Can fish oil help you and your dog with easing arthritis symptoms, stiffness, and inflammation?

Can you and your dog share a dose of fish oil for arthritis? According to a February 22, 2010 press release from veterinarian, Dr. Nancy Kay, at the Speaking for Spot site and blog, fish oil may help your osteoarthritis, and also can help your dog’s osteoarthritis, especially if you have a large breed dog eight years or older. According to a recent edition of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. See the article and study, “Evaluation of the effects of dietary supplementation with fish oil omega-3 fatty acids on weight bearing in dogs with osteoarthritis.” 

It contained two studies on the effects of omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) for the treatment of osteoarthritis (also known as arthritis or degenerative joint disease) in dogs. Many dogs were included. The study reports a control group. Also see the NY Times article, “A Fish Oil Story.” Can you also get quality Omega 3 fatty acids from certain forms of algae (that come in tablets for humans)? Talk it over with your doctor, and for your dog, your veterinarian.

Some dogs received a placebo rather than the fatty acids. Neither the veterinarians nor the dogs’ families knew whether the dogs were receiving the Omega 3 fatty acids from fish oil or the placebo.  

Here’s what the studies showed. Compared to the placebo group, the dogs receiving omega-3 fatty acids had a significantly improved ability to rise from a resting position and play by six weeks after beginning supplementation, and improved ability to walk by 12 weeks. 

Compared to the control group, dogs receiving the fish oil had improved weight bearing on the affected limbs as assessed by force-plate analysis (an extremely humane testing method).  No significant adverse side effects from the fish oil supplementation were reported. 

Arthritis affects up to twenty percent of dogs over one year of age, especially the larger breeds. Dogs with arthritis act like people with arthritis and feel the same types of pain.

Dogs and people with arthritis act stiff and are slow to rise when they first get up in the morning, as well as after vigorous exercise.  There are many ways to treat this common canine malady including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (the equivalent of ibuprofen for humans), acupuncture, rehabilitation therapy, and supplements that increase the production of normal joint fluid. 

The effectiveness of all of these treatments, including fish oil, vary from individual to individual. Some people feel painful arthritis when they eat tomatoes, potatoes, bell peppers, or any other member of the nightshade family of vegetables or fruits.

Fish oil comes to the rescue, even krill oil. The beauty of fish oil is that there is little risk for dogs, according to veterinarians, if the dog receives an appropriate amount of fish oil. When people take too much fish oil, there’s always the danger of bleeding inside. But what about dogs?

Veterinarians now have evidence based support for recommending fish oil as a treatment for their canine patients with arthritis. Should you feed your dog your fish oil that you take for arthritis rather than commercial drugs for treating arthritis pain?

Chances are if you have a large breed dog over eight years of age, you dog has arthritis, just as you may have arthritis at your age. First talk with your veterinarian about the pros and cons of all the treatment options.  Dogs will eat fish oil supplements if you buy the kind that doesn’t have lemon flavoring. Put the fish oil in a meat ball or drizzle a little bit over the dog’s food. Also you can buy salmon without added salt for your dog, which contains omega 3 fatty acids in the salmon. Eat it yourself.

Taste of the Wild also makes a smoked salmon dry dog food containing blueberries and other foods, but does not contain any grain. According to the study, “Evaluation of the effects of dietary supplementation with fish oil omega-3 fatty acids on weight bearing in dogs with osteoarthritis,” the objective of the study was to evaluate the effects of a food supplemented with fish oil omega-3 fatty acids on weight bearing in dogs with osteoarthritis. The clinical trial study was randomized, double-blinded, and controlled.

In the study, 38 dogs client-owned dogs with osteoarthritis were examined at two university veterinary clinics.

According to the abstract of the study, the dogs were randomly assigned to receive a typical commercial food (n = 16) or a test food (22) containing 3.5% fish oil omega-3 fatty acids. On day 0 (before the trial began) and days 45 and 90 after the trial began, investigators conducted orthopedic evaluations and force-plate analyses of the most severely affected limb of each dog, and owners completed questionnaires.

The change in mean peak vertical force between days 90 and 0 was significant for the test-food group (5.6%) but not for the control-food group (0.4%). Improvement in peak vertical force values was evident in 82% of the dogs in the test-food group, compared with 38% of the dogs in the control-food group.

In addition, according to investigators’ subjective evaluations, dogs fed the test food had significant improvements in lameness and weight bearing on day 90, compared with measurements obtained on day 0.

What was the conclusion? At least in the short term, according to the clinical trial, dietary supplementation with fish oil omega-3 fatty acids resulted in an improvement in weight bearing in dogs with osteoarthritis. For further information on the study of using fish oil to help dogs with arthritis, read the articles by veterinarian Dr. Nancy Kay at the Speaking for Spot site.

At the site, you will also find “Advocacy Aids”- helpful health forms you can download and use for your own dog, and a collection of published articles on advocating for your pet’s health. Speaking for Spot is available at Amazon.com, local bookstores, or your favorite online book seller.

Now, the next time you’re thinking about human nutrition for yourself and your osteoarthritis, think about trying some high quality fish oil or krill oil. Ask your doctor whether fish or krill oil will help your arthritis problems, since it probably might help your dog. But first find out what dose is best for you and your dog. Your health care professional can advise you. And the various studies on fish oil can give you factual information.