Chase Correll | June 29 2018

Chances are your pooch eats omega acids everyday. Chances are you might not know there are two distinct and important varieties of omega acids that are of great benefit to your dog’s health. The omega acids in question are the omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Don’t let the “fatty” in fatty acids fool you, though. These two nutrients play a pivotal role in keeping your dog’s wellness in check. Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of these two fatty acids.

Omega-6 acids are beneficial to your dog’s health for a variety of reasons. One is that they’re great for your pup’s skin because they increase its permeability. Having more permeable skin allows for your dog to better regulate its body temperature. Take note that your dog’s largest organ is its skin; healthy skin is absolutely key in keeping your dog as healthy as can be. Let’s move from the skin, to the fur that grows from it; omega-6 acids are crucial to a proper upkeep of your pooch’s coat. If your pup lacks omega-6 acids, its coat can become brittle and dull: resulting in hair loss and increased risks of infection or itchiness. A great way to prevent damage to your pup’s coat is to pick up a melting balm that contains these omega acids, like Sleepy Cotton’s Shiny Dog Melting Balms.
You should know that omega acids are essential to your pup’s nutritional health because your pup can’t manufacture them on its own. Without going too deep into the realm of chemistry, your dog is essentially unable to make omega fatty acids because it lacks the ability to put together the molecules that create omega fatty acids. That means your dog can only get its necessary doses of omegas if they’re added to its diet or with balms/lotions.

The skin and coat benefits of omega acids don’t stop with omega-6; omega-3 acids also provide a variety of skin and coat benefits for your furry friend. Omega-3s are great for your pup’s skin because they are a natural anti-inflammatory. If your fur baby suffers from allergies or an overactive immune system, then omega-3s are a must have for your dog’s wellness.
Omega-3s are also great at keeping your dog’s flaky skin in check, if it suffers from dandruff or dry skin. Not only that but it can also help to reduce yeast infections (link to common itches article about yeast infections). Because all of these omega-3 benefits are skin related, it is recommended to find a melting balm, like Sleepy Cotton’s aforementioned one, and administer it to your pup’s coat. This way, all of those essential omega nutrients are being applied directly to the area where they can benefit your pup most.