I. Is it a problem for dogs to eat raw fish?

Fish, which is the most common source of meat in human daily life, is also the most common ingredient in dog food
Remember the previous article about the smell that dogs like best? It is the smell emitted by protein, and fish contains sufficient protein, is the most irresistible food for dogs


Since dogs like fish so much, give it some freshly killed, after all, so that it is fresh? Wait, before you start feeding your dog fish, let's study today's article
Why is it not recommended for dogs to eat raw fish?
Safety

Whether dogs love raw fish or not, owners should not give them uncooked fish
Especially younger, older, and less immune-resistant dogs should not eat raw fish, as they are more susceptible to the various bacteria and parasites carried by raw fish at this time


Even though certain bacteria in raw fish will not affect dogs, dogs can act as hosts for cross-infection. So whether it's for your good or your dog's good, you should think twice before feeding raw fish
So here's the question.
What are the problems with raw fish?

Bacteria
The most common are Salmonella and Listeria. Some bacteria do not stay in the dog's body because of the specificity of the dog's digestive system, but that doesn't mean they can't be spread through the dog for secondary transmission
The American Veterinary Medical Association has an article dedicated to dogs and cats eating undercooked meat infected with various bacteria, here is not repeated, there is time to look up friends
If someone says their dog grew up eating raw fish, remember to stay away from

Parasites
The old clich茅d topic, the most terrible thing in raw fish is these worms
In 2001, there was a disease called "salmon poisoning" in the United States, these dogs were eating and hunting salmon vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, lethargy, dehydration, and swollen lymph, yes this is a typical sign of poisoning
So the salmon parasite should take the blame? Not really.
The parasites in salmon are harmless to dogs, but when they encounter a microorganism called Neorickettsia, the parasites become toxic and poison the dogs that eat raw salmon meat
What's even more amazing is that several doctors of veterinary medicine at Washington State University have found that this condition only occurs in dogs. While cats, bears, and raccoons have no problem eating raw salmon infected with Neorickettsia, and even these animals eat raw salmon regularly, dogs only need one bite to show the above signs of poisoning within a week.
The reason for this long paragraph is that I hope you do not have a gambling mentality to feed raw fish to dogs, after all, this thing is so complicated inside the doorway, who can guarantee the absolute absence of problems?

Heavy metals
This point is particularly noted, whether raw fish or cooked fish, as long as a large number of consumers will accumulate heavy metals in the body, lead and mercury are the most common
Over time, a variety of health problems and toxicity problems will appear

Bones
No need to say more, right? Who hasn't been stuck by a fish spike, let alone a dog?
Then the question arises

What about raw fish that has been frozen?
The vast majority of parasites on fish will die after a week of freezing in the refrigerator, this knowledge is indeed true, but if you carefully read today's article ......
Heavy metals aside, as far as bacteria are concerned, some bacteria will go dormant after being frozen for a long time and will awaken when the host, i.e. the meat, returns to room temperature
So the American Veterinary Medical Association recommends that the same 10% theory needs to be followed for fish consumption from the point of view of parasites, bacteria, and heavy metals carried by the raw fish itself and that it should not be overdone.

II. What fish can dogs eat?

To buy some salmon as a snack for your cat, you didn't expect your dog to keep staring at it. So the question is, can we share some of the salmon we prepare for our cats with our dogs? Can we eat fish? Dogs eating fish is not a rare thing, confident owners will find that in the market most of the cat food is written to protect the effectiveness of the coat the main ingredients are salmon and other fish, that is, perhaps inadvertently we have fed the dog a lot of fish. But dogs eat fish is even read there are to some things we still do not understand it? We will talk today, about the knowledge of dogs eating fish.

Eating fish is good for dogs
Fish is a high-protein but low-fat food, which can be good for dogs, while not making them fat. Many people who work out and lose weight use fish instead of common meats like pork and beef. Fish is also known as the magic of weight loss, if the family dog needs to lose weight, then of we can use fish as the main food for dogs. Fish is also easier to digest and will not be a burden to older dogs because it is difficult to digest.

The more well-known effect of fish is that it affects hair and skin care. Because fish contains Omega-3 fatty acids, it can regulate your dog's body condition, protect your dog's hair and skin, and also prevent arthritis problems in your dog.

Dogs eating fish need to pay attention to the problem
There are many kinds of fish, and choosing fish is also a problem. If the fish is poorly selected, or become you feed your dog, chronic poison. First of all, some fish can contain toxicity, if you are not careful to giving the dog to eat, will cause food poisoning in dogs. In addition, try not to choose the longer life of the fish, the longer it lives, the more heavy metal elements accumulated in the body. In this kind of fish body, heavy metals will be transferred to the body of the dog. The same is true for other harmful substances, so everyone prefers some fish that have not survived long.

It is also important to note the problem of fish spines. Not the big bones of the fish, but the small and transparent bones hidden inside the meat. Once the dog swallows them, they may hurt the dog's esophagus, a bone, to pass through the dog's mouth, throat, stomach, intestines, and finally from the anal monoculture out. In any step of this process, there can be stuck fish bones, causing injury to the dog. It is a very lucky thing that you did not get hurt.

Never give your dog raw fish
The body of raw fish is likely to contain some latent bacteria, some bacteria will not only harm the dog but there may also even be infected the dog day and night human body, whether for the safety of the dog or family safety considerations, when feeding fish to the dog, the fish should be cooked at high temperature to kill these bacteria.

Fish is not a staple food for dogs
Although fish has a large number of benefits for dogs, fish does not become a staple food for dogs. Because the nutritional structure of fish is very homogeneous, eating fish for a long time is likely to make the dog lack certain nutrients that only appear in other meat figures. This will lead to the dog will become prone to disease, in the long run, but not conducive to the health of the dog. At the same time, the owner needs to note that the general dog food can meet the nutritional needs of the dog. The premise of eating dog food, and then adding fish to the dog, will also make the dog have the risk and possibility of fat. What the owner has to do is reduce the number of meals given to the dog. Avoid dogs eating too much.