Fatty Acid Levels and Omega Supplements for Your Pets

Fatty Acid Levels

If you have ever heard of taking Omega supplements, you have been introduced to fatty acids! Fatty acids are healthy chains of fat that decrease inflammation in our pets bodies, improve health of the skin and coat, aid in healthy brain function, and even help out their joints.

Commercial diets often advertise the addition of fish oil to their diets but generally the amount of fish oil added is often insufficient, thereby warranting supplementation. Supplementing fish oil can get tricky. How do we know that the source of the fish oil is a high-quality source? How do we know if our pets need fish oils added to their diet?

Researching the brand of fish oils that you are utilizing for your pet, if it was not a veterinarian recommended brand, is the only way to truly have an idea of how well sourced and processed the fish oils are. Unfortunately, supplements are not regulated by the FDA and so may not actually contain the quantities of supplements listed on the label.

What’s the right Omega Supplement for your pet?

One brand we recommend to our patients, and carry, is the fish oil by Veterinarian Recommended Solutions. This brand of fish oil is guaranteed to contain the levels of omegas listed on the label, are sourced responsibly, and processed appropriately.

If you prefer to know if your pet should have omega supplementation from a quantitative standpoint a fatty acid level test is available. We utilize a test called iFats to help measure our patients’ fatty acid levels to ensure that there is an appropriate balance of Omegas in the body. If we find that the omega balance is off then we will recommend supplementation accordingly.

Starting Omega Supplementation

You may be ready to jump on the omega supplementation train, after all there are so many benefits! There is one thing to note with starting omega supplements: they can cause diarrhea at first! Yikes!

No pet parent likes dealing with diarrhea, and our pets don’t like experiencing it either. We recommend starting omega supplementation at half the recommended amount for about 1 week and allowing your pet’s body to adjust. If your pet has tolerated the fish oils at half the dose you can increase to a full dose. Some pets may need to acclimate a little slower if they have a sensitive stomach.

Call us if you are not sure if your pet should receive Omega Fatty Acid Supplementation.

Is your pet not a patient of ours? We recommend calling your vet and discussing whether or not your pet should be on Omega supplementation before starting! Not all pets need Omega supplementation.

Or your pet can become our patient! ;)

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