Feeding Fish

[Monchichi]

Hi DOLers,

I probably had missed on some info regarding feeding fish to your dogs. can I please ask your opinions?

1. Can I feed raw fish (any type) to dog? or only certain type of fish can be given raw? which one?

2. Can I give salmon/kingfish/snapper head raw to my dog?

3. can I give salmon/kingfish/snapper bones & tails?

my dog gets raw diet. Currently she already has sardines on her meal nearly everyday. I bought fresh raw sardines 500gm and remove the intestines and cut into 1.5cm size, she loves it.

I am just not sure if I can feed her raw salmon/kingfish/snapper. Actually, I had fed her raw salmon occasionally.

the reason I mention only these 3 fish types, because I love eating sashimi and buy my sashimi from Japanese restaurant which sells salmon/kingfish heads too cheap.

so I thought if I can feed this to my dog, I will buy then :)

not limiting to just these 3 types if I can get other fish from fish mongers.

thanks..

[Taliecat]

I've given my boy salmon heads on the odd occasion.

He loves them.

We just gave them to him as one piece to encourage him to have a nice long chew session.

[Steph M]

Salmon heads, whole pilchards etc are all big here! I'd leave the intestines in. All good stuff!

Tinned stuff is good too! Sardines, mackerel and tuna are fab!

[trifecta]

I haven't got time to research at the moment, but from what I remember my holistic vet told me, steer clear of raw white fish, although it is safe to feed cooked. Salmon and other types of oily fish are fine fed raw - I think it has something to do with a certain parasite which inhabits white species of fish? I am sure someone on here will know!

[WreckitWhippet]

I feed whole salmon heads and also smaller whole bait fish (mackerel pilchards etc)

When I can't get the real thing I feed canned mackerel

[Yonjuro]

I feed raw whole fish weekly and fish heads sometimes. I generally feed a whole Sardines daily as part of brekky unless the evening meal is fish :laugh: ... sounds like a bloody restaurant :)

The best policy is to freeze for 3 weeks prior to feeding and then you will have no worries with parasites :-)

Most of the issues with parasites are from fish in the northern hemisphere so I am not too fastidious with freeze times depending on the type of fish.

I prefer fish that are whole and make up one meal - so for my dog it is around a 300g fish.

If I ever buy a fish with a particularly spiny dorsal or other fins I just trim them off. I also generally prefer the non giant fish as there is less likelihood of mercury or other heavy metals being present in any detectable amounts.

Ronins favourite fish of the moment is Rainbow Trout Which surprisingly is not too expensive compared with most others and if you shop smart :)

Edited May 27, 2015 by Yonjuro

[Ranga]

MY favourite fish is rainbow trout too Yonjuro! Although I prefer mine cooked :D

[grumpette]

MY favourite fish is rainbow trout too Yonjuro! Although I prefer mine cooked :D

Preferably with lemon and parsley and a fresh salad, with chips of course.

Mine love fish, sardines, salmon, mackerel and they love it when we go Japanese and they can come as well.

Edited May 27, 2015 by grumpette

[Ranga]

MY favourite fish is rainbow trout too Yonjuro! Although I prefer mine cooked :D

Preferably with lemon and parsley and a fresh salad, with chips of course.

Of course! :D

[Rappie]

I haven't got time to research at the moment, but from what I remember my holistic vet told me, steer clear of raw white fish, although it is safe to feed cooked. Salmon and other types of oily fish are fine fed raw - I think it has something to do with a certain parasite which inhabits white species of fish? I am sure someone on here will know!

Some species of white contain thiaminase when raw, which is an enzyme that breaks down thiamine (vitamin B1). It is destroyed by cooking but when active will break down thiamine from any food.

[sas]

Cod is your main problem when it comes to Thiaminase. We feed raw fish maybe once a week, it's not something you really want to be feeding too regularly if it's not cooked.

