Fish Oils

[katt]

I found some really good (in my oppinion anyways) fish oil pills in the Natural foods section of my grocery store and bought them for Koda. They are called Spectrum Essential :Fish Oil The ingredients are: Anchovies, mackrel, sardines, non-genetically engineered vitamin E (to preserve freshness), and softgel (gelatin, water, glycerin). 1 gel is 1000 mg. They have NO mercury, PCBs or Lead, the oil is from non-threatened wild caught small fish, and is tested for purity. I liked them because they were relatively inexpensive compared to all of the other ones, had no funky stuff on the ingredient list, no mercury, yadda yadda. haha Here is a link:
www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=140306&catid=2652
So, my questions are: how many should I feed and how often? I have been giving him about one or so a day. I cut little holes in the chicken and then squeeze the oil into the holes and rub it all around the chicken so he is getting it with his food. I tried feeding it by hand as a treat and got oil EVERYWHERE. haha Too messy!
My other questions is: how long will it take for me to see real effects from the oils? (i.e. less itching, softer coat).

Oh, and how will it effect his smell? He is FINALLY starting to smell like his yummy smelling self again after his surgery and I am enjoying it. lol He has a very sweet smell to him naturally. Almost like fruit, fur, and fresh cut hay...

[Chelsea]

IMO that is WAY too many ingredients. I would absolutly NOT use it, for myself or any of my animals. Plus, wild salmon oil is the best source.

I use this brand - www.grizzlypetproducts.com/index.html
You cant buy it directly from their website, just go to there it says "Purchase" and it will give you links to online stores that sell their products.

I buy mine from Clean run. Ive bought a ton of stuff from them and I find them to be the cheapest and they have very fast delivery too.
www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=937&ParentCat=240
Ingredients- Wild alaskan salmon oil, rosemary extract

[sherrylynne]

Since those are all small, fresh water fish, I really can't see it being a problem.
Give him maybe half every other day.

[Heather]

In this matter I'm in agreement with sherrylynne. Small fish oils are often considered superior to larger fish, say salmon. I've used a number of different types through the years but am very pleased with the results I get from a mixture of sardine, anchovy and mackerel, there is also some vit e in this mixture as well. Smaller species of fish have higher amounts of Omega 3s and lower amounts of environmental contaminants than do most other larger fish alternatives. I use this interchangeably with Arctic Vigor brand marine oil
As to how long before you notice a difference, I would say a couple of weeks. Remember because of the stress his body has just gone through it may take a little longer as his body sheds the damage caused by anesthetics.
ciao
ciao