Many people cringe at the thought of consuming internal animal organs.
Your dog, on the other hand, probably doesn’t mind eating guts! In fact, Fido is likely already getting some animal innards.
How’s that?
Most dog foods contain internal organs.
Of course, feeding fresh entrails is way more nutritious compared to processed by-products.
Dogs Can Eat Animal Guts
This idea is highly recommended!
Fresh kidney, spleen, heart, liver, small intestine, large intestine, lung, udder, bladder are all fair game.
Innards are loaded with valuable nutrition that dogs absolutely thrive on!
Commercial pet food is a source of internal organ protein, but it tends to have some undesirable animal parts such as:
- Beaks
- Feathers
- Hair
- Hooves
- Nails
- Other weird stuff
Unfortunately, there is usually no way to tell what your dog is getting. And that’s why fresh organs are best.
There is an alternative though! You can get an organ powder supplement.
Going fresh or the supplement route both make a lot of sense (no brainers – pun intended).
Mystery Meats And Organs
Much like raw food diets in general, folks tend to shy away from feeding their dogs unfamiliar – yet healthy foods.
Though you may not like innards…
Giving fresh whole chicken (cattle parts or turkey gizzard) is smart when it comes to your dog.
Do you live in a rural area?
Deer organs may be easy to come by!
You could also become friends with your local butcher. This way you’ll have a healthier dog and more money in your pocket.
The Liver Misconception
Lots of pet parents are reluctant to feed their dogs liver due to its detoxifying nature.
The truth is this:
Liver does not store any toxins. It is totally safe for canine consumption.
Actually the liver is extremely healthy for dogs with lots of vitamin A, vitamin B12, iron, folic acid and digestive enzymes.
When serving this entrail, do not cook it!
Otherwise, the powerful nutrients and potential health benefits will be mostly lost.
Recommendation: Make liver up to 5% of your dog’s overall diet.
Organs Better than Meat
Here is something that can be shocking to learn:
Entrails are comparatively healthier than meat. We have always heard that cats and dogs need meat protein which is generally true.
Nevertheless…
Internal organs (like the heart or even a pancreas) are more densely packed with nutrients than regular meat.
Your dog’s evolutionary wild side (the beast within) inherently knows this!
Often overlooked is that animal entrails have minerals like copper, iodine, magnesium and phosphorus. Notable vitamins in these organs are A, E, D and K.
Benefits, think long life, for dogs are off the charts!
The Bottom Line
You can and should feed your dog internal organs. Chicken and cattle parts happen to be the most popular.
Guts are natural and very healthy for hounds to be eating.
The nutrition is unmatched!
You will also save money by incorporating more fresh animal entrails into your dog’s diet.
I feed raw chicken guts and all the organs of a chicken to my German Shepard. I get it from an organic grower. They butcher 200 birds a week. My dog loves it. Do you think it is ok for a main diet?
Are gastroliths from the gizzards of chickens safe? Do I need to cook the intestine or can I just feed it raw?
Organic, grass-fed animal parts are best. I feed my dog a raw diet twice a month. She gets hearts, liver, turkey tails, rabbit, duck, quail, bison, beef and sardines which are freshly caught (then frozen).
I never feed wild game to her unless it has been frozen for at least 2 years. My dog has the most amazing coat.
I was a foster failure. She was very obese when I was fostering. I started her raw with the result being she dropped 44 pounds and there are no allergies now.
2 years sounds like a long time. What other deer innards are safe to feed my dog? What is the shortest freezing time? Can I dehydrate the liver? Should I give it fresh?