spainiards, the greeks or the Italians. I like the greek myself

I like the spanish. But now, one should consider cost after all. And I completely agree that you get what you pay for. For the dog, however, wouldn't fish oil be more cost effective at the quality of the fat they need???

I'm not about to put olive oil on the dog food at $30 per gallon. even if you only use a tablespoon or so.

 Quote: dennis jones

... That's why fish (salmon etc) is a good way to go

Yes.

If I wanted to add fats and oils (for weight or winter maintenance or whatever) in an amount exceeding the fish oil I want to give, I would probably use cold-pressed hemp oil. There's a detailed recent thread about "fattening up" a hard-keeper dog that addresses all these oil questions.

But nothing replaces marine oils (salmon, anchovy/sardine, etc.) for giving the dog long-chain 3s (DPA, EHA).

JMO.