Is this good for a dog to eat?

[greekblue]

Brand: Chicken of the Sea

Wild caught Salmon (it is in a cup from the super market)
Skinless Boneless Pink Salmon (It does not require cooking; it is for humans ready to eat). Can I give to Niki once a week on one or more meals?

[dogs4life]

Canned fish gives my dogs gas so I steer clear, personally. I don't see anything wrong with trying.

I prefer canned fish in sea water so I stay clear of fish packed in oil or brine.

[greekblue]

These are the Ingredients: Pink Salmon, Water, Vegetable Broth (Contains Soy) and Salt

it does not taste too salty though; I tried it.

[dogs4life]

I cannot see any compelling reason why you should not feed it I just would not feed too much based on her recent history of tummy troubles.

[Kuchi]

Well I eat it all of the time and give everyone (my 4 cats and a dog) a bite, but I don't use it as a supplement. Its pricey and it sometimes contains cooked fish bones which I worry about choking.

[greekblue]

Oops! It says boneless, so I did not even think of bones in there. I will ever put it on her food again without checking. I can give it to her as a treat; I just found out that Niki goes nuts over salmon. She LOVES it!

I am going to try to give her some Sardines also, but I will put only some on my finger. I am afraid of the tiny bit bones in there.

[dogs4life]

I'm so glad you tried it It's always nice to have another yummy treat up your sleeve.

I'm not scared of bones, especially bones of little fish since they are not very calcified and are very flexible and digestible. I eat trout bones (pin bones and other small bones), too lazy to pick them all out.

[greekblue]

I think Niki just like fish; she LOVED the sardines too! She also LOVED Alfalfa Sprouts that I put in her meal and the barely boiled egg. And better, with all these new still on trial food, she had perfect stools all the same.
I think she can handle fresh veggies, and fish, eggs, etc. , but not as part of a kibble process, like Innova or Merrick.

California Natural is a pretty plain food and when I add the extra real food in there, Niki does well.

[Sophie45]

I give Sophie canned tuna, salmon or sardines once or twice a week. They do have a lot of salt for dogs, so I wouldn't do it daily or anything, but their is nutritional value to these fishes a few times a week. Dogs go nuts for it, so it's an extra bonus!

[greekblue]

Yes, Niki LOVES it! I was looking today for canned Salmon, Sardines without salt and I found at Trader Joe's. I do not know if you have that store in New York. I also got from them the Organic Apple Cider Vinegar and Organic Cold Pressed Flaxseed Oil (Salmon Oil was not cold pressed). I added them today in Niki's food and she ate her food like crazy. I also forgot to say that I add a powder to her food -- Enzymes. I think that might have helped with her digestion as well.

I am planning to give her Salmon (no salt) three times a week, almost raw yolk 4 times a week and other fish some days instead of salmon as a variety.
I will be adding one tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar on one meal and one tablespoon of Flax oil on the other meal. I also give Yogart on the second meal and I am going to start giving again cottage cheese on her first meal (breakfast). On the second meal, I will be adding different boiled veggies each week as a variety, and later on if she still does as well as she does now, I can add cooked ground beef and fresh boiled chicken.

I am thinking of a scheduled meal plan for Niki. When I have it down, I will post it for comments and recommentations or other help with it.

[Rivsky]

There is a better alternative to tinned sardines if you can find it - buy them fresh. It took River a couple of tries to get used to eating them whole - at first he didn't want anything to do with it, next time he ate the body and after that he ate the head as well. Now he'll eat the lot.

I personally feed them frozen - to make sure he crunches them up properly and also so they don't make too much mess and don't smell as much.

Isn't salmon one of the fishes that have high levels of mercury? If so I'd be very careful about adding that particular fish to her diet regularly - someone please correct me if I've got that wrong.

[greekblue]

I did not know that Salmon has mercury. I have heard a few people that give Salmon a few times a week -- not every day -- for healthy coat. I just did not know about canned. Someone here though told me to NEVER give the Salmon skin, just the meat is good. Maybe the skin has mercury?

Do you mean to feed RAW whole sardines?! I AM SCARED TO FEED THEM LIKE THAT. Do they have little bones? Can they get stuck in the dog's throat or intestines? Can I give them to Niki who is 61/2 months old? Can I add them like that to the kibble, or should I feed them separately? I think I have read here that raw meat or egg should not be fed at the same time with the kibble.

(I think that thread turned to be more of a food thread

[Sheltiemama]

Just keep in mind that the vegetables contain celulose. A dog's stomach cannot digest celulose (nor can ours) If you want to feed vegetables grate them in a blender and make a sort of slurry out of them before feeding. That way her tummy will get all the good from them without the bad effects of too much celulose.

[Rivsky]

Yep raw sardines. As I said I freeze them to make sure he chews them up properly and can't gulp them. I'd probably feed them separately to the kibble just in case. With them being raw you don't need to worry about things like salt and other additives which is why I use them now instead of canned stuff.

[dogs4life]

Originally Posted by Rivsky

Isn't salmon one of the fishes that have high levels of mercury? If so I'd be very careful about adding that particular fish to her diet regularly - someone please correct me if I've got that wrong.

Salmon is actually low in mercury. The pink salmon is the smallest and youngest salmon, so you are really safe with pink salmon.

Originally Posted by greekblue

I did not know that Salmon has mercury. I have heard a few people that give Salmon a few times a week -- not every day -- for healthy coat. I just did not know about canned. Someone here though told me to NEVER give the Salmon skin, just the meat is good. Maybe the skin has mercury?

If you feed salmon skin alone (no meat), I can see it being too rich and fatty, but if you feed it with the whole fish, it should be fine. Not sure why someone would tell you no salmon skin. Maybe I'm uninformed....

Also mercury will be found in the meat, not as much in the skin, or fat.

The only salmon related disease I know of is Salmon Poisoning Disease (SPD) from feeding raw salmon from infected watersheds. Salmon Poisoning is caused by a Rickettsial bacterial infection, specifically Neorickettsia helminthoeca. Since you are not interested in feeding raw salmon, I would not worry about it.

(I think that thread turned to be more of a food thread

That's OK, health is related to nutrition. We are trying not to move threads unless you are having problems getting responses. Let us know if you want it moved.