feeding tilapia

DJsMom · 03-22-2009, 07:06 PM

Found some whole tilapia at Wal Mart today & was so excited about giving it to the dogs as they've never had fish before. I cut 1 in half & gave half to each of the dogs, but neither would do more than sniff at it & DJ did lick it a few times.
I worked each half open to make sure the dogs would be able to smell that it is meat, not just scales.
Any tips for getting them to eat fish? Do you remove the scales? I didn't.
Should I do the tough love thing & try it again tomorrow AM, or feed them something else & try the fish again another time?

Trainer · 03-22-2009, 09:34 PM

My dogs won't eat the tilapia whole. I have to cut it in chunks crossways. I think your dog is pretty small. Cut it into small chunks. I did not skin or scale or cut off fins. My dogs don't appear to like it so I stopped feeding it unless someone gives me some on freecycle. It's not that important an item so I don't worry about it if they don't eat it. They will be healthy if they never eat another tilapia.

One of my dogs doesn't like turkey so I took that off the menu also. It's not a big deal.

DJsMom · 03-22-2009, 09:55 PM

Thanks Trainer, maybe I'll try cutting it into chunks tomorrow, or wait until the next day. I was hoping that if they'd just give it a chance ... but I don't know if that's going to happen.
Do your dogs eat other fish? I thought that fish was important in their diet?

pamperedpups · 03-22-2009, 10:25 PM

I had to rip the Tilapia up for my dogs to eat it. It took them awhile, but they eventually figured it out and then they all loved it.

Trainer · 03-22-2009, 10:37 PM

Fish is a good item to have on the menu but it's not required. It's mainly good for the Omega 3 Fatty Acids but tilapia doesn't contain a lot of those anyway so if your dog likes it, great. If not, it's not worth making a big deal over.

Salmon and mackerel are much better for O3's.

DJsMom · 03-23-2009, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pamperedpups

I had to rip the Tilapia up for my dogs to eat it. It took them awhile, but they eventually figured it out and then they all loved it.

Thanks, I'm going to keep trying. Tonite I'll try feeding them what they didn't eat last nite & if they still wont have anything to do with it, I'll probably chuck it. I did freeze another whole one, so I can try again later on too.

"Salmon and mackerel are much better for O3's."
I'll keep my eyes open for them

ioreks_mom · 03-24-2009, 03:10 PM

i have never found whole tilapia anywhere where i live. i have only ever seen it in little white fillets in the grocery store

i would never have thought to feed it to iorek.

i feed iorek whole atlantic mackerel. he LOVES it. i was very lucky. i put it out for him and his first fish took a bit to know how to eat it, about 10 minutes...and now he loves when he gets fish once a week. he for some reason eats the middle out of the fish first then eats the head and tail. it is really gross for me to think about him eating a head, brains, eyes and all, but i just don't think about it much

he gets 2 ~1/2 lb fish every friday.

good luck getting your guys eating fish

DJsMom · 03-24-2009, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ioreks_mom

i have never found whole tilapia anywhere where i live. i have only ever seen it in little white fillets in the grocery store

i would never have thought to feed it to iorek.

i feed iorek whole atlantic mackerel. he LOVES it. i was very lucky. i put it out for him and his first fish took a bit to know how to eat it, about 10 minutes...and now he loves when he gets fish once a week. he for some reason eats the middle out of the fish first then eats the head and tail. it is really gross for me to think about him eating a head, brains, eyes and all, but i just don't think about it much

he gets 2 ~1/2 lb fish every friday.

good luck getting your guys eating fish

Thanks!
You know, I was excited when I found the whole frozen tilapia at Wal-Mart, but then again, I am NOT a fish eater & have never before bought, or even looked for fish. But I'll be looking for whole frozen fish from now on.

Donna5503 · 03-24-2009, 04:11 PM

Hi...I have a Husky and I read fish was important in their diet --- I'm new to owning a Husky ---

Chubby (that's the Husky) - likes Shrimp & Salmon --- I gave him Whitefish - but only the filet part and he ate it -- he doesn't like Tuna (but that's OK - cause then I read there's too much mercury in it for a dog)

He doesn't like Beef - unless I put gravy on it.

