Is it safe to give my dog a higher fish oil dose for heart disease?

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! If you are giving Chloe the fish oil, you don't need to give the vitamin E as well. Fish oil commonly contains vitamin E already to prevent spoilage. I wish there was any scientific evidence that heart supplements work! There is absolutely zero evidence unfortunately.

Since this is considered "off label use", as this is not a product designed specifically for dogs, your veterinarian would be the one to direct your specific dog in terms of using this product since its "off-label." To adhere to my veterinary license, I cannot advise off-label doses for a patient I have not examined and a client that I have not met. However, I will tell you that I would tell my clients that this is generally a safe product to give a 50 pound lab once a day. You may notice some increased gas/flatulence, and a "fishy" odor to his breath. If you notice any vomiting, diarrhea or decreased appetite, get him in to see your vet and discontinue use.

While these vegetables are okay to add in as a supplement I would make sure that kibble is 90% of the diet to avoid nutritional deficiencies. Recently there has been some concern about boutique, grain free and exotic ingredient diets and a link to dilated cardiomyopathy which could cause heart enlargement, and it seems like kibble from larger companies like Royal Canin are the safest option. Fish oil may be beneficial for dogs with cardiac disease.

One fish oil capsule a day is fine. There is a risk of giving your dog too much fish oil, and there are serious side effects from that including a tendency to bleed more when injured due to the fish oil interfering with platelet function, interfering in wound healing, and an interference in the inflammatory response of the immune system. I would not add any fish based kibble due to these risks.

You can giver omega 3 fish oil, i recommend using a pet omega product (dosage will be written on the label). vitamin supplement are usually not necessary in dogs with liver failure but supplement such as Milk Thistle is recommended.

I think it has more to do with the amount of EPA and DHA per serving. With the liquid, there's likely less of these fatty acids per serving so it requires more of the product to get the recommended daily amount. Even half the amount will still be beneficial, and it's fine to do less than recommended. That's because too much fish oil can have detrimental effects on the dog's body, such as interference with wound healing. Recommended daily levels are typically low enough to prevent this from occurring, but having less than recommended is fine :-)