Hodge, I give my rottie canned mackrel, there are three pieces in the can he gets a whole can through out the week. Makes his coat very nice. I have never had any problems but i do take the bones out before he gets it. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

My dogs each get one meal a week of canned mackerel. I don't believe it's necessary to remove the bones..... I never do and have been feeding it to all my dogs for years.

I may add a raw egg w/shell and some liver to that meal as well. It just depends on what I have on hand....

For what it is worth, I don't remove the bones either. They are mostly all cartiledge to begin with and I don't want to be picking around in stinky fish anymore than I have to <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

I can't believe humans eat that stuff, and sardines in oil????

Cindy what is the benefit of feeding fish to dogs. Is it necessary?

Feeding fish is not necessary. In fact, some dogs hate the stuff! If you feed a raw diet giving a variety of foods is your best bet for balancing the nutrients......just like feeding ourselves.

Fish is a great source of Omega 3 fatty acids but you can also just add salmon oil to the diet if your dog won't eat fish.

IMO though, getting what you need from your food is always preferred to popping supplements.

Cindy, Just a question, this salmon oil your talking about how expensive is it? Like i said i give my rottie canned fish and it lasts the whole week. I buy it at wally-world for 63 cents a can. I dont ever remembering seeing the oil. But you have to remember though, i live in a small town with no airport <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> Woe is me! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

The salmon oil is not too much....I think it comes out to 4 or 5 cents a capsule. You can buy it at Wally world in the vitamin section.

For a dog without any serious issues (allergies, ear infections, cancer, arthritis, etc..) you give 1000mg/20# of dog's body weight daily.

If your dog has any health problems or is under a lot of stress the dose is 1000mg/10# of body weight. Some dogs have a little trouble with mega doses of salmon oil. My friend's young GSD gets diarrhea if she gives even close to the recommended amount so you have to be aware of your dog and what works for the both of you.

Hope this helps.

You can also try http://www.puritan.com They have a great sale going on right now til the end of the month. Buy one, get one free or buy two and get three free with FREE shipping. I just ordered 5 bottles of salmon oil. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

what about canned salmon ?

Auster gets canned salmon or jack mackeral regularly (every other week I guess, but she gets the whole can) as well as getting leftovers when the humans have some. It's nice because it still has the bone in it yet it can be fed to dogs that can't tolerate raw.

Long before commercial dog food was bagged and sold through stores the professional dog people in England that were very close to the coastal areas fed a diet of raw and poached fish and the bonus was that it was free.

These spend thrift dog people would simply walk the shore early in the morning just after the tide went back out to Sea and collect primarly, herring, mackeral and smelt to take home to the pooch.

The days fare was mixed with a broth of Rusk, which is dried old bread and whatever liquid came of the cooked meat from the night before.

Now I am talking about in the mid to late 1800's and early into the 19th Century.

Most of my research shows that these dogs were fed little meat as it was used for human consumption and whatever might be left behind then and only then would a dog get it.

The main ingrediant in these antique dogs in history was fish in this area of the world and a lot of it was fresh and raw.

Veggies played a big role in the dogs of yester years diets also.

There is a treasure of very old useful dog related books in any store that caters to antique books and it is here where you can get a handle on how things were done before processed dog food.

Even more interesting is the original training tips found and lost through the years in these hidden books.

Jerry Cudahy