He LOVES Chicken...but won't touch Turkey (that I couldn't figure out!) -- he likes raw veggies - not cooked ones

He doesn't like fruit

He likes pickles!

I feed him Blue Buffalo Dry food also -- and he loves that.

All dogs are so different -- even the same breeds have different tastes --

DJsMom · 03-24-2009, 06:29 PM

OMG

They just ate it!! LoL! YAY! I'm pretty excited! It was kind of stomach turning tho - ewwww! But I'm soooo happy they ate ate it

ioreks_mom · 03-24-2009, 06:54 PM

yay!!

DJsMom · 03-24-2009, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ioreks_mom

yay!!

LoL! It really was so gross, but I'm so excited about it, I keep telling everyone I know about it, I even phoned home to tell my mom about it

And yesterday they chewed on pigs feet!! Ooooh ... the things that make me happy!

ioreks_mom · 03-24-2009, 07:44 PM

haha!! that is funny! but i know where you are coming from, i do the same!

4lilmunchkins · 03-24-2009, 08:06 PM

this will probably sound like a dumb question but I've never given my dogs raw fish before, though they are on a raw diet. I know they can eat the bones raw of other meats (chicken, lamb, etc.) are fish bones any different? I know they can be a lot smaller and sharper so, I'm wondering if that is a concern for smaller dogs or if you can give them the fish whole, bones and all without having to worry about a choking harzard? There's a meat market close to where I live that sells fresh fish (salmon, mackerel, etc.) and I never even thought of giving some to the dogs...

DJsMom · 03-24-2009, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4lilmunchkins

this will probably sound like a dumb question but I've never given my dogs raw fish before, though they are on a raw diet. I know they can eat the bones raw of other meats (chicken, lamb, etc.) are fish bones any different? I know they can be a lot smaller and sharper so, I'm wondering if that is a concern for smaller dogs or if you can give them the fish whole, bones and all without having to worry about a choking harzard? There's a meat market close to where I live that sells fresh fish (salmon, mackerel, etc.) and I never even thought of giving some to the dogs...

That's a question better left for the more experienced raw feeders, as I'm very new to it. But, of course, I wouldn't feed my dogs something that I thought was not safe to feed them.
DJ is a small breed, but I know he's much bigger than your little dogs, he's 14 lbs, but from all that I've read, the whole fish, bones & all are OK to feed. But I also know there are certain fish you should never feed your dogs - I think Pacific Salmon & trout, but I can't say that as a fact.
I felt OK feeding this fish to my dogs because it was bought at the grocery store as safe for human consumption.

Kathyy · 03-25-2009, 10:03 AM

Don't feed wild or farmed western US raw salmon or trout or related fish as it can be infected with an extremely nasty parasite! Some will freeze it for a while and then feed.

Fish is good to balance the omega fatty acids. The grain fed meats we mostly must use are high in o6 while the grass fed meats are high in o3. If you are lucky enough to feed grass fed or wild game then fish isn't important.

I am wary of farm raised fish, where did the fish food come from????? My pet fish food is mostly fish meal but who knows what is added in? I don't feed large old fish like tuna because it is high in mercury. Small young oily fish like sardines, anchovies and mackerel are high in o3 and hopefully low in mercury.

DJsMom · 03-25-2009, 10:24 AM

Thanks for the info Kathyy! So would you go so far as to say NO trout should be fed to the dogs? The reason I ask is we have a place on the river & my mom lives on a lake & we have access to tons of fish from both places. I would of course freeze any fish that was caught for at least a month first.
I'll just avoid all salmon, just to be on the safe side.

Kathyy · 03-25-2009, 08:28 PM

I would freeze it first. If humans can eat the fish then dogs can, provided that nasty parasite is taken care of first.

I cut my little mackerel into three pieces. The middle piece seems to have a huge liver in there, could be why the dog likes to eat the middle out first.

I have pet fish, makes me a little sad to see the fish head or tail in the bowl.

ioreks_mom · 03-26-2009, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kathyy

The middle piece seems to have a huge liver in there, could be why the dog likes to eat the middle out first.

that makes sense