My senior dog has gas. Could it be from fish oil supplements?

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.

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.

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 :-)

You are welcome! It is preferable that you give the 1,000mg containing 300mg of EPA and DHA per 30 pounds, but you can give a dose range between 20-55mg combined EPA and DHA per pound of body weight. With the Trader Joe's supplement, that's about 29mg per pound of body weight of the combined EPA and DHA so it's within the safe dose range. I'm sorry I wasn't clearer before, and I hope this clears up any confusion :-)

By far the most common cause of too much gas in a dog is due to dietary indiscretion or difficulty in the digestion of its current diet. I would recommend gradually changing Elmo's food to something different over the course of About a Week. You can also use human products such as Gas-X two help reduce the amount of flatulence that Elmo is having. Gas-X is not a drug that is labeled for dogs and cats so there is no agreed-upon dose. I would suggest doing some reading online to find the dose that you are most comfortable administering. Other less common causes of increased flatulence would include more serious diseases such as gastrointestinal infectious or inflammatory process, liver disease, or pancreatitis. Hope this helps!

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.

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!