Sardines

Can dogs eat sardines? Yes. Plain sardines are one of the better fish you can share with a dog: small, short-lived, low in mercury and naturally rich in the omega-3s EPA and DHA. The best choice is canned sardines packed in water with no added salt, fed as an occasional topper rather than a meal.

What goes wrong is usually the can, not the fish. Sardines in oil add fat a dog does not need, tomato and mustard sauces bring seasoning and sometimes onion or garlic, and salted packs add sodium. Here is how to choose, how much to give, what the itchy-skin claims are based on, and how cats and horses differ.

Why Sardines Are One of the Safer Fish

Mercury builds up as you move up the food chain and as a fish ages. Sardines are small plankton-eaters with short lives, so they carry far less than big predators. The FDA’s advice about eating fish puts sardines, anchovies and herring in its “Best Choices” group, the lowest-mercury tier. That guidance is written for people, but the logic is the same for a dog.

The American Kennel Club makes the same point from the dog side. Its guide to feeding fish warns that longer-lived species like tuna and swordfish can carry mercury and says a shorter-lived fish is preferable. Sardines are about as short-lived as it gets.

What sardines bring to the bowl is protein and marine omega-3s, the long-chain EPA and DHA that dogs cannot make efficiently from plant sources. That is the same reason fish oil and krill oil exist as supplements. A sardine is simply the whole-food version.

What’s in a Sardine?

A sardine is a whole food, so it brings more than omega-3s: protein, calcium and phosphorus (much of it from the soft bones), vitamin D, vitamin B12 and selenium. The omega-3 content is the part worth putting numbers on.

• Omega-3s. The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements lists 3 ounces of sardines canned in tomato sauce, drained, at 0.74 g DHA and 0.45 g EPA. The same weight of canned light tuna in water has 0.17 g DHA and 0.02 g EPA, so the sardines carry more than four times the DHA and more than twenty times the EPA.

• Vitamin D. Two Atlantic sardines canned in oil provide 1.2 mcg (46 IU), according to the NIH vitamin D fact sheet.

These are human reference figures, and the omega-3 one happens to be for the tomato-sauce pack. Buy water-packed for your dog and treat the numbers as a ballpark, not a dose.

Water, Oil, Tomato Sauce or Salted: Choosing the Can

• Packed in water, no salt added. The best pick. Drain it and serve.

• Packed in olive oil or other oil. Acceptable if you drain it well. Sardines are already a fatty fish, and the AKC notes that fish with too much oil can cause stomach upset and, in some dogs, pancreatitis. Skip oil-packed entirely for a dog with a history of pancreatitis.

• Tomato, mustard, hot sauce or “flavored.” Avoid. These sauces carry salt, spices and sometimes onion or garlic, which the ASPCA lists among people foods to keep from pets. Rinsing does not reliably remove them. Our entry on garlic explains why.

• Salted or smoked. Avoid or use rarely. The ASPCA notes that excess salt drives thirst and urination and can upset blood electrolytes.

• Fresh or frozen whole sardines. Fine if cooked plainly, but fresh sardines have firm bones. Raw fish carries a bacteria risk to your dog and your household, according to the AKC.

What About the Bones?

Canned sardines are cooked in the can, which softens the small bones enough that people routinely eat them whole. Most owners feed canned sardines bones and all without trouble. Veterinary advice is not unanimous, though: some vet-written guides recommend removing every bone, and the AKC warns that fish bones in general are brittle and can lodge in the mouth, throat or gut.

A sensible middle path: canned sardines mashed with a fork are low risk for most dogs, while fresh or undercooked sardine bones should come out. If your dog gulps food, mashing is worth the ten seconds.

How Many Sardines Can a Dog Have?

There is no official number. The rule veterinary nutritionists do agree on is that treats and toppers together should stay within about 10 percent of daily calories, and sardines count toward that.

One vet-reviewed guide from Dogster suggests roughly one to three small sardines per serving for small to medium dogs and two to four for large dogs, one to three times a week. Treat that as a ceiling rather than a target, start with one sardine or less, and trim the meal a little on sardine days so the calories do not stack up.

If you are feeding sardines specifically for omega-3s, know that the EPA and DHA in a can varies and is not labeled, so you cannot dose it the way you dose a supplement. For a measured omega-3 intake, a veterinary-dosed fish oil is the more precise tool.

How to Serve Sardines

• Canned. Drain, mash with a fork, bones and all, and stir into the usual meal.

• Start small. Give a small piece the first time, then build up over a week or so while you watch the stool.

• Fresh or frozen. Thaw fully, then steam, bake or poach plain, with no oil, salt, garlic or onion. Let it cool and take out the firm bones.

• Not raw. Cooking deals with bacteria and, for cats, the thiaminase in raw fish.

• Dried or freeze-dried sardine treats. Check that sardine is the only ingredient, and count them toward the treat allowance.

• Leftovers. Move an opened can into a covered container in the fridge rather than leaving it in the tin.

Will Sardines Help My Dog’s Itchy Skin?

Possibly a little, over time, and not on their own. The reason people ask is that omega-3s have been studied for skin. In a small double-blind trial of 29 dogs with atopic dermatitis published in the Journal of Small Animal Practice (Mueller and colleagues, 2004), dogs given either flax oil or an EPA and DHA supplement for 10 weeks had improved clinical scores, and the placebo group did not.