Parasites (tapeworm) are typically a problem with your freshwater fish. Australian standards for human consumption of raw fish is to freeze for 1 week at -20c or -35c for a minimum of 15 hours. Then cooking at 60c for 1-2 minutes to inactivate the larvae. Herring, Mackerel and Blue Whiting are your main problem when it comes to parasites.

[Tara8430]

I feed raw whole fish weekly and fish heads sometimes. I generally feed a whole Sardines daily as part of brekky unless the evening meal is fish :laugh: ... sounds like a bloody restaurant :)

The best policy is to freeze for 3 weeks prior to feeding and then you will have no worries with parasites :-)

Most of the issues with parasites are from fish in the northern hemisphere so I am not too fastidious with freeze times depending on the type of fish.

I prefer fish that are whole and make up one meal - so for my dog it is around a 300g fish.

If I ever buy a fish with a particularly spiny dorsal or other fins I just trim them off. I also generally prefer the non giant fish as there is less likelihood of mercury or other heavy metals being present in any detectable amounts.

Ronins favourite fish of the moment is Rainbow Trout Which surprisingly is not too expensive compared with most others and if you shop smart :)

Is that a whole rainbow trout? I give salmon heads too, plus sardines haven't tried her on the trout. I also freeze for a period before giving them to my lab.

[Monchichi]

thank you all for the info!

Yonjuro, please spare me the rainbow trout too....would love sweet chilli mayonnaise to go with the fish and chips

very interesting regarding white fish & thiaminase. I never thought of this until now.

I had given mine grill barramundi fillet in the past, phew...lucky I grill it then.

Freshwater fish...eg like rainbow trout (farmed) is this not good to be fed raw? also farm freshwater salmon?

I had been to trout & salmon farm here in Victoria, and we had it raw sashimi style right away..is this not safe?

Uhm...I had upgraded my fridge and freezer to a new one which is 1.5x bigger than previous one, and yet my freezer is chocker block with my dog's meals. maybe one day if space permitted I will nee to buy chest freezer to freeze all her goodies there hahaha

In regards to canned fish, which type do you feed to your dog? in brine, oil, or...? though I prefer to feed fresh one than tinned, but nice to know which tinned one is safe to be consumed by dog when I don't have fresh handy.

[trifecta]

I haven't got time to research at the moment, but from what I remember my holistic vet told me, steer clear of raw white fish, although it is safe to feed cooked. Salmon and other types of oily fish are fine fed raw - I think it has something to do with a certain parasite which inhabits white species of fish? I am sure someone on here will know!

Some species of white contain thiaminase when raw, which is an enzyme that breaks down thiamine (vitamin B1). It is destroyed by cooking but when active will break down thiamine from any food.

Yes, that's what I was trying to think of! Thank you Rappie! Not parasites at all! :laugh:

[Yonjuro]

MY favourite fish is rainbow trout too Yonjuro! Although I prefer mine cooked :D

:laugh:

I haven't got time to research at the moment, but from what I remember my holistic vet told me, steer clear of raw white fish, although it is safe to feed cooked. Salmon and other types of oily fish are fine fed raw - I think it has something to do with a certain parasite which inhabits white species of fish? I am sure someone on here will know!

Some species of white contain thiaminase when raw, which is an enzyme that breaks down thiamine (vitamin B1). It is destroyed by cooking but when active will break down thiamine from any food.

Thanks for the info :)

Cod is your main problem when it comes to Thiaminase. We feed raw fish maybe once a week, it's not something you really want to be feeding too regularly if it's not cooked. Parasites (tapeworm) are typically a problem with your freshwater fish. Australian standards for human consumption of raw fish is to freeze for 1 week at -20c or -35c for a minimum of 15 hours. Then cooking at 60c for 1-2 minutes to inactivate the larvae. Herring, Mackerel and Blue Whiting are your main problem when it comes to parasites.

