1.3: Fish or Fish Oils

🐾 Adding small oily fish to the diet can help provide a great source of Omega 3 fatty acids, specifically EPA & DHA.

EPA & DHA are known to support brain health, maintain eye health, support healthier skin & coat, work with probiotics to boost beneficial bacteria in the gut, lower heart disease risks, fight inflammation, and so much more

Without this great source of EPA & DHA your dog may become deficient which can lead to Depression, Hot Spots, Ear Infections, Slow wound healing, Dry or flaky skin, dull or greasy coat and more!

⚠️ Fish oils are not ideally recommended as they have been scientifically proven to rapidly turn rancid upon contact with air. This oxidative stress can lead to chronic illness including joint disease, heart disease, liver disease, kidney disease, cognitive decline and even some cancers.

⚠️ Fish oils come from the fats which is where fish store any toxins they have come across in their environment. As our rivers and oceans are becoming so heavily polluted now with chemicals and heavy metals, all effort should be made to feed whole natural sources of fish wherever possible.

🐾 Due to the risks associated with fish oils, we instead recommend feeding a variety of small oily fish, which of course come with extra nutrients too from protein to calcium, selenium & niacin.

My dog refuses to eat any oily fish or oily fish minces / My dog cannot tolerate oily fish, what can I do?

🐾If your dog cannot tolerate raw oily fish of any kind, we currently advise using Aniforte Algae Oil or Adored Beast Algae Oil.

At present these are the only products that we advise using when raw oily fish cannot be fed. Although there are cheaper products on the market that claim to be similar in their effects, these are the only ones that currently meet the expectations of a product of this nature, for dogs specifically.

Please note that there is no information as to the protein, vitamins or minerals in Algae Oil at present so yes this can be used for the omega's you find in oily fish, however, from the currently available data this is not a full replacement for the benefits found in oily fish itself so this should only be used as a last resort, when more data becomes available we will review it and update this blog accordingly.

Green lipped mussels are the powerhouse of fatty acids as they also contain ETA which is an omega 3 that helps to control inflammation. Green lipped mussels also contain phospholipids which makes Green lipped mussels more bioavailable and therefore more potent than any fish oil or oily fish.

Great green lipped mussel sources are from Canumi who currently produce Monkhouse Liver, Mackerel and Green Lipped Mussels. These are incredible options of great quality. These are currently stocked by Stefs Pet Pantry and Poochie Park

My dog has epilepsy, can I feed oily fish?

⚠️ Dogs with some forms of epilepsy may need to source omegas from alternative sources. Please consult with a pro-raw or holistic vet for support with this situation.

What fish & how much should I feed?

⁉️ Depending upon what diet you feed your dog, determines what level of oily fish your dog will need. A 100% Organic varied diet needs less, a majority farmed diet needs more, a none raw diet needs the most!

🐾 There is a multitude of choice available to you when it comes to feeding fish. Some great choices are:

• Sprats

• Herring

• Mackerel

• Sardine

• Whitebait

• Salmon (feed more sparingly as it is larger so may contain more heavy metals than other choices)

⚠️ Avoid feeding tuna as this is extremely high in heavy metals and therefore very detrimental to your dogs health & wellbeing.

⚠️ Avoid crabsticks, they are not actually crab meat!

🐾 Most raw shops sell good choices of oily fish for your dog, as do supermarkets.

⚠️ Fresh unfrozen fish should be frozen for 3 weeks before feeding, including prawns & squid, which can be fed raw as long as you understand the source of them may include a risk of hepatitis- or cooked if unsure or concerned.

⚠️ Use our Fish Calculator to determine the recommended amount of oily fish to feed your dog, based on their daily feeding amount, the type of diet you feed, and type of oily fish fed.

On the calculator, enter your dogs DAILY feeding amount and the calculator will determine the WEEKLY amount of raw oily fish to feed. If your dog is not needing to lose weight, you can add this amount to the food allowance, over a few days. If they need to lose weight, you can swap out some of their current food to replace it with their raw oily fish allowance. Every dog differs so it make take trial and error to find the best way for your dog

Can I use tinned fish from the supermarket?

⁉️ Did you know that tinned fish in our supermarkets is actually the poor quality cast-offs from the fish market? Due to this, they can be used for emergency situations, but we would recommend:

• Only when absolutely necessary

• Only use the spring water variety

There are some caveats to the view of tinned fish being lower quality, that is Canumi who currently produce Monkhouse Liver, Mackerel and Green Lipped Mussels. These are incredible options of great quality. These are currently stocked by Stefs Pet Pantry and Poochie Park

⚠️ Using tinned fish in oils, brine or sauces may be ‘ok’ according to some groups however that is scientifically false. Even thoroughly washing the tinned fish will not remove any salts, oils, sugars and other ingredients as the fish will have absorbed them.

⁉️ Some members blitz fish in a food processor and use as a topper, others chop them up, others feed whole. Some choose defrosted, some choose frozen. Some use oily fish minces.

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