Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Fish oil omega-3 improved weight bearing in dogs with arthritis
By Roush, James K et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2010·Department of Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Evaluation of the effects of dietary supplementation with fish oil omega-3 fatty acids on weight bearing in dogs with osteoarthritis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 38 dogs with osteoarthritis were given either a regular dog food or a special diet supplemented with fish oil omega-3 fatty acids to see if it would help them bear weight better. After 90 days, the dogs on the fish oil diet showed a significant improvement in their ability to put weight on their affected limbs, with 82% of them doing better compared to only 38% of those on the regular food. Owners also reported that their dogs had less lameness and were moving more comfortably. This suggests that adding fish oil to a dog's diet can help improve mobility in dogs suffering from arthritis.
People also search for: dog osteoarthritis treatment · fish oil for dog arthritis · how to help dog with joint pain
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of a food supplemented with fish oil omega-3 fatty acids on weight bearing in dogs with osteoarthritis. DESIGN: Randomized, double-blinded, controlled clinical trial. ANIMALS: 38 client-owned dogs with osteoarthritis examined at 2 university veterinary clinics. PROCEDURES: 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 to characterize their dogs' arthritis signs. RESULTS: 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. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: At least in the short term, dietary supplementation with fish oil omega-3 fatty acids resulted in an improvement in weight bearing in dogs with osteoarthritis.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20043801/