Can Omega-3 Help You Pet Live a Longer, Healthier Life?v
Discover how you can help your pet live longer and better by adding omega-3 to his diet.
Dogs and cats need omega-3 for a healthier and longer life. The right levels of essential fatty acids helps your pet's immune system, maintenance of all hormonal systems, protects against heart disease, progressive retinal atrophy, and supports brain develop in the womb. By giving your pet the right levels of omega-3, you can give your pet a longer life and all these health benefits.
A Good Start
For your pet to have the best start in life, he or she needs to get omega-3 while still developing in the womb. The mother needs to eat and have DHA in her body while pregnant. If not, she gives her DHA to the litter and may she may never fully recover.
If the mother isn't fed omega-3 in her diet, the litter won't receive enough DHA for proper brain development and optimum physical develop. Puppies that don't receive enough DHA won't reach their full potential.
Dr. John Bauer, a leading veterinary nutritionist says, "omega-3 fatty acids are critically important in pet neuromuscular develop, skin health, and coat quality." If you know you're going to adopt a pet from a certain litter before it's born, ask about the quality of the mother's diet and if it includes healthy sources of omega-3.
If your pet is expecting, be sure you follow the tips below to make sure she is getting enough omega-3 in her diet to support a healthy litter of puppies or kittens.
How to Give Your Pet Omega-3
Dogs and cats need about 1-1.5 grams of omega-3 per 100 pounds of body weight. Before dogs and cats were domesticated, they received higher omega-3 level in their wild diets than they do in commercial diets. This can easily be changed.
One of the best and easiest ways to give your pet the omega-3 they need is to supplement their diet with sardines. Sardines don't have contaminants like other seafood. Because sardines are small, they don't have time to absorb the contaminants that larger fish do. You can easily find sardines in any grocery store.
One small sardine daily is enough for small dogs and cats. Larger dogs need a bigger sardine each day or several small sardines. You can either give them one sardine per day or give them the entire can for their meal that day.
Eggs are another good source of omega-3. When choosing the eggs, pick the ones that have DHA in them. Omega-3 eggs are from chickens fed flax. Your dog or cat will have to convert the EPA to DHA. Their bodies can do this but it's more nutritious if you get your pet DHA eggs to begin with. You can give your pet one egg every other day.
As you can see, it's very easy to improve your pet's diet. By increasing the levels of omega-3 in their diets, you are guaranteeing them the healthiest and longest life you can give them.
