Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Omega-3 supplement doses for pets with chronic diseases
By Vendramini, Thiago Henrique Annibale et al.·Published in Nutrition research reviews·2025·Department of Animal Nutrition and Production of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Brazil·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 We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above.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: Exploring the efficacy and optimal dosages of omega-3 supplementation for companion animals.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A review of studies found that omega-3 supplements can help dogs and cats with various chronic health issues, including skin problems, arthritis, heart disease, and cognitive decline. The effective doses varied depending on the condition, with specific recommendations for each. For example, dogs with skin issues benefited from doses of around 0.99 to 43 mg/kg of EPA and 0.66 to 30 mg/kg of DHA. While omega-3s showed promise for many conditions, they did not seem to help gastrointestinal diseases. Overall, many pets experienced improvements in their symptoms with the right omega-3 supplementation.
People also search for: omega-3 for dog skin problems · arthritis treatment for dogs · cognitive decline in older cats · heart disease in dogs treatment · omega-3 dosage for pets
Abstract
This review summarises findings from studies in companion animals with chronic diseases receiving omega-3 supplementation. Investigated conditions included dermatopathies (dogs= 7), osteoarthritis (dogs= 7, cats= 2), cardiovascular diseases (dogs= 7), dyslipidaemias (dogs= 1), gastroenteropathies (dogs= 2), chronic kidney disease (dogs= 2, cats= 3), cognitive impairment (dogs= 4, cats= 1), and behavioural disorders (dogs= 3). When possible, dosages were standardised to mg/kg using available data on food intake and EPA/DHA concentrations. The minimum and maximum ranges of EPA and DHA, along with their ratios, were as follows: for dermatology 0·99-43 mg/kg EPA and 0·66-30 mg/kg DHA (ratio 1·4-3·4); for osteoarthritis 48-100 mg/kg EPA and 20-32 mg/kg DHA (ratio 1·5-3·4); cardiology 27-54·2 mg/kg EPA and 18-40·6 mg/kg DHA (ratio 1·3-1·5); dyslipidaemia 58·8 mg/kg EPA and 45·4 mg/kg DHA (ratio 1·3); cognition (1/5 studies) 225 mg/kg EPA and 90 mg/kg DHA (ratio 2·5); behaviour (1/3) 31 mg/kg EPA and 45 mg/kg DHA (ratio 0·7). Nephrology and oncology studies lacked sufficient data for calculation. Gastrointestinal diseases do not appear to benefit from omega-3 supplementation, likely due to inflammation-related malabsorption, although few adverse effects were reported in dogs. Other enteropathy studies were low-quality (case reports/series). The lowest omega-6/omega-3 ratio with anti-inflammatory effect was 1:3·75, and the highest was 5·5:1. In conclusion, the reviewed EPA and DHA doses appear effective for atopic dermatitis, osteoarthritis, cardiac disease, hyperlipidaemia, and cognitive and behavioural disorders. Further research is needed to clarify efficacy in gastrointestinal and oncological conditions.
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/40495687/