Silly question, bear with me

Benedict

I got two whole rainbow trout, complete with heads. 

Kate..this video shows the proper preparation.... VIDEO

I believe the pertinent info is at 2:19

 HAHAHAHA thanks so much Gina....can always count on you to be helpful! 

You can feed the heads, they are very good for him.  Fish scraps (mostly tails and heads) were a major part of doggy diets in the UK before the advent of commercial foods!  It's why I always suggest an increase in fish oil supplementation to any UK breed owner who's experiencing a skin or allergy issue. 

Don't cook the head though.  Give it raw if you can.  Bone the rest of the stuff you feed him - the little bones can be nasty, even raw.

Good luck and hope life gets a bit less crazy soon!

 

Is it not ok to give canned salmon with the bones??

I've been doing this for a LONG time, once or twice a week they get a meal of canned wild salmon that contains bones. Are the bones harmful??

If so, why is it ok for us to eat them?

stanton

Is it not ok to give canned salmon with the bones??

I've been doing this for a LONG time, once or twice a week they get a meal of canned wild salmon that contains bones. Are the bones harmful??

If so, why is it ok for us to eat them?

im not entirely sure on this one, because i've never fed a dog a whole fish, or fish with bones, but i dont think its necessarily unhealthy in the sense that it'll make them sick like chocolate or something, but i think its the choking hazard..  i know some fish bones are very very tiny but brittle and get caught in *my* throat easily if i dont feel around with my tongue before i swallow, nevermind a dog. it can scratch the esophagus on the way down, and possibly get lodged and prevent larger food from going down with major discomfort - and i'm talking from personal experience, not just in the sense of i've seen it happen with a dog XD i was lucky and managed to get it down after eating a ton of bread and drinking water, but my throat was raw for weeks... thats what i got for not listening to my fisherman grandpa when i was 14!

 Ahhh thanks Becca, I knew you'd have an answer for me.  Giving the heads raw is no problem, and I'll debone everything carefully.  It just seemed like such an awful thing to waste given that, as you say, this used to be a part of their diets....especially for labradors.  Ben has a preference for fishy things that I think is genetically inherited. 

Ben says thanks too!  

 You're welcome!

Canned fish is pressure cooked, essentially, so the bones are mushy just like if you crock pot chicken bones for a long time (that's safe, too).  If you have a pressure cooker you can pressure cook fish and the same thing will happen - it will be safe to eat.  In theory, anyway, I'v never actually done it myself. 

I've fed whole rainbow trout before, he didn't really like it but he didn't choke at all. I feed filets now just because the bone thing freaks me out.

 I feed raw fish, whole.  Just to Crusher, because its useless to try to give one to Onyx.  Crusher won't let her have it.  They won't eat it right away.  If I give it to them, Crusher buries it and then he'll guard it for the day.  He won't eat it until its been in the ground for at least 8 hours.  I'm totally unsure why.  Its the only thing he buries.  He doesn't even bury bones.  Just fishes.  And he's nasty to Onyx if she goes near it.  He's not guardy with anything else they get.  I talked to my vet, and he said his dogs are the same way with fish.  I don't feed it often.  It grosses me out.