Fish Day For Dogs
Feed Your Dog Fish
As part of your weekly feeding routine, make sure you have a fish day!
It’s as easy as keeping flash white frozen fish in your freezer — think cod, whiting, flounder, or other white fish. Many grocers and markets will have these in the freezer section. Buy them in bulk on sale. If you live near the coast — go see the fresh fishmonger!
Fresh fish could be fed raw, but it is recommended to freeze it for 3 weeks before feeding. Whe you pull it from the freezer, make sure it’s deboned/fileted and be sure to steam or saute to warm it up. Mimic a live kill by feeding warmed foods. Never feed cooked bones to your dog.
A Can of sardines, mackerel, or wild-caught salmon once per week is also a good option. We try to limit canned fish to only once per week when we have options for fresh fish or fresh-frozen. But it’s also very easy to travel with a canned food option and should be ok to do sparingly.
People often ask me about salmon. It’s a great option if you have access to fresh wild-caught salmon. If you may be getting farm-raised it would be ok on an occasional basis, but I’d avoid it for those dogs that are struggling with allergies, hot-headed attitudes, anxiety, or other inflammatory concerns., 5 Element theory considers wild-caught salmon neutral and farm-raised salmon to be a hot protein.
We don't recommend high-mercury level fishes — think snapper, tuna or talapia.
You will still add your Volhard base mix & hot water for a complete meal.
Why Feed Your Dog Fish?
Great source of Omega 3, EPA and DHA and all the benefits of omega 3.
Balance Omega 6. Omega 6 is more abundant in chicken, grass-fed animals and wild prey than Omega 3. When we feed mostly these meats we may creating a deficiency in Omega 3 if we don’t supplement or feed fish.
5-Element Theory of Chinese Medicine tells us white fishes are cooling foods. Great for dogs with allergies, skin health issues, inflammation, and even those red-hot flair ups of anxiety and aggression.
A day of fish in the rotation gives the digestive system a break from processing rich muscle meat, which is good for the kidneys.
Rotation of protein varies your dog’s sources of Vitamins, Minerals, and amino acids. We have varieties of food on the planet because they offer many varieties of health benefits.
Feed Your Dog Oily Fish
Sardines in spring water or whole frozen.
Mackeral
Salmon
Other Fishes Are Ok To Feed
Cod
Flounder
Whiting
Drain and rinse any canned fish you may choose to feed.
Avoid These Fishes With Dogs
Haddock, Talapia, Tuna, Snapper due to high mercury content
Canned fishes in oils or sauces
Smoked or Cured fish
Cooked Whole Fish of any kind (no cooked bones ever)
If you are unable to feed fish due to allergies, you must supplement your Omega 3. Consider Safflower or Flax Oils. Read More About Omega 3