Fish oil, cottage cheese...?

[AthenaClimbs]

Hello,
We are currently feeding our 5 month old female Naturo Natural Balance for puppies but will be switching to Orijen for puppies once that bag runs out (for puppies).

I would like to add a few things to her and would like your advice.

Fish Oil - is a tablespoon a week enough? I am considering getting the Omega Cure. Is there anything I should know to avoid/not do/etc

Cottage Cheese - a tablespoon mixed with food 2x a week. I'm giving her the fatfree lactose free kind. Again, any thoughts on this?

Plain fatfree yogurt - tablespoon a week, same with cottage cheese. Should I choose one over the other.

Also, I know dogs love string cheese and I'm planning to start using them as treats. Are mozzarella string cheeses okay or something else? Also, how much or little should I give?

Thanks.

[LaRen616]

I dont see anything wrong with what you want to add to her kibble, my friend added those items to her puppies' food too without any issues.

I will say that when you make the switch from Naturo Natural Balance to Orijen, make sure you make the switch slowly. GSDs can get upset stomachs and have runny poo if you change kibble too quickly. Add a little Orijen to her food each day and add a little more each time. The transition to the new food should take you at least 7 days.

[AthenaClimbs]

Thank you so much. Very helpful!

[ChancetheGSD]

I'd add the fish oil more often than that. Fish oil is a great daily supplement for us and our pets because of all the wonderful benefits it has. (Besides skin and coat health, it also reduces the risk of cancer, heart disease, joint inflammation, the DHA in it supports your puppies growing brain, improves vision, ect!) And being in NY and it being cold out, fish oil can help prevent the skin from drying out too much. I prefer to use the pills sold for humans rather than liquid which tends to go rancid quicker. I'd start with 1000mg a day (or at least 3-4x a week) and if you want to up it later you can.

Salmon Oil Dosage

^ That is an average recommendation for dosage though a little more or less wont hurt either. Many people just give 1000mg a day to large breeds, imo, anything is better than nothing.

Just make sure you supplement with vitamin E (400 IU) when you give fish oil because the E helps to process it in the body and prevent spoilage before it's benefits can be put to use. Without supplementing the E with the oil, it can cause a deficiency over a long period of time because the body will use what is already stored to process the oils. When you get the vitamin E, look on the back and make sure it says d-Alpha rather than dl-Alpha. d-Alpha is natural and easier to process, dl-Alpha is synthetic.

[AthenaClimbs]

Thank you. I've decided to go with a 1000mg of fish oil gelcap along with a vitamin E 400 i.u. gelcap for EVERY meal.

question 1) is it okay to drop the gelcaps right into their food or better in liquid form right away?

question 2) any preference to salmon oil vs fish oil?

[BlackPuppy]

My vet calculated for me that my dog needs 3 capsules per day. But I don't remember the capsule size. I bought a large jug of it and all my dogs get about a tablespoon per meal. (My vet is holistic.)

[AthenaClimbs]

Is it okay if i feed them the fish oil/vitamin E in their kibble in gel cap form? and simultaneously?

[jm513]

I have a question about this too! I was about to order salmon oil when I saw this post and the mention of vitamin E as well. Should I give salmon oil on its own and a seperate vitamin E, or something like this?

http://www.petco.com/product/105707/...sultRedirect=1

I was looking through GNC and they have a salmon oil, but I couldn't find anything that was just a vitamin E supplement, this one I found at Petco. and it looks to be a combination, but I don't know anything about these so figured I'd check before ordering anything. Thanks!

hrrm - on edit, it doesn't say anything about this being a salmon oil, and from what I understand that is the best thing to give them. So, maybe not this. I'll just have to go to GNC and ask rather than dealing with the website.

[sable123]

Originally Posted by AthenaClimbs

Thank you. I've decided to go with a 1000mg of fish oil gelcap along with a vitamin E 400 i.u. gelcap for EVERY meal.

question 1) is it okay to drop the gelcaps right into their food or better in liquid form right away?

question 2) any preference to salmon oil vs fish oil?

That food you are switching to has over 1% Omega 3's and 18% fat.

Why in the world would you want to add anything after spending so darn much money on it? Why throw off all the fat ratios?

As for cottage cheese???? No dairy other than goat's milk yogurt. Goat not cow!!

But frankly, there isn't a need to add anything.

[BlackGSD]

Originally Posted by sable123

As for cottage cheese???? No dairy other than goat's milk yogurt. Goat not cow!!

Why not? I know l plenty of folks that feed cottage cheese and/or yogurt to their dogs on a regular basis with no ill effects. And that is COW not goat.