Safe Fish in Dog Food/Fish Oil

[Grace Erick]

Hi,

This is a link for fish for human consumption and how much mercury it may contain and which fish tend to have more mercury:

http://www.mercola.com/2001/apr/25/mercury_fish.htm

Salmon is listed as good if it's wild, but we get what's called "chum salmon" and it's old and greasy unedible fish that's caught for chumming for other fish or bait, so I don't know if it may contain some mercury since it's old fish and the older the fish the more mercury it can contain.

I see whitefish is good if it's not lake white fish. I know some good brands do use white fish, so I guess you would have to call the company to see where it comes from unless they specify ocean white fish. Some say just ocean fish on the ingredients and I'm not really sure what those fish are. Aren't Tuna ocean fish and they have mercury? I don't see menhaden fish on the list and that is in some foods or at least canned ones I've bought.

This is also a reason to be careful which fish oil you use as it can contain mercury. Some people suggest using human consumption fish oil, but I don't know if you still have to check to see if it has no mercury. I saw someone thought their seal oil had no mercury, but later found it does since seals live a long life and eat fish with mercury in them. I was surprised to find that Calcium pills I was looking to take made a brand from oyster shells that says it contains heavy metals, so human consumption may not be 100% safe.

Bye, Grace

[Missy Stewart]

Below is a link to the salmon oil that I use with Sonny that is free of mercury. If you read the description below the bottle, it discusses their testing practices and other pollutants that the oil is free of.

http://www.vitaminlife.com/product-exec/product_id/16036/PNAME/Norweigan%20Salmon%2 0Oil

Hope this helps :wink:

[Ann Morscher]

We give Misty Nordic Naturals Pet Cod Liver Oil. So far we have been very happy with it. Her skin and coat are just beautiful.

As a family we all take Nordic Natural products. THey claim to be free of heavy metals, dioxins and PCB's.

Ann

[Rebekah Hartman]

We use the same fish oil for Samson that my hubby and I use. My husband is a physician and a recent article discussed why mercury is not present in fish oil we take in caplets (or as pure oil, not still in the fish). The article was focusing on cardiac care for humans, but the information applies.

The toxic form of mercury is actually methyl-mercury and is water-, not fat-, soluble. When the fish body is pressed to remove the oil, any mercury is left behind in the fish meal. That is why when we eat farm-raised fish, we need to limit quantities per week eaten to no more than 3 servings, whereas supplementing with oil capsules is not problematic. Ocean fish have access to a wider variety diet, so methyl-mercury does not become concentrated in them with the exception of tuna, which get higher mercury concentrations from smaller fish they commonly eat. Salmon in the wild do not have this same issue with mercury.

[Grace Erick]

Hi Rebekah,

Are you saying the human grade fish oil is okay, but still not necessarily all the dog fish oil on the market or do you think that is okay because of how they process it? I had seen another dog site that some fish oil was pressed from the head and tail, so maybe that's where the poor quality fish oil comes from. Before that, I have never given it thought about how they extract fish oil from a fish. I'm just asking, but I don't give Capri any supplements.

Your husband is a physician? OOOOOhhhhh, I've got this pain in my back....., lol:) I bet people can't help but tell your husband about aches and pains, even if the don't really mean to!

Bye, Grace

[Rebekah Hartman]

You guessed it, Grace! We're constantly hearing about aches and pains.... He even got a call one morning at 4 am (on a weekend, no less) from an old fraternity brother asking for medical help - he hadn't talked to him in years and we don't even know how he got the number!

I'd assume that methyl-mercury would not be extracted no matter what part of the fish the oil comes from, however that doesn't mean that oils from the head and tail would be good - just the toxicity from mercury wouldn't be an issue. I'd imagine the quality would be somewhat in question, though.

As an aside, I only supplement fish oil occasionally for Samson to keep him from "doggie dandruff" which he can get on occasion. I don't want too much fat in his diet, so I only add fish oil a couple times a week.

[Grace Erick]

Hi Rebekah,

I'm sorry, but it's just not sinking in. You mean a fish with mercury can be pressed for oil and the oil will not contain mercury? Then what is all the worry about fish oil containing mercury? I don't know if you can answer that question if it's a myth.

That is too funny about your husband and his frat friend:) I think it's the computer age that let's you find anyone you want irregardless of any safety precautions you take.

Bye, Grace

[Rebekah Hartman]

The mercury in fish bodies is only water-soluble, so when you take out the oil the mercury would be left behind with the water and fish meal.

Think about putting water and oil in a container, they don't mix, so if you pour off the water you're left with oil only. If the mercury was in the water, it would be removed along with it. I think people hear that fish can have mercury in it and assume that the oil would as well, so that's where the misconception arises.

Does that help? I don't know how well I'm explaining it....

[Grace Erick]

Thank you for your explaination Rebekah. It's not you, it's me. I'm just a little slow on the uptake about mercury and it's presence in fish oil.

Bye, Grace