Does my dog need vitamin E with fish oil? Do heart supplements help murmurs?

There dosage of vitamin e would depend on the formulation and should be provided on the packaging. For example below is a vitamin e supplement which would be one tablet daily for a dog Chloe’s size. http://www.vrshealth.com/canine-products/?petcoach=1977955

It's fine to give dogs the human grade fish oil. Chloe can have 1,000 mg fish oil containing 300 mg of EPA/DHA combined for every 30 pounds of body weight. These pills are a little more than that, but it will be fine. She won't need vitamin E supplementation also. I hope this helps!

Yes, you can use supplements on a dog with DCM. However, most of the supplements have similar actions to the drugs that we use for heart disease, so you need to be sure that you are working with your vet or a vet trained in herbal medicine to make sure the dosage and effects are safe for Chico. I use Hawthorne berry to increase cardiac contraction, and I don't see that Chico is on a medication for that, so that might be a good addition. And I don't think there are any contraindications for Omega 3 fish oil which can improve blood supply to the heart muscle itself. Again, I would recommend speaking to your vet about those supplements and see if they have any other suggestions. I will often use Coenzyme Q10 in my heart patients as well. If you need to find a vet comfortable with herbal therapies, you might be able to find one here under the find a vet section. https://www.ahvma.org I hope that was helpful! Thanks for using PetCoach.

Hello again! If you are already giving a joint supplement and fish oil, do not give Chloe this additional supplement. Too much fish oil isn't good for her. I'd give the joint tablet and fish oil only. Cosequin is important for her to have for her joint health, and Nordic naturals fish oil is a good brand.

Fish oil does tend to make the coat shinier and nicer looking, which will likely be the most obvious benefit you get from supplementing. Fish oil does have antiinflamatory properties that may be helpful with the itching, but I wouldn't expect a drastic change. There has been a great deal of debate about ratios of Omega 6 vs 3, but honestly, the debate is not over, so the 4:1 ratio should be fine. I would just make sure that the omega 3 fatty acids do not get above 1mg per kg of body weight, or you could be giving above the safe upper limit. Probiotics are another supplement that are not bad to give, but is not necessary for a healthy animal. I usually only advise probiotic supplementation for intestinal conditions where there has been some good evidence for its use. Probiotics are also an unregulated product, so depending on the product, it may or may not be have what it claims; or may not have the bacteria that are known to be beneficial. For this reason, I only recommend getting probiotics as directed by your veterinarian. I hope that helps and all is well with Chloe.

No, higher doses of fish oil will not help prevent heart disease. Doubling up her fish oil can actually have detrimental effects on your dog's health, including interfering with wound healing and interfering with the inflammatory response of the immune system. To be honest if a dog is genetically prone to developing heart disease, there is nothing to prevent that from happening. If it's in her genes, supplements will not change genetic expression. I would not give your dog double doses of fish oil.

Vitamin e and fish oils work synergistically to promote healthy skin and coat. I would only also suggest that you ensure you use supplements which are designed for pets. thwse are available at most pet stores.