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How to safely feed fish parts to dogs, especially with cancer?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Male | neutered | 10 years and 10 months old | 62 lbs

Hi & thanks for being available! Both my 11 year old dogs (littermates) have had cancer at age 10 & since then, I've been feeding them 1/2 Halo Lamb & making Dog Cancer Survival Diet from that book for the other half. I eat fish & sometimes get whole fish. Can I feed the head, skin, tail, eyes (shudder), etc from fish to the dogs? Should I feed it 1) raw pureed in a Vitamix, 2) cooked in water & then pureed or 3) just the broth made from it... wondering what might be best.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Linda G, MS, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on March 15th, 2018

Hello. You can definitely feed the fish parts, but make sure they are thoroughly cooked to prevent the transfer of parasites or bacteria to your dogs. After cooking ( whatever method you prefer ), you can feed all parts if they are rather soft. Any sharp bones, scales or body part to tough for you to chew should either be discarded or ground up. High levels of omega fatty acids from fish are always a great supplement to any diet, especially a cancer diet. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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