smelly dog and cod liver oil - Page 1

Hi, i am looking after two elderly german shepherd for some friends who moved out of the country. 

These are outdoor dogs who have had good exercise all their lives.  However there are two things that have come up for me;

1.  i am giving 1 TB of cod liver oil to each dog, and the one with the severe hip dysplasia showed remarkable pain reduction..absolutely remarkable.  On the days he doesn't get the cod liver oil, he limps around much more, and i can see the pain and 'depression' in his eyes.  I have been giving this to them for 2 1/2 months now, and want to know if anyone has any comments about this amount possibly being toxic to them.  I have seen no negative side effects so far....in fact, the opposite.  They seem happier and healthier so far

2.  These dogs put off quite an odour (and that was before the cod liver oil!).  Even after good thorough bathing, they seem to smell like wet carpets (very strong fur odour) very quickly thereafter.  We do live in Canada where we have a lot of rain, and since they spend all their time outdoors could it be that they just don't get 'dry' enough?  They have thick outdoor coats.  I am wondering if this is something i should just learn to live with (it's natural?) or if i should use or do something special to help them.  How often should i bath an otherwise healthy outdoor german shepherd?  They have 10 acres to run around on.....am i being to fussy about the smell of an outdoor dog??

thank you to anyone who can enlighten me !!!

much thanks

 

I can advise you one thing.   Do not use fish caps and put a few in your pocket of your jeans and forget them.

When washed the whole washer of clothes  has to go to the trash bin.

Made that mistake only once.

One night I was fixing bowls for the inside pups and I had chinese take out on my drainboard. I grabbed a fish cap and cut the end and got distracted by the tv and I put the first fish cap in my chinese....urp slop  get the mop.....ruined my 8.00 wonderful chinese take out. Had to eat a bologna sandwich..

Just a little   old year out and new year in   HUMOR>

YR

 

 Cod liver oil is very bad for dogs. You can use whole body oil, but not liver.

--Jackie

 

Useful articles:

 

http://www.westonaprice.org/basicnutrition/clarifications.html

http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/cod-liver-oil.html

YR, fish oil caps are not good to find buried in the dog beds either!  I can imagine a load of laundry.....   LOL.

 

Sorry, I don't know if cod liver oil, or any other oil, could be helping with the HD or not.  As for the odor, outside dogs are hard to keep clean in the winter, especially in a wet climate.

the male german shepherd could barely walk before i started giving him the cod liver oil.  (hip dysplasia i was told before i started caring for him).  He is old....10 years old.  Now he can go up and down the stairs much more easily.  Also, a huge difference in how easy it is for him to get up and down from his bedding, even in the ice cold winter we are having up here.

We've had the worst winter since 1973 according to the weather people!  (we are in the Fraser VAlley, BC, Canada).  Even so, the dogs spend a good portion of the day outside and lay on their beds on the deck.....he doesn't seem any worse even though it is very cold.

Now i'm wondering....should i give him vitamin D3 drops instead of the cod liver oil?  since vit. D is such a powerful anti-inflammatory, i'm guessing it is the D3 part of the cod liver oil that is reducing his pain.  I wonder if i should change over to the D3 drops (which have no vit. A in them), and if so, how much D3 can i give him?  Has anyone found out what the optimum levels of D3 are for German shepherds (or any dog?) .  I've searched all over the internet and there are so many conflicting articles.  But with the new advancements in vit D3 for humans (and the new optimum blood levels determined)....i thought i also might find the optimum level for dogs as well somewhere.....

If i knew the optimum levels, it wouldn't be that expensive to have a vit D3 blood test done on the dog to determine what dose it takes to bring him into healthy ranges.  If it works that good for pain control, it seems the perfect non-pharmaceutical approach, and inexpensive too.

Since i increased my vitamin D my arthitis has also greatly improved (as well as my lower back pain.....ALL my pain has reduced dramatically).  That's why i gave it to the dog....if it helped me so much....maybe it would help my dog, and sure enough it did!  I am thanking the creator because the dog looks so much happier.  He was in so much pain before, he was terribly depressed.

 

Vitamin D3 is synthesized in the skin from 7-dehydrocholesterol via photochemical reactions using ultraviolet B (UV-B) radiation from sunlight. Exposure to sunlight is an important source of vitamin D. Ultraviolet (UV) rays from sunlight trigger vitamin D synthesis in the skin. Vitamin D2 is derived from fungal and plant sources. Vitamin D3 is derived from animal sources. Sunlight is the primary source (food is not the primary source) by converting 7-dehydrocholesterol (in the skin) to vitamin D3. Fortified foods are the major dietary sources of vitamin D. Good food sources of vitamin D include milk, fatty fish such as salmon and mackerel, cod liver oil, fish liver oil, some breads and cereals and egg yolks. Most vitamin D supplements available without a prescription contain cholecalciferol (vitamin D3). Multivitamin supplements for children generally provide 200 IU (5 mcg) and multivitamin supplements for adults generally provide 400 IU (10 mcg) of vitamin D.

Vitamin D (I would use the childrens dosage on the shepherd.   also use Salmon Wild alaskan from Petsmart if you are not to use the cod liver oil..I WOULD  only use this supplement every other day.too much into a dogs system can be just as detramental as a defeciency...use also food sources for vitamin D.  Like raw egg every day in food, whole egg shell and all and if can find use yard eggs from local people. Open a can of salmon and put 1/3 of the can each day for the ole fellow..he will like and it will give him the extra vD3. No calcium supplements as they can be dangerous to kidneys etc. I use greens juice on my dogs food when I cook mustard greens , which I love.   I save the juice in jar and use like water to moisten the kibble.  YR

in regards to the way they smell......we do brush them frequently, but we live in the Pacific Northwest (rural BC) near the Fraser Valley where we get a lot of rain.  They do get damp alot, and i wonder if that is normal for dogs who are outside alot. 

They have a real wet blanket musty smell to them....is it the natural oils in their skin?  We don't bathe them in the winter because they are outside dogs. 

I truly wonder, how much should one bathe an outside dog anyway?  If they are brushed well, isn't it best to let the natural oils on their fur stay there for awhile?  I want to do the right thing, but not overbathe them either.

Any comments?

 

Mine get Salmon Oil on there Morning Feed every day ,

Pup Heidi as well, Plus on this they get a teaspoon of HOKAMIX Joint Formula,

Not the Cheapest but excellent Heidi gets a third of a teaspoon for her age

I do not say it has anything to do with it but the Hips of my dogs are A Normal, and they were given Hokamix from 8 weeks old But only a third of a teaspoon to start at that age increasing to one teaspoon as 12 months or older

Do not overdose Cod Liver Oil

As it is an oil vitamin the Body cannot reject any access it may get, Water Soluble Vitamins the body can get rid off ,but not oil bound ones so do not overdose the dog

Steve

Y Rose

did you have a Cat problem for a while

have you checked their anal glands?

Fish oil has helped my old Aussie, she is getting on much better after only a week. Its good to see her up and happy again, her smile is back.

Our GSD's get a few caps every day, mostly because its a great trainig treat. I haven't noticed any poop breath, and their coats are full and beautiful.