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Barf Feeders


koolietas
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I have been feeding my boy a barf diet for the past 20 months or so (he's now 2) and have been hesitant to feed raw fish...the only fish he gets is tinned sardines/red salmon/tuna a couple of times a week.

I would like to start giving him raw fish - and am curious as to what types of raw fish is best/suitable...?

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I am not sure which is best

but I feed mine raw bream as its what we catch in our river

the dogs barely wait until its off the hook

I have never scaled of definned the fish, the dogs instictively rub the fish on the ground and pull the fins off.

They then eat them whole and leave nothing but fins and tails and the scales ont he ground

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Personally I don't believe in feeding raw fish to dogs; Raw fish contains an enzyme that breaks down Vitamin B2, so feeding too much raw fish to your dog can result in a Vit. B2 deficiency. Fish makes a healthy meal as long as it is cooked and providing it doesn't contain any bones.

Stick to your normal routine of feeding him tinned fish, great for his skin.

Edited by Zorro_007
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Information around suggests the following:

Raw fish can be fed in small amounts to your pet, but it is recommended to feed it in moderation as part of a fully balanced diet.

Raw fish contains an enzyme that breaks down Vitamin B2, so feeding too much raw fish to your dog, can result in a vitamin deficiency. The simple and safe way to feed fish to your dog, is to cook it first, as the cooking process deactivates this enzyme and also reduces the risk of any parasitic infections being passed onto your pet from the raw fish.

Raw fish, particularly tuna and salmon, contains large amounts of an enzyme called thiaminase. This enzyme breaks down thiamine in the food and, where raw fish is fed for a long time, cats and dogs can become quite unwell and develop seizures, stupor and coma. Death is possible.

Thiamine is also known as vitamin B1 and it is an essential part of the diet of dogs and cats as they cannot synthesise their own.

As for tinned fish, I wasn't able to find any comments about that.

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My husband is a prof fisherman and our dogs have had fish all their lives cooked and raw, not much shark because of too much mercury. The ate nearly everything prawns, crab lobster :rofl: tuna, red spot whiting. We sometimes cooked sometimes sashimi just in moderation.

Edited by Anne.S.
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My husband fishes on a very regular basis and brings home salmon more than anything. I fry it in the teeniest bit of butter (more to stop it sticking to the pan than anything) and Coops gobbles it greedily. He's a total snob and won't eat anything out of a can..have tried it all...salmon, mackerel, tuna, sardines..he won't have a bar of it. Fresh salmon though...ah yes, that is acceptable.

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Thanks for your replies everyone. It sounds like the old rule of thumb 'everything in moderation' might be the case here...I think I'll do some more research before I make a decision either way. In the mean time, I'm sure Koolie will be happy to keep getting his sardines/tuna/salmon straight outta the can :D

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This is from a barf website.

Fish? You mean I can really toss my dog a whole fish?

Absolutely...head, tail, body...the whole thing! Just be sure to check inside the fish for any hook that may have been forgotten to be removed. Fish is not a substitute for an RMB meal, but it can be fed a couple of times a week. One reason for this is the thiaminase enzyme in fish...it destroys thimaine (Vitamin B1). Fish especially rich in thiaminase are herring, capelin, suckers, smelts and various carp species, a total of some 50 species, most of which live in fresh water. Extra thiamin can be fed when feeding fish. Feeding whole fish is also an individual's personal choice. Many are afraid of the bones getting stuck...no problem, there are many varieties of nutritious canned fish on the market.

A special note with regards to those who live in the Pacific Northwest: salmon and trout can carry the rickettsia organism responsible for salmon poisoning. If your dog shows ANY signs of being ill within two weeks of feeding, get him/her to the vet, and tell them to look for salmon poisoning. This information is not meant to scare anyone, but it's extremely risky to feed raw salmon and trout from the Pacific Northwest..

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Mine are toys or small and I buy either the mullett when it is season, or the sardines and just through a sardine to them.

I did not know about the enzyme so now to add the Thaimine I will stick a bit of vegemite in the next feed.

I have noticed such a change in their coat since feeding raw.

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I feed pilchards from the bait shop, the individually frozen ones are the best to buy. My dogs and cats love them. I find this is a reasonable cheap method of feeding fresh fish beside tin sardines, salmon or tuna, which I THINK are in fact cooked before they go in the can. That I suppose in effect isnt raw feeding as such? I do feed the tin fish also.

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:laugh: A little OT, but the Anne's hubby being a fisherman made me remember the time that I was dental nursing and a man arrived at the surgery STINKING HORRIBLY of fish oil ;) He was a part time mechanic and apparently they sometimes use fish oil to loosen bolts or something :rofl::rofl: Well, of COURSE this poor man had a horrendous toothache, but I nearly vomited I don't know HOW many times when we were working with him. THAT was THE most difficult time I'd ever had with a patient. I just WISHED he could have bathed before he arrived at his appointment :shakehead: :laugh: Edited by Golden Girl
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