Fish diet for dogs

[dollygirl]

Hello all,

I have a 6 year old, English Springer Spaniel that suffers severely with yeast infections. Ears mostly, but has an itchy nose and mouth, a little biting of her feet and general scratching all over. She has been going to the vets regularly the last few months (after a bad anaphylactic reaction where we almost lost her) and he has recommended a white meat diet. (She has been on all types of red meat, all disasters) I already know she can't eat chicken, so he said to try her on fish. She is on for meal for mutts Salmon and Sardine and is good on that, however, I don't like to feed dry only. She is ok on eggs and has greens, herbs, flaxseed, ACV and a few other goodies each day with her twice-daily feed.  I can source farmed Salmon frames and heads, but do struggle with it myself as I am vegan and they are so large, also worry about the bones. I can get a good supply of fresh sardines. She was on the fresh salmon and sardines for a week and was very much better, ears cleared up well with no scratching at all. I was worried about the "mostly fish" diet so added turkey necks and she flared up again. Does anyone know if there are any consequences feeding so much fish and especially so many sardines? I really cannot afford too many more vets bill as we are almost at 3k now. Thank you in advance.

[persephone]

Hi
What a worry
What external things are you doing ..as in baths, bedding materials , etc ? 

[dollygirl]

I actually don't bath my dogs, at least very infrequently. They do go for a swim in the ocean, but not lately. They are groomed regularly. She sleeps on a calico covered wool futon bed, which is on a lounge chair. At the moment I am using ear drops from the vets, PMP as my Colloidal silver treatment wasn't enough. I try and have an holistic as possible life, limiting chemicals and use nothing in the garden that is not natural. I was always a raw feeder for my dogs but this girl wasn't doing well on it with lots of IBS issues, so moved to a half diet using MFM.

Edited June 9, 2020 by dollygirl

[persephone]

I know you don't enjoy using chemicals. 
I had a dog with  Malassezia and changed diet, plus did regular baths with Malaseb, which was the BEST thing, as it removed the yeast from the folds of skin, the anal area and between toes, and mouth area, and so stopped the continual re-infection every time the dog curled up in a ball, licked toes etc .....
The triple whammy of bathing, diet change, very frequent bedding changes made such a difference! 
I had an itchy dog forever, as he had allergies to several things..but the yeast never made a comeback. 
Your girl's case may be different, just sharing what we did

[Rebanne]

I don't see why one meal a day couldn't be fish and the other the dry food. After all dog breeds that evolved around the coasts were mainly fed raw fish.

[dollygirl]

Well, that's a positive,  I just can't find any information on-line. All sardines though?

[dollygirl]

Thanks for the ideas you have given me Persephone, I will definitely make a note of that, I have heard the Malaseb is good, can still remember the smell of it from years ago.

 

[Pjrt]

I’d go with the one kibble meal and one fish meal, or a mix of both at each meal. I had a dog who loved salmon heads and had them every day or so. I’d rather feed them exclusively than have a yeasty itchy dog!

Also if you can source rabbit that might be worth investigating. 

[dollygirl]

Thanks Scratch, I would give rabbit a go if I could find it. I haven't even seen it for humans let alone found someone who hunts them. Maybe I should put something up on FB.

[mackiemad]

If you get grossed out by whole fish, maybe give the prime100 salmon and tapioca rolls a go along with the mfm dry? Accessible at most pet supply stores.

[Rebanne]

2 hours ago, dollygirl said:

Well, that's a positive,  I just can't find any information on-line. All sardines though?

why not? No different to me feeding pretty well 100% raw chicken when I feed meat.

 

ETA I suppose Mercury may be a problem in wild caught fish but it would seem you have a friendly local fisherman if you can get as many sardines as you want. I'd be asking him. Quite a few years ago I know there was a flake shortage because of high Mercury levels.

Edited June 9, 2020 by Rebanne

[Diva]

The only issue I have heard of with feeding lots of fish is thiaminase, but I don’t even know if sardines contain it as only some fish does. Sardines may well not have it at all, but if they do having too much can affect your dog’s thiamine intake. (Edited: Rebanne is right about mercury, I forgot that)

 

Rabbit for human consumption can be found in organic and game meat butchers but it’s pretty expensive. I have found hunted rabbit sold for dogs at some stock feed stores around here in the past. It’s very low fat so doesn’t suit all dogs.

 

You could also try duck, supermarkets have the prime cuts but Asian butchers are where I get it cheaper. 

 

There is a fb group called ‘Raw fed and nerdy’ where you could ask about fish. They are focussed on nutrient balancing and are not anti kibble, which can be helpful when you want a bit of technical advice. 

Edited June 9, 2020 by Diva

[dollygirl]

Thanks everyone, some great ideas and answers.

 

Sardines are pretty low in mercury so that is not a problem.  I will look for duck at Asian stores, I do know a supplier of duck that bone out their own for fillets, I might go in and see them.

 

The prime rolls are another great idea, if my memory is correct I think they even have croc!

 

[mackiemad]

I think the croc is from vets only nowadays 

[Dogsfevr]

Croc is only available from the vets .

 

Has the dog had its thyroid checked..?

 

The dog will be fine on just dry .

We feed some human basa fillets poached .
 

[dollygirl]

Yes she has had thyroid checked.  She may be fine on just dry, however, I am really a raw dog feeder and have been for 30 years, so I am not really an advocate for dry food. She has always had issues with protein that is why I had to move to 50% dry.