Updated on December 18, 2022
Insufficient amounts of omega-3 may be present in some commercial dog foods, making it difficult to ensure that your pet receives the proper nutrition it needs.
In addition to the well-documented health benefits of omega-3 for humans (including reduced inflammation and pain), this wonderful fatty acid also provides a number of advantages for our canine pals.
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We’ll explain the benefits of omega-3 for Fido and how much of it Fido needs in his regular diet in this helpful guide.
WHAT IS OMEGA-3 FOR DOGS?
An “essential fatty acid” (EFA), omega-3 is a type of polyunsaturated lipid. It’s great for your dog’s mind, body, and soul, and it’s essential to their health.
Your dog requires omega-3 to live, but their body can’t make it naturally. Therefore, they must get all the omega-3 they need from their food.
Polyunsaturated fat is a healthy alternative to saturated fat, which you may already know if you’re into fitness or clean eating. They’re fantastic for your dog’s overall health and may even help him maintain his exercise routine.
There is no difference between the omega-3 that we need and the omega-3 that is good for dogs. However, you still shouldn’t give your dog a supplement that you take yourself, even if it contains the same nutrient. The minerals found in human supplements are designed for human use, therefore giving them to a dog could be detrimental to its health.
WHY ARE OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS FOR DOGS IMPORTANT?
IT’S BRILLIANT FOR BRAIN HEALTH
To begin, omega-3 fatty acids are an excellent source of energy for your brain. It has been demonstrated to aid in the mental growth of puppies, making them more intelligent and facilitating their rapid learning and long-term memory. All of these things are beneficial to your puppy’s development and education, and they will make training go more smoothly as well.
All of these advantages are carried over into adulthood, meaning that your dog will be more receptive to training and have a higher IQ. As an added bonus, omega-3 has been shown to help stave off the memory loss and mental deterioration that come with old age.
Canine Omega-3 Supplementation
Dogs and Omega-3
IT’S AN AMAZING ANTI-INFLAMMATORY
When it comes to reducing inflammation, nothing beats the effectiveness of omega-3 fatty acids. Multiple studies have shown that omega-3 supplements are beneficial for arthritic dogs, helping them to move more freely and with less pain.
Fatty acids like omega-3 appear to assist enhance the mobility and comfort of dogs with hip dysplasia, despite the fact that the disease is not inflammatory.
Omega-3 for dogs is beneficial for a variety of inflammatory disorders, not simply arthritic bones and joints.
IT HELPS GROW HEALTHY SKIN AND SHINY FUR
The anti-inflammatory and wound-healing properties of omega-3 make them a valuable tool in the treatment of skin disorders including dermatitis.
Improved coat quality from omega-3 fatty acids for dogs results in shinier, softer fur.
IT HELPS TO KEEP THEIR HEART HEALTHY
Canine omega-3 fatty acids are a cardiovascular superfood. Triglyceride (blood fat) levels are lowered, blood pressure is lowered, circulation is enhanced, and arrhythmia risk is decreased.
IT’S AN IMPORTANT PART OF THEIR DIET
Omega-3 is an essential part of a dog’s diet for more than just the health benefits it gives. While protein is essential for your dog’s health, fats provide them with the majority of their daily energy needs. Polyunsaturated fats, such as omega-3 fatty acids, are considered “good fats” since they are nutritious and provide fuel.
HOW MUCH OMEGA-3 DOES A DOG NEED?
Dogs typically require 75–100mg of omega-3 fatty acids per kilogramme of body weight each day.
It’s difficult to generalise about how much omega-3 fatty acid your dog needs to stay healthy. Generally speaking, smaller dogs have a lower omega-3 requirement than larger dogs do, while puppies may have higher requirements.
The recommended daily amount of omega-3 for your dog might also be affected by their health. Dogs with inflammatory illnesses like arthritis and heart disease both benefit from a diet with increased quantities of omega-3, for instance. If your dog needs supplemental omega-3, the recommended daily allowance is 50–220mg per kilogramme of body weight.
Although omega-3 is a fatty acid, increasing your dog’s intake of this nutrient will not lead to weight gain. This vital nutrient is necessary for their survival and may even aid in weight maintenance.
