Salmon is a nutritious source of protein that can be added to your dog’s food or given as a treat. These facts are fantastic but can dogs eat salmon skin? Yes. When prepared correctly, salmon skin can be offered to your dog as a treat once in a while. Before you introduce salmon skin to your dog’s meal, measures are to be taken.
Benefits of Salmon Skin to Dogs
Salmon skin is an excellent source of proteins, fatty acids, selenium, potassium, and vitamins A, D, and B. Seeing that salmon skin is loaded with all these nutrients, adding it to your dog’s meals has the following benefits;
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
The main benefit of the omega-3 fatty acids found in salmon skin is that they help in proper brain development and cognitive skills, especially for pups. To keep your dog’s fur luscious and healthy, you can give your dog some salmon skin. Salmon skin has excellent benefits for senior dogs as it reduces inflammation and pain associated with arthritis.
Selenium
This powerful antioxidant is hailed for its benefits in maintaining proper thyroid functions and boosting immunity in dogs.
Vitamin A, D, and B
Vitamin A and B are necessary for your dog’s proper growth and development. Vitamin A helps to improve vision and maintain eye health. Vitamin D helps your dog keep its energy levels balanced by assimilating fats and proteins. Stay-at-home dogs may not get enough vitamin D from the sun as they need, which is why supplementing with salmon skin is necessary, especially in winter. Vitamin D helps in balancing calcium and phosphorous that sustains proper bone growth.
Therefore, can dogs eat salmon skin? The nutritional benefits discussed above speak for themselves.
What You Need to Know Before Feeding Salmon Skin to your Dog
Salmon Poisoning Disease
This is a fatal disease that is most susceptible to dogs. Raw salmon skin may contain flatworms that harbour the Nanophyetus Salmincola bacteria, which can make your dog sick when ingested. Cooking salmon skin will eliminate these parasites and render it safe for your dog to eat. However, if your dog eats raw salmon skin by mistake, you should immediately take them to the veterinarian. Some common symptoms of salmon poisoning to watch out for include lethargy, fever, vomiting, dehydration, and enlarged lymph nodes.
Mercury Poisoning
Compared to tuna, salmon is a relatively low-mercury fish option for dogs. However, there is the presence of mercury on salmon skin. To avoid mercury build-up and poisoning, ensure that you only feed salmon skin once in a while and in small amounts.
Additives and Seasonings
When preparing some delicious salmon skin for your pup, ensure that you cook it plain and do not add any spices. Seasonings such as garlic and paprika cause stomach irritation in dogs.
Fats
Salmon skin is loaded with fats. In moderation, these fats are suitable for your pup’s health. However, dogs that have too much salmon skin will not only pack on too many pounds but are also at risk of developing pancreatitis. High-fat diets are not a good fit for dogs in general.
After reading the list of cautions above, you may be wondering; can dogs eat salmon skin? The answer is still yes as long as proper measures are taken.
Is Salmon Skin Safe For Dogs?
Salmon skin is added to many commercial dog foods due to its benefits. Cooked and dehydrated salmon skin is both safe to feed to your dog. You should not feed smoked salmon skin to dogs because of the high salt content, which is harmful to dogs. Salmon skin is also a good protein option when your pooch is allergic to other proteins like chicken.
