Sushi safe for dogs? (Salmon poisoning)

My little dog loves sushi, but
in reading up on poisoning
in my dog health books.
I find that dogs are susceptible
to "salmon poisoning" from eating
raw salmon.

Supposedly this is only a danger
in the Pacific Northwest (salmon
from there) and if the fish has been
frozen, it's no danger at all.

A New York Times article
a few years ago claimed that
virtually all sushi has been frozen
at some point.

I hate to deprive him of sushi,
one of my favorites (and there
are almost always leftovers).

Last time I had a large spread
here on the coffee table, awaiting
the arrival of a friend, when I
went to answer the door,
little "Stuart" grabbed three
pieces of sushi--just the fish
(nigiri) part, not the rice.

--
A. Brain

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"A. Brain" wrote in message
...
My little dog loves sushi, but
in reading up on poisoning
in my dog health books.
I find that dogs are susceptible
to "salmon poisoning" from eating
raw salmon.

That's pacific raw salmon.

buglady
take out the dog before replying

In our last episode,
, the lovely and
talented A. Brain broadcast on rec.pets.dogs.health:

My little dog loves sushi, but
in reading up on poisoning
in my dog health books.
I find that dogs are susceptible
to "salmon poisoning" from eating
raw salmon.

Supposedly this is only a danger
in the Pacific Northwest (salmon
from there) and if the fish has been
frozen, it's no danger at all.

Salmon poisoning is caused by a bacteria found in flukes and can occur in
various fish (not just salmon) that come in contact with the flukes. The
association with the Pacific Northwest is because that is where the
principal range of the fluke is. Apparenty the bacteria is harmless to
noncanids such as humans, cats, and bears.

I cannot find any information that once-frozen fish are safe. One source
suggests that even cold smoked salmon may be implicated.

A New York Times article
a few years ago claimed that
virtually all sushi has been frozen
at some point.

I hate to deprive him of sushi,
one of my favorites (and there
are almost always leftovers).

Would you give him chocolate if he really, really begged for it?

Salmon poisoning is dreadful disease (some estimates are that untreated it
is fatal in 90% of cases) and even if it is detected in time the treatment
is no piece of cake. There are risks you cannot avoid no matter how
vigilant you are, whether you want to take on a risk you know about and can
avoid is, I suppose, up to you.

Of course if you catch the fish yourself, far from the affected area, you
may work out a different result of the risk/benefit equation. But there is
much misrepresentation in the commercial fish trade, and even if you trust
your retailer, what the fish are and where they come from is likely to be
iffy.

Last time I had a large spread
here on the coffee table, awaiting
the arrival of a friend, when I
went to answer the door,
little "Stuart" grabbed three
pieces of sushi--just the fish
(nigiri) part, not the rice.

If accidents like this happen make a note of them. Distemper-like symptoms
may occur up to a month later, and if you catch them in time and tell the
vet the dog was exposed to raw fish it may be possible to save the dog.

--
Lars Eighner http://larseighner.com/ http://myspace.com/larseighner
Countdown: 625 days to go.
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"Lars Eighner" wrote in message
om...

Would you give him chocolate if he really, really begged for it?

Salmon poisoning is dreadful disease (some estimates are that
untreated it
is fatal in 90% of cases) and even if it is detected in time the
treatment
is no piece of cake. There are risks you cannot avoid no matter how
vigilant you are, whether you want to take on a risk you know about
and can
avoid is, I suppose, up to you.

Of course if you catch the fish yourself, far from the affected area,
you
may work out a different result of the risk/benefit equation. But
there is
much misrepresentation in the commercial fish trade, and even if you
trust
your retailer, what the fish are and where they come from is likely to
be
iffy.


That does it; no more sushi for my little one.

Thanks for the information--much more detailed
than in my several books on dog health.

--
A. Brain

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