Pass the Fat! Or Why Essential Fatty Acids are Vital to Pitbull Health
Mike didn’t see a difference in Mojo’s coat after he took him to the vet for a dip and some allergy meds. Mike followed the vets advice to the letter and applied the creams and gave Mojo a pill once a day for 10 days. Still nothing.
At his wits end Mike started searching the web for dry skin problems in pitbulls and he came across a site about all natural diets for dogs. At this site Mike learned about essential fatty acids and he also learned that cold water fish were the best source of fatty acids (or Omega 3 fatty acids) for dogs. Fish like Salmon and Cod from cold waters and more importantly Mike learned the oils from these fish might help Mojo.
It didn’t take Mike long to make the decision to try these oils. He had already tried the “traditional” route, what did he have to lose?
Several weeks went by and Mike noticed as time went by that Mojo’s coat was getting better and he had stopped scratching so much. Mojo’s coat and skin were effected by the omega 3 fatty acids in the oils. They delivered these essential fatty acids to Mojo and he recovered from his dry skin.
Omega 3 fatty acids are the most important fatty acids in the diet. Including humans. However, our bodies and our dogs bodies do not produce these acids on their own therefore we must put them in our system.
Omega 3 Fatty are necessary for proper formation of cell membranes.
Omega 3 Fatty acids also help the cardiovascular system function and as we learned from Mike and Mojo, help coat and skin function as well. These fatty acids also line the digestive tract to aid in digestion.
Salmon oil and Cod oil are the best for dogs because their dogs don’t convert plant oils containing the fatty acids as well. (Things like flax seed oil etc…)
Essential Fatty Acids are Not all the Same
As I mentioned above there are two primary sources for Omega 3 fatty acids. Plants and Fish. Some products contain a mixture of both. Again, as I mentioned above the best source for animals is the Salmon or Cod oils because animals have a hard time converting the plant derived oils.
You can find fish oils in containers that let you put it on your dogs food or you can find it in a pill form. I prefer using the pill form as it doesn’t make a mess of the food bowls and I don’t have to clean it up. Hey, I’m not superman, I do get lazy!
Essential Fatty Acids should be a part of the diet for dogs
Improved skin and coat. Improved digestion, and a host of other improvements that come from Omega 3 fatty acids are well worth giving a try. Especially if your dog has a dry coat or itchy coat.
You can pick up Salmon and/or Cod oil online or off. Do a search on Google and you’ll find several sources. Be aware that not all sources are equal. It should be 100% PURE oil.
