Glad you "resurrected" this thread, Barb.
Antagene has explained that the fish oils can help because ICT is a problem with the lipid process ... so adding oils can help. However, it is not certain that this will help all dogs, but it might help some. So, you'll probably be using trial-and-error to find out what dosage works for each individual dog.
I'm not certain, but I think that these fish oils are also blood thinners. If so, then if you have a surgical procedure scheduled for such a dog, you may want to discontinue the oils for a period of time prior to surgery or teeth cleaning. Ask your vet about this.
On other lists, the question of affected dogs included the mention of the flakes being large, being hyper-pigmented (black), and there being an odor associated with the condition. Due to the poor skin condition, secondary bacterial infections could present a problem as well from a maintenance standpoint.
It would be really helpful if people would share more first-hand experiences with affected dogs. There have been some breedings done of carrXcarr; carrXaffected; and even affXaff dogs. Some intentional, some when people were unaware of the testing available & unsuspecting that the disease might be present. Easy to do when some dogs are affected and have no apparent symptoms!
My sense is that most people do not see ICT as any significant quality of life issue ... and at this point, I tend to agree with them. But (there's always a "but", isn't there?) what if we're not right about that? The data gained from these CxC, CxA, and AxA breedings could be very helpful in letting us know whether we can "relax" in regard to this particular disease or should be more conscious of breeding affected dogs.
Based on Antagene's statistics thru 7/31/1, we have almost 50% of US/Can Goldens (of those tested) who are carriers or affected ... so we don't have an over-abundant supply of dogs who have no copy of the mutated gene. If practical experience shows this disease to be more troublesome than it appears now, then we will want to hold ground and preserve a reservoir of "clear" dogs to breed to carriers and affecteds.
With prcd, even at our worst, we were running about 20% carriers, and very few affected. We had (and continue to have) a large reservoir of dogs with no copy of the mutated gene ... plenty of dogs to breed to carriers or affected with safety. We could effectively "manage" the disease very well and maintain a majority of clear dogs in the gene pool (while still breeding carriers that have merit in other respects).
I recently bred a 3-clear bitch to a carrier sire for both prcd and ICT ... all 3 bitch puppies came up clear for prcd! I could hardly believe that. However, on ICT only one of the bitch pups was clear for that as well. Yet, there are still the hips, elbows to worry about. And, then we still have to evaluate which of those three girls might have the most merit for reproducing ... based on the other traits that we seek in our breeding programs. We'll still have to apply the "art" of breeding to the "science" of DNA (& other health) testing.
But we still need to know what the real-life data is to make reasonable decisions for breeding.
BTW, two of the dogs who tested affected for prcd as youngsters, are now about 6 years old. So far they both have normal eye exams. Daphne, the original affected that was found, is now over 10. She has some minimal vision left, but if she were human you would say she is "legally" blind. She still enjoys retrieving bumpers in her yard
She had great fun doing a "glory run" in agility where entries were donated to charity ... she knocked down every bar since she could not see them, but jumped every time her "mom" told her to
To brag for Mardi Closson who owns Daphne, her breeding choice allowed Daphne to leave a remarkable heritage ... of her 9 puppies in her one litter, 8 of them achieved titles to qualify her for Outstanding Dam status with GRCA; 3 MACHs, 3 Agility Hall of Fame, 2 USDAA agility Champions, and one NADAC agility champion; a couple of WCs, CCAs, and a TDX also in the mix; and her only daughter to be bred also became an Outstanding Dam with 13 qualifying get of her own.