# Raw Fish?



## robk

How do dogs do with raw fish and can you feed it whole? Is it considered RMB or MM? If I feed it whole (including the intrales) would that be a balanced meal? I am interested in reading some of your thoughts on this. 
I am off tomorrow and am thinking about going to the coast and seeing if the Spots are running. On a good day I can usally fill a good sized cooler with Spots and other pan fish.


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## onyx'girl

My dogs won't eat fish heads,scales or fins. They barely tolerate the meat unless it is semi-frozen. They love canned mackarel.
I was giving my dogs sunfish/bluegill heads, etc a couple years ago during the Winter(icefishing) and thought they were eating them....snow melted and I found the remains.

I've gotten whole fish from my raw co-op and the dogs still won't eat it....so I give them partially frozen some of the skin is on, no scales/fins. 
If you do feed fish, freeze it for at least a week to kill any parasites that may be within.
I consider it MM.


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## Klamari

My pup did not like whole fresh fish.....at all. And she is a maniac about any kind of food but that fish did not interest her in the least. I ended up feeding what fresh fish I had to my parents' dog, she seemed to like it. So now Rayne gets canned sardines and mackrel which she absolutely LOVES. 

I don't consider it MM, because the fish I feed do have tiny bones. I feed it as a meal, all by itself.


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## robk

So are the scales ok? I was thinking of cutting off the heads and scaleing the fish but leaving the guts in. The freezing part to kill the parasites makes sense.


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## billsharp

> My dogs won't eat fish heads,scales or fins. They barely tolerate the meat unless it is semi-frozen.


It is so funny how different they all are. Liesl loves whole, raw tilapia. Head, scales, fins, tail, innards -- the whole thing. But if I put a piece of chicken in her bowl, well, I might as well have placed a typewriter or truck transmission there.


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## Josie/Zeus

I haven't tried feeding Koda whole fish, but I have fed with Zeus. He loves it! I don't remember if it had scales, but I remember the fish head and how grossed out I was watching him eat it.


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## robk

billsharp said:


> It is so funny how different they all are. Liesl loves whole, raw tilapia. Head, scales, fins, tail, innards -- the whole thing. But if I put a piece of chicken in her bowl, well, I might as well have placed a typewriter or truck transmission there.


 
LOL that is the way ruger was the first time i gave him raw chicken. Now he loves it but I had to slightly cook it and put garlic powder on it to get him to try it.


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## JakodaCD OA

As most know, I work in a fish market, so have access to alot of fresh fish..

Just me, but I don't feed heads/scales/bones...and salmon is ALWAYS cooked, never ever raw...I usually poach it, (sometimes poach the carcass as well), keep the juices as well.

Mine will eat any kind of fish, altho there are some I won't feed, like sword and blue fish..

Tilapia from us farms, I do, anything from foreign countries, no way especially if they are farmed..


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## robk

So are fish bones ok or not ok? I cant imagine that they cannot do any harm.


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## JakodaCD OA

I don't have an answer, because I won't feed them..sorry


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## onyx'girl

I'm not comfortable feeding them either. Small bones are one thing, but the fins or stronger/heavier bones may not be chewed to the point they loose their sharp points. Though I guess chicken and pork may have some sharp shards as well....


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## mkinttrim

JakodaCD OA said:


> As most know, I work in a fish market, so have access to alot of fresh fish..
> 
> Just me, but I don't feed heads/scales/bones...and salmon is ALWAYS cooked, never ever raw...I usually poach it, (sometimes poach the carcass as well), keep the juices as well.


Why does salmon have to be cooked? We brought back a bunch of salmon from Alaska again this year and he loves the pink salmon fillets.


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## Lin

mkinttrim said:


> Why does salmon have to be cooked? We brought back a bunch of salmon from Alaska again this year and he loves the pink salmon fillets.


Salmon poisoning disease - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I feed them whole, but I don't feed fish very often. Most of the time its canned tuna or salmon. In addition to freezing, if you're fishing yourself make sure to slit the belly and make sure there are no hooks or anything swallowed.


