# Raw fish and the bones



## Diesel and Lace (Apr 15, 2013)

I cant seem to find the exact answer I am looking for after going back to posts from 2012 so I am posting again. 

My dad is an avid fisherman, he doesnt really like to eat the fish so there is a freezer half full of fish. I want to give it to Diesel because I now fish is good for them in moderation, the fish are gutted but they still have heads and the bones, they are trout, walleye, and some other one that is not labeled in there that are deboned etc. 

I feed Diesel all of his meats frozen, he scarfs food and this forces him to slow down and actually gnaw and chew the food up. My question is can I give him the fish whole? There are so many little bones in there I was not sure. He eats Beef bones, Pork Bones, and Chicken bones but I was not sure about fish bones they are so fine and little... What about the heads? 

He still eats a grain free kibble too while I am trying to get him to gain weight I want the extra carbs and vitamins etc. When he finally reaches ideal weight I will take kibble out of his diet. All the meat he eats is from the butcher directly no grocery stores ...


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## Vinnie (Sep 4, 2001)

Whole raw fish is fine. My boys love them and get some form of fish at least once a week. 

I do cut off the tail and top fin – just no value to that – but that’s about all. Also check for any hooks left from maybe a previous missed catch. We feed bass, northern, trout, walleye, sunnies, crappies, tilapia, minnows, and probably some others I’m missing. Basically whatever we catch and then some. Most of these are fresh caught and usually frozen. The tilapia is store bought and frozen (when we don’t catch much out fishing). And the minnows are leftover bait for catching larger fish. 

Always freeze any kind of trout for at least 24 hours (or fish classified as a pacific salmonid). If you're worried about any kind of parasite in your fish that might adversely affect your dog, always freeze 24 hours first.

Only fish we don’t feed is salmon but it’s not local to us anyway.

ETA: Thought I should mention that we have one dog that will NOT touch fish unless it's cooked. She does not like the texture. The boys love it but they've been eating it since they were little puppies and she wasn't started on a RAW diet until she was older.


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## Diesel and Lace (Apr 15, 2013)

Thanks! All of it is frozen, so should be no issue there and I only feed frozen so I will give him a couple a week (they are small not real big fit in a Gallon freezer bag) Great info! Thanks again!


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