Great info - thanks :)

I feed raw whole fish weekly and fish heads sometimes. I generally feed a whole Sardines daily as part of brekky unless the evening meal is fish :laugh: ... sounds like a bloody restaurant :) The best policy is to freeze for 3 weeks prior to feeding and then you will have no worries with parasites :-)Most of the issues with parasites are from fish in the northern hemisphere so I am not too fastidious with freeze times depending on the type of fish.I prefer fish that are whole and make up one meal - so for my dog it is around a 300g fish.If I ever buy a fish with a particularly spiny dorsal or other fins I just trim them off. I also generally prefer the non giant fish as there is less likelihood of mercury or other heavy metals being present in any detectable amounts. Ronins favourite fish of the moment is Rainbow Trout Which surprisingly is not too expensive compared with most others and if you shop smart :)

Is that a whole rainbow trout? I give salmon heads too, plus sardines haven't tried her on the trout. I also freeze for a period before giving them to my lab.

Yep, whole, raw trout straight out of my freezer, or sometimes thawed for around 30 mins in cooler months :) I only do Salmon heads on rare occasions as Ronin can easily eat one in < 10 minutes and it is a fair chunk of bone and must be fed outside... I like his bone generally to be beef neck as it takes a longer time to chew and he does this on a towel inside as part of his wind down time, post crazy hour :D

thank you all for the info!Yonjuro, please spare me the rainbow trout too....would love sweet chilli mayonnaise to go with the fish and chips very interesting regarding white fish & thiaminase. I never thought of this until now.I had given mine grill barramundi fillet in the past, phew...lucky I grill it then.Freshwater fish...eg like rainbow trout (farmed) is this not good to be fed raw? also farm freshwater salmon?I had been to trout & salmon farm here in Victoria, and we had it raw sashimi style right away..is this not safe?Uhm...I had upgraded my fridge and freezer to a new one which is 1.5x bigger than previous one, and yet my freezer is chocker block with my dog's meals. maybe one day if space permitted I will nee to buy chest freezer to freeze all her goodies there hahaha In regards to canned fish, which type do you feed to your dog? in brine, oil, or...? though I prefer to feed fresh one than tinned, but nice to know which tinned one is safe to be consumed by dog when I don't have fresh handy.

Hahaha - you'll have to fight Ronin over the Trout :laugh: I can't advise on the tinned stuff as I never need to use it. I would imagine in spring water to be the best. But occasional oil or brine shouldn't be a drama unless your dog has a condition where fats and sodium is an issue :) Some places will sell albacore tuna cutlets frozen and quite cheap. Salmon cutlets are obviously very expensive even when frozen. I also make sure all of my seafood is Australian or New Zealand.

One interesting thing that I read a while ago is that fish bones are the only bones that are okay when cooked as they stay soft and don't splinter like warm blooded animals . I'm not going to bet my house that this is correct, but it does seem quite logical and possibly worth exploring for some people. I imagine steaming to be the best method of cooking said fish.

[westiemum]

I feed raw whole fish weekly and fish heads sometimes. I generally feed a whole Sardines daily as part of brekky unless the evening meal is fish :laugh: ... sounds like a bloody restaurant :)

The best policy is to freeze for 3 weeks prior to feeding and then you will have no worries with parasites :-)

Most of the issues with parasites are from fish in the northern hemisphere so I am not too fastidious with freeze times depending on the type of fish.

I prefer fish that are whole and make up one meal - so for my dog it is around a 300g fish.

If I ever buy a fish with a particularly spiny dorsal or other fins I just trim them off. I also generally prefer the non giant fish as there is less likelihood of mercury or other heavy metals being present in any detectable amounts.

Ronins favourite fish of the moment is Rainbow Trout Which surprisingly is not too expensive compared with most others and if you shop smart :)

What time can the westies and I join Ronin for dinner??!!