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## mkinttrim

Looks like the salmon found in pacific northwest are the carriers of this disease. Ours have been quick frozen since late July and were fresh caught by us in Alaska so I think we are safe. He's been eating the salmon for about a month with no problems.


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## Lin

Alaska IS part of the pacific northwest...


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## mkinttrim

Lin said:


> Alaska IS part of the pacific northwest...


Don't tell that to an Alaskan!
Anyways all is well if frozen for a 2 week period.


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## JakodaCD OA

frozen or not, I just wouldn't chance it..


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## Lin

Yea, me either. The death rate is so high I'd rather go out of my way to cook it first. Its gambling, a dog could eat salmon every day for years, but all it takes is the one infected salmon to lose him.


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## robk

Well, I did not make it to the coast today to go fishing but I did stop by a local butcher and pick up some pork livers, pork harts, beef neck and about 8 lbs of ground beef. The ground beef was free because it had turned brown and the butcher said he couldnt sell it. I am not sure what I am going to do with all this but am going to try some of the pork liver with Ruger as soon as it thaws. Right now I do not have a scale. My wifes grandmother said she has a food scale somewhere that she will give me as soon as she finds it. Latley we have been feeding 50% raw chicken quarters and 50% kibble. Ruger's fur smells like chicken now. Kind of weird. I think we are ready to try some other meats. Was thinking of giving him a small peice of partially frozen pork liver in the morning and see what he thinks of it.


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## onyx'girl

Beef necks are very dense, I would be leary giving that as a RMB...and if so, do it while you supervise. 
Now you know the week-day to hit the butcher!!! I hope he continues to give you the cuts he can't sell! 
You can pick up a cheap food scale at WM for about $8.
I would not give an organ by itself, you may get some pudding poo/keep it with the balance of RMB/MM. Organ should be less than 10% of the meal and that percentage is almost too much, IMO.


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## Whiskey Six

I feed my boys whole tilapia. I trim the heads, tails and fins. I buy 10# boxes of frozen whole fish. They are cleaned and scaled. Krieg and Strider love them. NO salmon!


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## robk

Whiskey Six said:


> I feed my boys whole tilapia. I trim the heads, tails and fins. I buy 10# boxes of frozen whole fish. They are cleaned and scaled. Krieg and Strider love them. NO salmon!


This is a good idea. Thanks for the info! I'll check around for bulk frozen fish and see what I find.


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## JakodaCD OA

tilapia is fine IF you know where it's coming from...I would NEVER feed fish that is from china, japan, those foreign countries..

I saw a thing on fish from those countries on the net, if I can find the video I'll post it. apparently most fish coming from foreign countries such as china/japan, have to be inspected before entering the country..The fish farms in those countries are absolutely disgusting, raw sewage etc...Fish are contaminated..What happens is, they still do it, even tho isn't illegal, apparently the inspectors pass alot of it into THIS country without testing, the ones that are tested if they fail, well they don't get in obviously,,but there is still alot of fish coming into this country that is 'not good' 

So moral is, KNOW where you fish is coming from, EVEN when you eat it at restaurants..


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## JakodaCD OA

here is one of the things I was reading
Tainted seafood reaching U.S., experts say - Health - Food safety - msnbc.com


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## Lin

JakodaCD OA said:


> So moral is, KNOW where you fish is coming from, EVEN when you eat it at restaurants..


Gross... makes me glad I don't eat fish right now!


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## JakodaCD OA

Lin LOL,,well working at a fish market, I have a pretty good idea of where fish comes from..People sometimes don't 'get it', especially when it comes to grocery stores, they see that cheap sticker price and think WOW, here it's 5.99# a pound at a fish market it's 10.99 a pound...

Well that 10.99 a pound fish is caught wild, not frozen, goes from boat to showcase within a day, while that 5.99 a pound stuff, may have been previously frozen and came from Tim Buck Two's backyard septic system

One thing that REALLY peeves me, you see bay scallops advertised,,read the print, they are previously frozen bay scallops from Thailand..REAL bay scallops are out of Bays in the US, as cape cod, nantucket,..

Ok done with my 'fish' rant


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