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Are you wondering if your dog can benefit from flaxseed oil?
Whether the health benefits apply to canines is a great question. After all, lots of supplements are all wrong for pets.
Here’s the deal:
You can give your dog small amounts of flaxseed oil. It’s healthy for hounds too!
Flaxseed Oil Can Be Given To Dogs
But be conservative despite the valuable nutrients.
Dosage For Dogs
How much flaxseed oil to provide depends mostly on body size.
Dog Dosing Guidelines:
Fully grown large breeds should get no more than 1 tablespoon daily.
For smallish dogs, restrict the amount to 1 teaspoon.
Adjust accordingly as you gradually get a sense of the correct flaxseed dose.
Some Specific Benefits
The anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties promote health when added to food or taken in tablet form.
Flax-seed oil is loaded with essential fatty acids. At least in theory, this will help a dog keep a shiny coat and healthy skin.
The fatty acids also assist cellular health. Of course flaxseed is known for anti-inflammatory properties as well.
Yup! It’s great for arthritis but also regulating blood pressure, kidney function and metabolism.
The point is there are so many benefits to using this for dogs.
Have an older arthritic dog?
Give them flaxseed oil daily for their inflamed joints. It may improve mobility and comfort.
Also, dogs with itchy and dry skin are often lacking essential fatty acids.
This oil (added to food daily) may give them all the fatty acids they need, helping them get their shiny coat and healthy skin back.
Finally, dogs that have kidney problems may also benefit from flax seed.
Add a bit to their food each day and you may see results within a few short weeks.
Best Flaxseed Benefits
Vets sometimes recommend flaxseed for older dogs or those suffering with severe allergies.
The top 5 benefits are:
1. Flaxseed oil reduces itching and dry skin offering a healthy skin and coat.
2. It has anti-inflammatory properties which helps with mobility in arthritic dogs.
3. It regulates blood pressure, kidney function and artery function.
4. Flaxseed is an important factor in cellular health.
5. It acts as an anti-bacterial and anti-viral agent. Anyone or any dog taking this oil on a daily basis will have a stronger immune system to fight off illness or disease.
Flaxseed Oil And Cancer
Some believe flax seed oil consumption reduces a possibly of cancer.
Truth be told, more research is needed especially as this particular benefit applies to dogs.
Flaxseed reduces other ailments, which often go hand-in-hand with cancer risks in general.
Pet owners have a better chance of keeping an all around healthy dog from its routine use.
Thank you for this article! Some time ago I read that dogs don’t digest ALA acids. In any case, I was considering fish oil for a long time but I can’t get over these facts:
1. Fisheries are destroying the ecosystem. Fish are animals, too!
2. Fish oil is at least 6 times as expensive as flax seed oil.
3. It turns out dogs do digest ALA (just in larger doses). Great to hear!
When some type of food is very expensive, it can usually be substituted by something less known and much cheaper.
My 16 year old Chihuahua fell off of my bed and now I see a worrisome neurological sign. She’s holding her head to the right. What can I do to help her heal? What kind of herbs should I give or would flax seed be beneficial?
My 2 dogs (both under 40 pounds) drank a bottle of flax seed oil. Should I be concerned?
Can I give my dog flaxseed oil and brewer’s yeast?
I have flaxseed oil 1,000mg gel caps (Spring Valley brand). How many do I give a 75 pound dog?
Where do you buy flaxseed oil for a large dog? My vet recommended it for arthritis.
Dogs need fish oil as well. I recommend that they’re rotated or opt for fish oil instead and also vitamin E at the same time.
I wouldn’t use flax seeds for me or my dogs. My doctor says that humans shouldn’t have more than 1/2 teaspoon per week. He said it’s safer to avoid all together. There are better alternatives. Flax seed is also used in making varnish.
My Westie has high levels of enzymes in her liver. I have been giving her flaxseed oil in her food once a day as she has been very itchy. The itch has cleared up but the enzymes are still elevated. Could flax seed oil be cause of this elevation?
Are you using the Flax-seed oil for the liver? What diet is the dog on?
My dog has lymphoma. I have given her flaxseed oil but she seems to vomit after taking it. Should I stop giving the oil?
How much flaxseed oil, in capsules, would help my dog’s coat. It’s dull and brittle. I have human capsules which are 1,000mg. She weighs 75 pounds.
According to Doctor Budwig, some people and dogs may not tolerate drinking flaxseed oil directly. They may have diarrhea or upset stomach. But after mixing it with low fat organic cottage cheese, until it becomes a creamy mixture, it becomes easily absorbed and digestible.
Dr. Budwig says that a 100 pound adult can start with 2 tbsp of cottage cheese mixed with 1 tbsp flaxseed oil. I gave my dog 1 tbsp cottage cheese plus half a spoon of flaxseed oil and he is perfectly fine.
Flaxseed oil is unstable. It should only be eaten as freshly ground seeds or as a separate supplement in light impervious, nitrogen-flushed glass bottles kept in the freezer. The Alpha-Linolenic Acid, Omega-3, is not good for dogs. Putting flax seed oil in pet food paper bags (which are then stored on shelves) is a formula for rancidity.