Fish Oil For Dogs
One of my partners called me yesterday, and he wanted to tell me about what one of the participants in our test group had told him. Our test group had tested my ultra pure pharmaceutical grade fish oil for a few months, before it was released, and the female participant that had spoken to my partner was, for lack of a better term, our guinea pig.
The woman in question is a nurse at a dialysis clinic, is around 50 years of age, widowed, and has two dogs, (real dogs…not like the overdeveloped rats that are so popular these days), and the dogs are somewhere between 9 and 10 years old.
She started to take my pharmaceutical grade fish oil, because the stuff she was taking gave her “fish burps,” which she didn’t like, and she was attracted to the greater levels of EPA/DHA in my formula, which she wasn’t getting in the stuff at the supermarket.
Her primary reason for using fish oil was to reduce arthritic discomfort. At fifty, and being a nurse, she is on her feet for hours at a stretch, and it’s taken its toll on her.
She had been taking my special fish oil formula for a month, when she told us that she had experienced a substantial decrease in her pain level. She even said it felt like she had new legs!
Here’s where the story goes to fish oil for dogs.
Her dogs, named Shaggy and Shea, were getting up in age and therefore were not as active as they were in their younger days, and Shea seemed to have a bit of limp. After being on the fish oil formula for a month and feeling great, she decided to feed the dogs a softgel each day when they got their doggy treats. In only two weeks, the dogs’ energy levels were significantly increased and Shea was walking just fine.
Now I know this isn’t exactly scientific, and I’m certainly not a veterinarian. I’m not really sure what to say, other than it’s a good story. But if it has benefits…I’m not going to stand in the way of her giving fish oil for dogs.
Shea and Shaggy’s mom is certainly not the only person who has reported that fish oil is a fantastic way for reducing pain associated with arthritis. Taking pharmaceutical-grade fish oil can help those who have joint pain.
I read a study recently from Columbia University Medical Center that stated omega 3 fatty acids may assist in lowering the risk of developing Alzheimer’s by 19 to 24%. Enteric coated fish oil can also help with heart, joint, and brain function.
Alzheimer’s is the #1 health fear of my generation, and the one that follows, too.
Categories: Dogs Tags: Dogs, fish oil, health, pet health, Pets, veterinarian
Pets and the Peanut Butter Recall
Salmonella and Our Pets -With the recent Peanut Butter Recall, Salmonella once more has become headline news. Salmonella is a bacterium that can affect both humans and animals and can be passed from human to animal and animal to humans (reverse zoonotic disease). Most infections occur through ingestion of contaminated food or water or through close contact with an infected host. In the Peanut Butter recall, contaminated peanuts were used as a flavoring or an additive in products including pet food and treats. Luckily, most dogs and cats infrequently develop disease, but handling the infected treats and then handling food or not washing your hands after handling infected products can transmit the bacteria to humans.
The symptoms of Salmonellosis might include acute diarrhea, vomiting and diarrhea. Babies, the elderly and immune suppressed are more susceptible to infection and can be exposed by contact with pets or humans harboring the bacteria without showing symptoms. Salmonella can cause severe illness and sometimes even death in infants, the elderly or the immune suppressed individuals. Salmonella is most often found in raw meat, poultry, eggs and sometimes vegetables
Cooking products to the proper temperature kills the bacteria. Most often, infections occur with cross contamination, such as cutting raw meat on a cutting board and then cutting vegetables for the salad on the same cutting board or handling a contaminated product then eating or handling food without washing hands. Most disinfectants and dilute bleach will kill the bacteria. Feeding raw meat, poultry or eggs to pets can result with Salmonella infection in our pets. Since some pets may not develop symptoms but harbor the bacteria, they may pass Salmonella in their feces for months and may cause infections in humans.
What can you do to reduce your exposure to Salmonella?
- Always cook food thoroughly. Do not ingest drinks or foods containing raw eggs (This includes licking the beaters when making cake mixes, a bad habit I am most guilty of)
- Wash hands after handling raw meats, poultry, and pets: especially turtles, baby chicks, reptiles and pet feces.
- Wash your hands before eating. (Mothers are always right)
- Wash utensils, cutting boards and plates after handling raw meat and poultry. (When grilling, always use a different plate when taking the cooked meat off the grill.)
- Do not feed pets raw meat, poultry or eggs.
- Wash hands after handling pet treats (pig ears, rawhides, peanut butter treats) or after playing with pets, especially turtles, birds, baby chicks and reptiles.
- Wash hands after changing diapers and do not feed babies, or the elderly while preparing raw foods.
- If you are served undercooked meats at a restarurant, do not hesitate to send it back for further cooking. Also, you may want to ask for fresh salsa if it looks like it may have been left out too long. Salsa dips have been a source of Salmonella infections in the past.
- Carry a hand sanitizer in your purse or car as extra protection when there is no running water.
I have more tips and links to web sites concerning the Salmonella Peanut Butter recall at LuvUrDog.com/ You can also view Facts about Salmonella at CDC.org.
Categories: Pets Tags: Peanut Butter, pet health, Pets, Salmonella