[Tara8430]

Thanks Yonjuro Ill keep a look out for the rainbow trout, I'm starting to think our dogs eat better then we do :D

Ive got a couple of Salmon heads which I didn't actually realise just how big they were until I got home, way to big for Abbey to eat all at once and impossible to cut up...I'm wondering if I could do a bit of a Salmon head broth (like bone broth) any thoughts? Im thinking though it might stink up the house a bit though having fish cooking for any extended period of time.

[Yonjuro]

I feed raw whole fish weekly and fish heads sometimes. I generally feed a whole Sardines daily as part of brekky unless the evening meal is fish :laugh: ... sounds like a bloody restaurant :) The best policy is to freeze for 3 weeks prior to feeding and then you will have no worries with parasites :-)Most of the issues with parasites are from fish in the northern hemisphere so I am not too fastidious with freeze times depending on the type of fish.I prefer fish that are whole and make up one meal - so for my dog it is around a 300g fish.If I ever buy a fish with a particularly spiny dorsal or other fins I just trim them off. I also generally prefer the non giant fish as there is less likelihood of mercury or other heavy metals being present in any detectable amounts. Ronins favourite fish of the moment is Rainbow Trout Which surprisingly is not too expensive compared with most others and if you shop smart :)

What time can the westies and I join Ronin for dinner??!!

Any time, my friend :laugh:

Thanks Yonjuro Ill keep a look out for the rainbow trout, I'm starting to think our dogs eat better then we do :D Ive got a couple of Salmon heads which I didn't actually realise just how big they were until I got home, way to big for Abbey to eat all at once and impossible to cut up...I'm wondering if I could do a bit of a Salmon head broth (like bone broth) any thoughts? Im thinking though it might stink up the house a bit though having fish cooking for any extended period of time.

Yeah, I know what you mean - Ronin eats like a king :D A nice sharp and heavy cleaver will give you a good chance of splitting the salmon heads up ( a job best done outside). But yeah the broth would be really good too I am sure that any fish monger will be able to give you the heads of smaller fish for next to nothing :-) We gave Ronin some flounder heads the other day. He was a bit WTF, but soon chowed them down :D

[Monchichi]

yes, I tried my best to buy Australian seafood these days. Though it can impact a bit on my wallet...but its better for the health and seafood industry here in Australia.

silly question, does the fish head can be given to medium to small breed of dog? I keep thinking mine as a strong chewer like Ronin...well still related (Japanese spitz). she can chew down a 4cm wide beef neck bones in 1 hour. I just gave her lamb neck about 5cm wide (as I told the butcher to cut up only 2cm...came with 5cm doh!) and that lamb neck gone in 18minutes flat!

not even I could saved a tiny bit from her...she chewed/gnawed it like eating lollipop! I have a strong jaw dog and super sharp teeth

[Yonjuro]

yes, I tried my best to buy Australian seafood these days. Though it can impact a bit on my wallet...but its better for the health and seafood industry here in Australia.

silly question, does the fish head can be given to medium to small breed of dog? I keep thinking mine as a strong chewer like Ronin...well still related (Japanese spitz). she can chew down a 4cm wide beef neck bones in 1 hour. I just gave her lamb neck about 5cm wide (as I told the butcher to cut up only 2cm...came with 5cm doh!) and that lamb neck gone in 18minutes flat!

not even I could saved a tiny bit from her...she chewed/gnawed it like eating lollipop! I have a strong jaw dog and super sharp teeth

Yeah that is some good chewing Monchichi :laugh:

I personally like the lamb necks to be cut in long pieces as the small ones can be a choking hazard. Lamb necks don't last more than 5 minutes with Ronin, so I seldom give them these days. 10cm Beef neck pieces should slow her down a bit :D Frozen slows them down a bit too.

I don't think it really matters what size fish head for the dog unless she gets a really upset tummy from ingesting too much food, if she eats the whole thing then skip bones for a day or two. If you have a choice, then a meal sized head is probably best.

I reckon if I gave a whole sheep head to Ronin he would eat the whole bloody thing... so much for spitz breeds being fussy and not food orientated :laugh: