A while back I did some experimenting with fish oil on my Spoodle dog Teddy. The results were quite amazing, especially with regards to his coat. A big issue I have had with teddy is his coat went quite dull and started to feel coarse. Though a lot of that I have put down to his age, I started to look around wondering if there could be an issue with his diet. I take fish oil myself because of the huge health benefits that come with Omega 3 and Omega 6 oils. One day I took teddy to the beach and saw him racing around sniffing for something. To my horror I saw him grab an old dead fish and start to eat it. At the time I was angry at him, but later I started thinking about dogs being scavengers and wondered if fish would be a natural food for dogs. Could it be that a lot of diets we give our dogs lack important nutrients only found naturally occurring in foods like fish? From this I decided to give Teddy fish oil. The results were amazing and as a result I had being giving him fish oil with most meals daily. The issue came about when I ran out of fish oil and I hadn’t got around to sourcing more product for him for several months.

A few months ago I came across a product from a small local company who make a fish oil for dogs. They weren’t a large corporation and they source their fish oil from New Zealand Hoki which is sustainable sourced (which is a good thing with over-fishing a real problem in today’s world). I got a couple of bottles to try out on teddy to see what the results would be like and to get him back onto it.

The bottles were sent via courier and they came with a dispenser lid. This was the first difference I noticed since I had previously being using fish oil tablets. A benefit of the dispersal lid is that I could easily add the fish oil over his food rather than having to wrap a tablet in something like cheese or meat. Also I keep fish oil in the fridge so a bottle like this makes it easy to store and find.

With the courier pack I also got a card explaining who the company was and what they were doing. Their focus is on providing a sustainable source of fish oil for dogs which seems to be at an affordable price. Their fish oil has Omega 3, 6 and 9 which promotes glossy coats, helps with joint and cardiac care, and general wellbeing. I don’t have a medical background, nor the scientific results to say this product will definitely do this for certain however I do know from my experience previously with fish oil that Teddy’s coat did improve and their might have being other health benefits that couldn’t be seen.

I started to give teddy the fish oil and wasn’t expecting much until after a few months of use. During that time I observed how I found applying the Newflands Fish oil to his food and whether he enjoyed it. I chopped up his raw chicken wings and gravel beef on a plate and then added the recommended fish oil of two pushes on the dispenser lid. This was very easy to add to his food and I found it much like using a soap dispenser when washing your hands. Teddy had no issues with the fish oil in fact he really liked it, licking up the plate afterwards. The only downside I saw was that on that first meal I didn’t mix the fish oil with the meat and therefore he did get fish oil on his fur around his mouth. This meant I had to wash his face after dinner but this is no longer an issue now that I mix the fish oil into his food. I also now keep the fur on his face shorter.

The other thing I noticed was how much fish oil you get in each bottle. It’s a lot. It may not be as concentrated as fish oil tablets however I never did like giving teddy such strong fish oil tablets and now I feel much better giving him a more natural product. In the mornings I mixed Teddy’s biscuits with the fish oil and he really liked the mix so it definitely got the pass mark from Teddy’s taste buds.

Results

I didn’t expect any huge results however I was again really surprised the benefits I got from giving Teddy the Fish oil from Newflands. After about two months his coat got softer and also it seems like there is more oil in it. I think Teddy was lacking oil in his coat and I the fish oil seems to have helped to better this which in turn might have given his coat a more shinny look and softer feel.

I can only guess what other health benefits Teddy is receiving from a more varied diet and it’s possible previously he was depleted in something from his previous diet. I think it has worked really well for Teddy and again another positive result from Fish Oil. It is great to see a local New Zealand company getting behind fish oil supplements for dogs. I will be using this product on Teddy into the future and if you are looking at fish oil for your dog I would recommend Newflands fish oil product.

Website: Newflands Website
Facebook: Facebook Page

I give this product a rating of 9/10

Pro’s and Con’s with Teddy’s use:

Cons:

• Did get the odd time when Teddy’s fur on the face got fish oil on it.
• The odd bad breath day.

Pros:

• Teddy’s fur got shinier, smoother and also more oil within the coat
• Teddy loved the fish oil taste
• Was easily mixed into any of his food
• Easy to store
• Easy to apply with the pump lid dispenser
• Very Affordable Pricing and lasts along time

A good balanced diet can improve the health of your dog. Raw foods, meats, vegetables, fish and eggs can all contribute to a varying diet which gives your dog the variety that it needs.

Teddy’s diet
Teddy, my dog, has a diet which consists of dry food in the morning and raw food at night. I looked at the package of the dry food and saw that it was filled with all sorts of nutrition which I just assumed would fill any lack of nutrition gap. At around age three I noticed that teddy’s coat started to fade and also get quite coarse. His skin would become quite dry and often he would have issue. I read around on the internet on dry skin and found that it might be a lack of oil in the skin due to a not so good diet. Naturally I thought that this couldn’t be an issue with Teddy as his diet is quite good. On reading further they started to talk about fish oil tablets and omega 3 for dogs. I know humans can take fish oil tablets but never really thought dogs could. Reading about how they can improve a dog’s skin and coat I thought I would give it a try, since I did have a spare case of fish oil tablets in the fridge no one was using.

