# Main reasons to feed fish?



## angeleyes (Jan 8, 2014)

I was wondering if feeding fish is mainly for omega oils? Will a supplement be able to replace fish if I am not able to feed it to them on a weekly basis? Fish have mercury and I don't want to be feeding it to them too often.


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## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

I'm not terribly concerned with the mercury, I mean, it's there, but I don't worry my life away over it. I like to feed a bag of Fromm Surf N Turf or Salmon Tunalini for every other bag because it puts such nice coat on the dogs. I generally don't add any fish/salmon oil when I feed foods with fish in them, unless the coats aren't shiny and thick, then I'll add a squirt in with their food. 

But typically I'll rotate kibble like this: fish, beef, fish, chicken, fish, duck… 
I DO add toppers to the food, crock potted chicken, beef, pork, turkey, (those meats plus added cooked veggies), eggs, canned salmon, sardines or mackerel, and yogurt. 

The dogs look awesome this way.


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## Candyd (Apr 11, 2013)

Not all fish are equal concerning mercury and other heavy metals. Large species on top of the food chain such as tuna and salmon have much more mercury than sardines for example. And sardines are rich in omega-3 too.
If your dog's diet doesn't contain whole preys or thyroid, if you don't add iodized salt, and if you don't live close to the sea, your dog could suffer from iodine deficiency, but a diet regularly including fish doesn't have this problem. Cod is rich in iodine.


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

i feed my dog fresh fish. today he had Artic Char and Trout. i never thought about
the mercury content. i eat it also. you can get omega-3 from flax seed oil or ground
flax seed. i'm sure there's other sources.


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## _unoriginal (Apr 8, 2012)

doggiedad said:


> i feed my dog fresh fish. today he had Artic Char and Trout. i never thought about
> the mercury content. i eat it also. you can get omega-3 from flax seed oil or ground
> flax seed. i'm sure there's other sources.


Flaxseeds, while being a decent source of omega-3s, are on the lower end of the spectrum for how much they have in them. Fish oil (or actual fish) is best, then chia seeds, then flaxseeds. I'm sure there's other things mixed in there that I'm missing, but that's the extent of my research into flaxseeds. Plus, their nutrients cannot be absorbed without being ground or in the form of oil, which is a PITA to me personally.


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## Nina_W (Jan 8, 2014)

Krill oil is a pretty great source of omega threes also - very readily bioavailable for a dog. 

I like fish partly because for me, it's the simplest whole prey I can find... that and a sardine is the perfect size for a meal for my Talos


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

i throw some flax seed in the coffee grinder. it's quick and easy. i think we have some chia seeds? i give my dog
a high quality, human grade salmon oil.



_unoriginal said:


> Flaxseeds, while being a decent source of omega-3s, are on the lower end of the spectrum for how much they have in them. Fish oil (or actual fish) is best, then chia seeds, then flaxseeds. I'm sure there's other things mixed in there that I'm missing, but that's the extent of my research into flaxseeds. Plus, their nutrients cannot be absorbed without being ground or in the form of oil, which is a PITA to me personally.


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

as you see i have a GSD. hearing a sardine is a perfect size meal is funny to me.



Nina_W said:


> Krill oil is a pretty great source of omega threes also - very readily bioavailable for a dog.
> 
> I like fish partly because for me, it's the simplest whole prey I can find... that and
> 
> ...


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## _unoriginal (Apr 8, 2012)

doggiedad said:


> i throw some flax seed in the coffee grinder. it's quick and easy. i think we have some chia seeds? i give my dog
> a high quality, human grade salmon oil.


I have all three as well. It generally depends on my mood. I bought the ground flaxseed for myself but it actually dawned on me today that I could give it to the dogs if I chose to. :lol:


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## bett (Mar 15, 2012)

rex is on a home cooked liver support diet and cod is a mainstay.

vangie is a different story altogether but i do get wild, sardines, in spring water by the case from amazon and rex and jake enjoy them immensely.


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

is salt added?



bett said:


> rex is on a home cooked liver support diet and cod is a mainstay.
> 
> vangie is a different story altogether but i do get wild, sardines, in spring water by the case from amazon and rex and jake enjoy them immensely.


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## Noodlesmadison (Sep 18, 2011)

bett said:


> rex is on a home cooked liver support diet and cod is a mainstay.
> 
> vangie is a different story altogether but i do get wild, sardines, in spring water by the case from amazon and rex and jake enjoy them immensely.


Noodles has liver disease and I've been wondering about liver diets. Does Rex have liver disease? What is the diet like?


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## angeleyes (Jan 8, 2014)

If I decided to feed my dog a staple diet consisting of mainly fish 4 to 5 times a week, is that going to do harm? I want to freeze the fish we catch while fishing that includes perch, blue gills, sunfish, white bass, catfish and anything you can catch in a lake. Then when its feeding time thaw the fish and feed whole? Does a meal consisting of whole fish have all the nutrients he needs? Is there enough bone to meat ratio in those fishes? If not, how can I supplement calcium?


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## Roo (Oct 17, 2010)

The more variety in the diet, the more different nutrient levels can be achieved. Maybe look up the nutritional values for the different fish you're considering feeding as a main staple, and see how varied they are and compare to the nutritional numbers for dogs. Feeding a lot of fish, your iron and zinc levels would be lower, you might want to make sure you were feeding enough red meat/organs to balance it. I know there are some concerns with feeding fish like the varied mercury levels and now the pollution with the Japan radiation issues. Personally I vary the omega 3 sources in the diet I give my dogs with some grassfed meats, high quality fish or krill oils, to fresh or canned fish.

Holistic Vet Dr. Dobias, who feeds raw, had an article back in June about mercury levels and fish, not sure how accurate the hair tests can be with dogs, but the results were interesting.
Dogs fed fish have elevated mercury levels

On a side note, I found some wild caught frozen raw sardines at one of my local supermarkets a couple months ago and tried them out, one of my dogs had an allergic reaction to them even though she's had canned sardines before and been fine. She might be allergic to raw sardines, or a preservative they used on the fish. I read somewhere to be cautious about some of the chemical preservatives they use on grocery store frozen fresh fish. There wasn't any thing listed in the ingredients, and I haven't fed them to her again so who knows.


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## Pit4Life (Jun 2, 2012)

We can feed them fresh catfish? Of course after being frozen to kill parasites


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