[Hound Dog Mom]

Vitamin A can be harmful in excess because it’s a fat soluble vitamin – however you need to feed too much of it in order for it to build up. A capsule of cod liver oil per day would not come anywhere near toxic vitamin a doses. One capsule of Carlson Super Cod Liver Oil provides 2,000 IU vitamin a – the toxic dose (which needs to be given daily for months to create toxicity) is 113,600 IU per pound of food consumed on a dry matter basis. So assuming your dog eats one pound of food per day (dry matter) the dog would have to eat 50+ capsules of cod liver oil per day to result in vitamin a toxicity. I’ve ran a full nutrient analysis on my raw menus and they are well below the AAFCO’s safe upper limit for vitamin a levels. One of my menus I analyzed came out to 52,412 IU/kg and the other to 78,326 IU/kg – the AAFCO’s upper limit is 250,000 IU/kg. The problems arise when people substitute cod liver oil for fish body oil and use it to meet their dog’s omega 3 needs. Cod liver oil should not be used as an omega 3 supplement – it should be used in small doses as a whole food source of vitamin d. One of the reasons I use Carlson, in addition to the fact that their products are stringently tested for contaminants and contain high levels of vitamin e to preserve the fats, is that their cod liver oil is lower in vitamin a than many other brands.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 7 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.