The results of Omega 3 Fish Oil tablets on dog
I gave teddy one whole fish oil tablet every morning with some cheese. Naturally I didn’t expect much to happen as I don’t totally believe this would be a miracle fix to his coat. After one week not a lot had happened and I thought this must be another one of these alternative healing articles which claim more than they deliver. I continued on with the fish oil every morning as I did have 100 tablets and thought I might as well give this a good shot. After a while it became habit to give him a tablet and I soon forgot about his coat. After about a month I was stroking him and I thought his coat feels softer. It was at this point, I wondered if this was the fish oil. Now 3 months on his coat still feels softer than before, its actually quite amazing and didn’t really expect this. I can’t say for sure that it was the omega 3 tablets however it’s the only part of his diet I have changed. Whenever I catch fish now, especially Kahawai I make it a point to feed some to him. I can’t say for sure that Omega 3 fish oil will definitely soften your dogs coat or improve his skin, however on Teddy the results have being very promising.

Brushing Dog Teeth

When I visited my local vet they showed me the large range of dog dental care and it wasn’t until then that I relised this wasn’t a joke. Checking my dog’s teeth I noticed straight away a dark brown colour at the top of his K9′s developing. This is a build up of plaque and tartar – now I’m starting to sound like the dentist. It’s true, animals do develop this on there teeth and often are made worse with diets which lack in bones. Raw brisket bones and dental chews will help clean the back of there teeth however it’s the front teeth and k9′s that often get this build up (if your dog doesn’t have raw bones or chew’s it’s most likely you will find a build up on the back teeth as well). If you do notice a build up of plaque and tartar you will need to get your local vet to remove this with a specialist dental tool (this should always be check when you take your dog to the vet for its routine check up). If your dog has really bad teeth then a detailed oral clean maybe required in which may be put under anesthetic. Once this has been removed you can then prevent this by brushing your dog’s teeth using a dog tooth paste and soft brush. There are some good brands out there which are flavored so your dog enjoys it.

If this build up is allowed to continue it can lead to preventable dental disorders such as periodontal disease and also affect the overall health of your dog. It’s a good routine to get into and you should start when your dog is young, that way they will get use to the brushing. If you have never heard of brushing your dog’s teeth and you own an older dog, then there is no better time to start than now. It will only improve your dog’s health and also there breath.

Another issue which can arise is ear infections. Ear infections can be cause by many issues however they tend to arise when your dog’s immune system is low and a graze or minor irritant becomes infected. The infection thrives due to the dark, warm and moist environment inside the ear, especially with dogs with woolly coats. Yeast and bacterial growth will cause an odour in the ears and if the infection is found in only one ear you may find your dog tilts its head to one side attempting to equalise pressure. Common signs are that your dog is more irritable, the ears are warm to touch, possibly more tired and obvious signs such as redness inside the ear. The best treatment is to take your dog to the vet to get the ear checked out and if an infection has occurred then usually it will be fought with antibiotics, cleaning of the ear and also drops or a cream.

It’s important to check your dog’s ears for anything that may have found its way in there. They can range from plant material such as grass seeds or pollen, to sticks from off the beach or even cuts and grazes from rose bushes or black berry bushes. You should be able to check your dog’s ears with a flash light and a quick look inside, however it’s important that you don’t insert anything inside as this can damage the dog’s ear. If there is anything inside causing a problem you should take your dog to the vet to get a thorough check up and let them fix the issue. For a dog with quite a woolly inside ear it’s also possible that a knot can form from small debris inside the ear. If this occurs you should take your dog to the vet and get it removed as they can become infected.  

If your dog is treated with consistent flea and tick treatment then this shouldn’t normally be an issue, however if your dog is not treated they can effect your dogs ears. Ticks and fleas can bite inside your dog’s ears which can cause the bites to get infected or else your dog could have a flea or tick allergy which makes bites swell up and rashes occur. Even a bite outside of the ear can cause an allergic reaction which often shows up as redness inside the ears. The best treatment is to regularly use a flea and tick controller and also to make sure your dogs sleeping area is kept clean by regular vacuuming and also washing of bedding. Fleas usually only need to feed about once every 3months and the rest of the time they live inside small cracks of walls and where the wall meets the carpet or other places which are warm and dark. If an infection or major reaction occurs within the ear you need to take your dog to the vet and get appropriate treatment.

If your dog constantly scratches its ears then it’s possible that this can cause irritation that can make its ears swell up or bleed. Constant scratching is usually an irritation from possibly one of the above reasons. Scratching of the ear usually causes it to become more irritated and often can lead to other issues. Because dog’s claws can harvest bacteria, cuts caused by scratching can become infected. If un-left then your dog will most likely continue with this scratching and often will only get worse. It is normal however for your dog to scratch its ears every so often however if they do get obsessed then it’s important to address this issue.

If your dog does have woolly ears it’s often been a common suggestion to pluck your dogs ears to keep them hair free. Plucking is a personal choice and some people believe it’s a must while others believe it’s unnecessary. The reasoning behind plucking is to help to prevent issues such as knots and build up of junk. However plucking can also cause infections when the plucked area opens a wound and also some dogs are very sensitive in this area and plucking can cause a lot of stress. It’s possible as well that the hair inside the ear is an important part of protecting the inner ear. If your dog doesn’t have any major ear issues then plucking is probably unnecessary, however if health issues arise from excessive hair inside the ear then you maybe advised to look at plucking some hair. Often all that is required is trimming the fur inside the ear and keeping the ears clean. Vets will be the best to advise you if there are some major issues when they do there health check ups.