In order to keep your dog from gaining weight, it is far more critical that you provide him with an appropriate amount of calories and that his meal amounts match his size and activity level. With Pure Pet Food, we’ll figure out the ideal calorie and nutrient intake for your dog and provide you with detailed feeding instructions.
If omega-3 is so beneficial for dogs’ health, why not just give them capsules? Well, it’s true that an overabundance of omega-3 can lead to stomach cramps and diarrhoea.
Your dog’s nutrition, like your own, has to be well-rounded. Finding a high-quality dog food that features a nutrient balance that meets your dog’s specific requirements is the simplest approach to guarantee that your dog gets adequate omega-3.
HOW CAN I PROVIDE OMEGA-3 FOR DOGS?
Remember what we said about giving your dog human vitamins and minerals. The extrusion method used to manufacture kibble, for example, has been shown to degrade nutrients, so even “complete” dog feeds may not include enough of these essential fats. Some of the nutrients your dog needs, such as omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and amino acids, may be missing from the kibble or canned food you feed him because they are destroyed by the high temperatures and high pressures during processing.
This being stated, the components used in most commercially prepared dog food create an imbalance of fatty acids. Kibble has a lot of omega-6 fatty acids and not enough omega-3 fatty acids because the dough is made with so much grain and flour. An imbalance between omega-6 and omega-3 can be harmful to your dog’s health.
The Role of Omega-3 in Canine Health
The Role of Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Dog Health
Foods that have been minimally processed retain a higher concentration of these nutrients because they have not been subjected to the high pressures and temperatures that would destroy them. As an added bonus, the components are selected because of the nutrition and health benefits they provide to your dog, and not because they allow the manufacturer to produce a specific style of food.
HOW TO AVOID ULTRA-PROCESSED DOG FOOD
Minimally processed dog food options include a natural diet or a raw diet. However, not all dogs can benefit from a raw food diet, and it takes a lot of time to prepare and clean up after. Even if you feed your dog oily fish at every meal, they may not get enough omega-3 unless their diet was developed in collaboration with a veterinarian or canine nutritionist.
Uncooked beef is a common ingredient in raw cuisine and is a good source of the vital fatty acids our bodies need. However, the amounts of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in even entire, unprocessed beef remain unbalanced. That’s because grains, which contain a lot of omega-6 but very few omega-3 fatty acids, make up the bulk of agricultural animals’ diets. Since we are what we eat, this means that the dogs who dine on these foods have higher levels of omega-6 than omega-3, and if your dog eats their meat, he or she will experience the same… The point is made!
An alternative is natural dog food, such as Pure, which provides minimally processed, all-natural food specially formulated to meet your dog’s unique nutritional requirements. In order to ensure that your dog’s dinner promotes optimal health, mental acuity, and beautiful hair, we incorporate omega-3 into all of our recipes.
WHAT FOODS CONTAIN OMEGA-3?
Plenty of human foods are naturally rich in omega-3 and would be great for your dog to graze on. While your dog’s intake of omega-3 fatty acids may increase after indulging in some delightful treats, this is still not enough to ensure your dog’s optimal health and happiness.
FOODS FULL OF OMEGA-3 INCLUDE:
The finest source of omega-3 is fresh, oily fish. A few examples of oily fish are listed below. Other fish, such as tuna or cod, still contain some omega-3, but not to the same extent as oily fish.
Nuts and seeds are a good source of omega-3, but not all of them are dog-friendly.
Omega-3 can be found in abundance in green, leafy foods like kale and cabbage. All dogs can benefit from them, but again, they don’t have as much omega-3 as oily fish.
Eggs, full of protein, amino acids, and vital fatty acids, are essentially a natural multivitamin for canines.
Whole ingredients like fresh fish, eggs, and green garden vegetables are used in the preparation of each meal for your dog in the recipes found in Pure Pet Food. Since there is no high-heat processing involved, the nutritional value of these superb components is preserved.
RECAP
However, your dog may not be getting enough of the omega-3 fatty acid that is so important to his or her health. Look at the dog food’s label to see what’s actually in it. If you’re ready for a change, consider switching to Pure, an honest natural dog food made specifically for your pet’s needs and formulated to keep them healthy and happy for the long haul.
