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Are fish oil and joint supplements truly effective for my dog?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Cavalier King Charles Spaniel | Female | spayed | 7 years and 6 months old | 17 lbs

I’ve been researching about pet supplements and in particular fish oil and joint supplements. The research states that it is a bit unclear to wether these supplements provide any Benefits. Is this true to a degree? And if so, can you elaborate? I am supplementing those things anyways just as a precautionary as the risks seem minimal. Please explain, thank you. The brands I’m using are Nutramax and Nordic naturals.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on January 8th, 2020

Yes, this is true. There are no scientific studies that definitively prove that fish oil and joint supplements work. There are no studies that prove they hurt, so vets do recommend them to see if they help dogs with particular conditions. In some cases, it does appear to help the dog, but whether that is due to a placebo effect or not isn't known.

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