No more fish oil for Sweet Pea

[Paula N.]

Sweet Pea had all of 2 doses - 1 capsule with each supper Friday night (well, 5 PM) and Saturday at 5 PM.  Later on Saturday after her dinner she vomited (I didn't see her do this, but when I walked into the living room I almost flipped, and practically yelled, "What the devil is that?")  I assume it was Sweet Pea - I think Angel was outside.  It didn't look like vomit - it was white or cream colored.  As I wiped it up with a paper towel I thought I could see one piece of kibble. 

Sunday morning she refused her breakfast.  I have had Sweet Pea for more than 2 years, and she has never ever refused food; she has never ever vomited.  The only thing I can figure is that it was the fish oil (with gel capsule, cut into tiny, teeny pieces).  At noon when both girls usually practically demand their biscuit, SP took hers into the living room and when I went and looked she was lying there with it in front of her, not eating it.  I started to take it away, said, "I'll save it for you" and she followed me as I walked away with it wrapped in a paper towel.  She wanted it back.  So she got it, and she ended up eating it.  She acted very subdued all day - not herself at all.  You could tell that she didn't feel her usual self.  She did eat her supper minus the fish oil.

Now I am afraid to give her any more fish oil.  Could 1 capsule, 1200 mg. cause an upset stomach?  She is small - weighs somewhere around 19 lbs.  I wonder if that salmon oil that so many of you were talking about would have the same affect on her?  I don't want to see her sick - ever.  Drs. Foster & Smith have a "Vitacoat Plus"  which says "rich in omega-6 fatty acids, plus antioxidant nutrients and biotin".  I suppose I could try that.  But everybody has raved so much about fish oil and it's so inexpensive that I thought I could give that. Never heard of anybody having a problem.  I do feel sure it was the fish oil that affected Sweet Pea.

Anybody have any words of wisdom on this?  Thanks.

[BanaerEskies]

poor Sweet Pea!  hope she is feeling better now.  I do not feed additional fish oil...it is in my dog food so I leave it at that.  However, in general if I were going to start a dog on something like that, I would probably start at 1/4 dose for a week and then work my way up to the full dose over about 4 weeks.  Just like a sudden change in food could cause an upset tummy, I would think the fish oil would be the same. 


Are you trying to get a better coat condition?  thicker coat? 

[Tonka]

It could be that she is sensitive to the fish oil. Some dogs are, but the majority are fine with it. Omega 3 and Omega 6 Fatty Acids are fish oil. Just different ways of saying it. If you get it in liquid form, its much easier to try a smaller dose.

[Paula N.]

Thanks.  I never thought I would have to go slowly, like you have to with food.  Giving the capsules is a very messy business. 

BanaerEskies - The groomer told me that Sweet Pea's coat was very dry, and I can see that, so thought I would try the fish oil.  I know that I cannot eat scallops, much as I like them.  They make me vomit within a few hours.  I guess I'll give that a pass and maybe try the Fosters & Smith tablets.

Thanks for your advice.  As you can see, I need it!

[snowballsmom]

when i used to give it, i think snowball had the runs for a few days starting out. she has a touchy belly. i backed off, either once a day instead of twice, or every other day, or something, i forget, but i eased her into it and she adjusted ok. but she never threw up, i probably would have stopped immediately too.

are you certain it's that and not a bad batch of new treats or food or something?
once i had (unbeknownst to me) a rotten bag of food and i threw out everything in the house, including tons of treats, vitamins, etc, had been thru rounds of meds, vet visits, etc, until the vet said, throw out the food bag, buy a new one. it may be bad. BINGO!

my clue was when snoppy was throwing up. he has an iron gut and never wastes foodstuffs like that.

[Geno]

1200mg is a lot. I take 4000mg myself but I weigh 250lbs (6'3" btw).

I feed Chester Salmon rolls that I get at bestbullysticks.com. I put 3 or 4 on top of his food. Natural is always better than supplements. I also give him a salmon stick sometimes, kinda like jerky.

I agree with starting out with a lower dose if using supplements.

Don't give up yet, omega 3 is good for them in many ways.

Geno

[Eskielvr]

It may say 1200 mg, but if you look on the back the dosage will be much, much lower. I'm betting there's only about 300mg in it. And no, Fish oil is only Omega 3. There are no Omega 6's in it. Omega 6 is plant derived. (Omega 6 can also cause inflammation.)

The fish oil that's in dry products contains very, very little in it. Not enough to really do much good, esp if they already have extremely dry coat to begin with.

If the capsules are messy, then hide them in some canned dog food. Or see if she'll take them whole.

I highly doubt her vomiting is related to the fish oil, esp since she's not ingesting that much. Usually if a dog receives too much it just results in runny stool, so I'm a little suspicious that this may be the cause of something else. Instead of giving her two doses, just give her one and see how she does. You can always stop giving it if you need to.