I came across this today. It is a blog sharing a personal experience, so not scientifically based although some research was undertaken, but it made interesting reading.
It is rather long so for quick reference I'm going to summarise it, but of course the full story of what this dog (and his owner) went through is worth reading:
Although rare, fish oil supplements given for gleaming coats and strong bones can severely deplete Vitamin E both in dogs and cats. Symptoms appear in cats more frequently than dogs as they are more likely to be fed tinned tuna.
Symptoms can include:
- severe pain
- hyper sensitivity to pain
- lack of muscle tone
- lameness
- paralysis
- skeletal problems
- muscle weakness
- leg/feet swelling
- edemas
- weight loss (although no loss of appetite)
- cataracts
- premature aging
Because the symptoms are quite 'general' a vet may make a blanket diagnosis of arthritis but this may not in fact be the case.
The article can be found at: http://www.holisticandorganixpetshoppe.com/i-almost-killed-my-dog-with-fish-oil.html