That study used measured doses, not sardines, and itching has many causes: allergies, fleas, infections, food reactions. A few sardines a week will not fix any of those, and it is not a substitute for a diagnosis. As one part of a good diet, though, sardines are a reasonable way to add marine fats. Our piece on allergies in dogs covers the bigger picture.

Tuna or Sardines: Which Is Better for Dogs?

Sardines, for most dogs. The FDA puts sardines and canned light tuna both in its lowest-mercury group, but albacore (white) tuna sits one tier higher, and the AKC recommends shorter-lived fish over tuna for dogs. Plain canned light tuna in water is fine as an occasional treat; sardines are the better everyday topper.

Dogs, Cats and Horses

Dogs are the main audience for this page, and the guidance above applies.

Cats can eat sardines too, and most love them. Plain, cooked or canned-in-water sardines are fine as an occasional treat. The feline-specific caution is raw fish: it contains thiaminase, an enzyme that destroys thiamine (vitamin B1). The Animal Medical Center in New York explains that a cat fed raw fish can develop thiamine deficiency, with signs ranging from poor appetite to wobbliness and seizures, and that cooking destroys the enzyme. Canned sardines are cooked, so this applies to raw fish, not the can. Keep portions small: for a cat, one sardine can be a meaningful share of the day’s calories. See cat safety for the wider feline picture.

Horses should not be fed sardines. They are herbivores built to digest forage, and whole fish has no place in an equine diet. The equine route to marine omega-3s is a purpose-made fish oil supplement. Kentucky Equine Research, for example, notes that horses convert plant ALA into EPA and DHA with fairly low efficiency and uses deodorized menhaden oil to supply them directly. If your horse is the one you are shopping for, our fish oil entry covers the options.

Side Effects and Cautions

• Loose stool or vomiting if you start with too much, especially oil-packed.

• Pancreatitis risk in dogs prone to it, from the fat.

• Sodium from salted packs, which matters most for dogs with heart or kidney disease.

• Weight gain if sardines are added without trimming the meal.

• Fish allergy is uncommon but real. Stop if you see new itching or ear trouble after starting.

• Blood thinning is a theoretical concern with high omega-3 intake, and Tufts veterinary nutritionists note omega-3 supplements may not suit pets with bleeding disorders. Mention sardines to your vet before surgery.

When to Call Your Veterinarian

Call if your dog has a history of pancreatitis, is on a prescription or low-sodium diet, has kidney or heart disease, or is on blood-thinning medication before adding sardines. Call promptly if a dog swallowed a fresh fish with bones and then gags, drools, retches or will not eat, or if vomiting or diarrhea continues more than a day after a sardine treat.

How It Fits With Hemp

Sardines and hemp seed oil are different fats doing different jobs. Sardines supply the marine omega-3s EPA and DHA. Hemp seed oil supplies plant essential fatty acids, including omega-6 and omega-3 ALA, in a balanced ratio. Neither replaces the other. A mashed sardine is also one of the easiest ways to get a few drops of oil into a picky dog, since the fat helps with absorption. Browse our hemp seed oil tinctures, and remember to refrigerate the bottle after opening.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are canned sardines safe for dogs?

Yes, when they are packed in water with no added salt, drained and fed in small amounts. Avoid tomato, mustard and flavored sauces, and drain oil-packed sardines well.

What’s better for dogs, tuna or sardines?

Sardines. They are in the FDA’s lowest-mercury group, and the AKC recommends shorter-lived fish over tuna. Plain light tuna in water is fine occasionally.

Will sardines help my dog’s itchy skin?

They add omega-3s, which have been studied for canine skin, but only at measured doses and alongside a proper diagnosis. Sardines are a supportive food, not a fix for itching.

How many sardines can I give my dog a week?

There is no official figure. Keep all treats under about 10 percent of daily calories. One vet-reviewed guide suggests one to three small sardines for small to medium dogs and two to four for large dogs, one to three times a week.

Can dogs eat sardines in olive oil?

Occasionally, drained well. Water-packed is better, and dogs with a pancreatitis history should skip oil-packed fish.

Can dogs eat sardine bones?

The soft bones in canned sardines are usually fine, especially mashed. Fresh sardine bones are firm and should be removed.

Can cats eat sardines?

Yes, cooked or canned in water, in small portions. Avoid feeding cats raw fish, which contains thiaminase and can lead to thiamine deficiency.

Can horses eat sardines?

No. Horses are herbivores. If you want marine omega-3s for a horse, use an equine fish oil supplement.

Can dogs eat sardines every day?

A small daily portion can fit if it stays inside the roughly 10 percent treat allowance and you trim the meal to match, but most owners do better with a few times a week. Sardines are a topper, not a replacement for a complete dog food.

Can puppies eat sardines?

Yes, in small pieces: plain, cooked or canned in water, well mashed. A growing puppy needs a complete puppy food, so keep sardines to an occasional taste and ask your vet about large-breed puppies on carefully balanced diets.

Can dogs eat sardines in brine or tomato sauce?

Skip both. Brine is heavily salted, and the ASPCA notes that excess salt drives thirst and urination and can upset blood electrolytes. Tomato and flavoured sauces can carry salt, spices, onion or garlic.

How often can my cat have sardines?

There is no official figure, and cat-care guides range from once a week to two or three times a week. Keep it to a small piece, plain and cooked or canned in water. Sardines are not a complete cat food, so they should add to the regular diet, never replace it.