Skin and Coat Health Supplements
Dietary supplements for your pet’s skin and coat health typically contain essential fatty acids, often a blend of omega-3s, -6s and -9s.
The problem with many of these blended supplements is that most dogs and cats today, especially those eating commercially available processed pet food, get an overabundance of omega-6s and not enough omega-3s. A combination of inexpensive grain and corn-based ingredients, vegetable oils (corn, soy, safflower, canola), and fats from chicken and meat create pet food packed with omega-6 fats.
In addition, the omega-3 fats used in most commercial pet foods come from plant or vegetable sources, and the manufacturing process typically destroys what value these ingredients have.
So the best essential fatty acid supplement for the vast majority of today’s dogs and cats is an omega-3 supplement made from marine oils – krill oil or fish oil, including salmon, sardine, squid and anchovy. Vegetable-derived oils, including flax and olive oil, do not contain EPA and DHA, but rather the less bioavailable, inactive precursor form, ALA.