About fish
Fish is a major source of low-fat, low-calorie, easily-digestible animal protein for dogs. It’s rich in vitamins and minerals and one of the richest sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Fish for dogs is something I thoroughly recommend as a canine nutritionist. It should feature in the diet of every dog in the land.
The regular addition of fish to the diet of dogs is shown to improve both heart condition and cognitive function. Just as it also improves a dog’s skin and coat condition. Many vets recommended feeding your dog fish at least twice a week.
Benefits of fish
Rich in omega-3 fatty acids, fish has anti-inflammatory properties. This makes it ideal for any dog suffering from joint issues such as arthritis. Or for any dog with an intolerance to other, meat-based proteins.
Fish is also good for any dog with digestive problems because it’s so much easier to digest than meat-based proteins such as beef or lamb. This applies particularly to older dogs whose digestive system is slowing down and struggling to cope with too much red meat for example.
Oily fish is best for dogs. Fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines. If you don’t regularly feed your dog fish for a main meal, at the very least, you could give your dog a couple of tins of sardines each week.
Tinned sardines are incredibly cheap, as well as being just about the best possible fish you could feed your dog.
Of concern for many pet parents is the amount of heavy metals found in some fish. But sardines are low down in the food chain. They’re small and regularly predated upon by larger fish. That means they don’t have the time to consume and store the quantity of heavy metals found in larger fish. This in turn makes them much safer for your dog to eat.
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Always cook fresh fish
The likes of tinned sardines are great. You can serve them straight from the tin, bones and all. In spring water if your dog has a weight problem, or in oil, few things are better for your dog than regular tinned sardines.
But always cook your dog’s fresh fish. The likes of salmon and trout can contain a parasite which can be potentially fatal to dogs. So better not take chances with fresh fish. Salmon or trout, cod or coley, always remove the bones and always cook before feeding them to your dog.
Homemade dog food
And if you really want to improve your dog’s health, nothing beats homemade dog food.
Especially for anyone new to home cooked dog food, I’ve created a step-by-step guide to making healthy homemade dog food. It includes a number of canine nutritionist- formulated homemade dog food recipes.
My three toy poodles always eat human quality fresh chicken thighs cooked and de skinned with fresh vegetables but they eat little else because they just don’t like the alternatives except tinned sardines…but I cannot find salt free sardines so I wonder if eating sardines in olive oil once a week would be ok for them??