I know a lot of people do this on here. I was wondering if there was any raw meat that cannot be fed to dogs? We feed complete food and although arn't looking to change to BARF would like to supplement the dogs diet with more meat, especially as we throw a lot of waste each week that we have discarded from our own meals (mainly as I'm a very fussy eater so insist on giving meat a full post mortum before cooking it! :-) ). Seems a waste if the dogs could benifit from it x

Oh wow ! don't waste good food off your plates, if it's good enough for you then it will be fine for the dogs, both meat and vegetables. BUT if you feed scraps do not feed it as an extra but use it as part of daily rations, so less of the other food you give. Do be sensible with chips and piza and fried type foods or you will end up with an overweight unhealthy dog. All raw meat is fine don't worry it is "natural" for our canine friends.

All types of raw meat are good although wild game, also beef and pork should be frozen for a while first to kill off some specific bacteria and parasites. Saying that though, I do feed locally produced outdoor-reared pork raw as there is almost no risk these days. i either get cheap spare ribs with meat on, or sometimes pigs' trotters and/or tails.

Some meats are not tolerated well by some dogs - I have had issues with both wild and tame duck with one of mine, she always brings it back up and if it does stay down she can be loose the next day, so we avoid it for her.

If you are lucky enough to get very freshly killed wild game it can be fed whole (step up your worming regime if you aren't freezing it first). Pigeons, pheasants, ducks, rabbits, squirrels etc are all suitable. Some dogs get the idea quickly, others walk away from anything with its fur or feathers still on and may need some encouragement to start.

With regard to leftovers, don't give your dog anything with chocolate in, or large amounts of onions. Some like myself avoid anything containing onions just to be safe. All other veg are good, most can also be fed raw, my dogs get some blitzed veg every day, usually a good mix of different kinds. Herbs can also be included. I tend to buy veg for them which means I also have a good variety of veg on hand for myself, and frequently get my 5 a day!

You shouldn't feed a dog raw and kibble as it takes the dog different times to digest ! Scraps off you plate look for how much salt is in it too!

> You shouldn't feed a dog raw and kibble as it takes the dog different times to digest !

I've been feeding this way for years, and know plenty of others who do too, with no problems. Most things digest at different rates so I can't see a problem. I'm sure bone would take longer than meat despite both being raw.

Can I jump in on this one and ask what you all feel the price difference is between feeding BARF and general dog food ?

And am I right in thinking that all meat has to be frozen first but bones don't ? What about smaller meaty boney bits like chicken wings and necks etc ?

I think it depends on what you are feeding re cost, but IME raw is cheaper than a good kibble. If you can bulk order all the better.

If you get bones or meat from a pet food supplier it will come frozen anyway, but in the past I've fed chicken wings from the supermarket, straight out of the packet and certainly feed lamb ribs from the butcher without freezing. Beef and "game" need freezing, that I do know.

>You shouldn't feed a dog raw and kibble as it takes the dog different times to digest !

That's irrelevent; feeding raw or cooked fresh or kibble all at the same meal causes no problems. As someone else says, bone takes much longer to digest than raw mince, but people feed both together.

Personally I don't always freeze before feeding.  Dogs' digestive systems are very good at dealing with bugs & I worm her fairly regularly.  Certainly anything fit for human consumption (eg; chicken wings from supermarkets or butchers scraps) should be fine.  I know some dogs don't do well on pork - but I haven't had a problem.  Freezing is more for my convenience.  I just wish I had a separate dog freezer - hopefully when I move . . .

Personally I don't always freeze before feeding.  Dogs' digestive systems are very good at dealing with bugs & I worm her fairly regularly.  Certainly anything fit for human consumption (eg; chicken wings from supermarkets or butchers scraps) should be fine.  I know some dogs don't do well on pork - but I haven't had a problem.  Freezing is more for my convenience.  I just wish I had a separate dog freezer - hopefully when I move . . .

Be wary of feeding fresh beef, there is a bacteria present in SOME beef that can kill, for the life of me I can't find the name, anyone ?. There was an incident a few years ago when a womans Boxer died after eating just a golfball sized bit of mince from Tesco.

> there is a bacteria present in SOME beef that can kill, for the life of me I can't find the name, anyone ?

Neospora - a topic well worth Googling for any raw feeder :)  Particularly those who do not see the need to freeze...

Didn't know about the freezing, always learning bits and bobs on this site!

I give scraps from our food if it will be thrown otherwise, last week they enjoyed some homemade veg soup one day and homemade chicken the next! I am always aware of salt content but never add any to my cooking as there is enough natural salt for me.

I do mix free flow (prize choice) minced meat with mine sometimes or naturediet, Roxy setter seems to prefer nature diet, can turn her nose up at prize choice (weirdo!).

Also avoid giving grapes/raisins/sultanas!

> would like to supplement the dogs diet with more meat, especially as we throw a lot of waste each week that we have discarded from our own meals

If you are trimming meat before cooking it for yourself and it hasn't been frozen then it's easy to just chuck it in a tupperware in the freezer.  You can keep topping this up (and mixing the meat) until you have a convenient amount to feed your dogs.  They'll eat the sinews, fat or other bits you don't much like the look of!

Too much pork sometimes gives my dog/s a loose tummy but small amounts are fine.  If you buy your meat on the bone and remove it before cooking then your dogs will enjoy that too :)

> Neospora

Oh dear!  Something else to worry about.  I bought oxtail today because I couldn't get anything else.  No chicken wings at all in Tesco's.  Oxtail wasn't a cheap option either - so should I have frozen this - Should I be freezing any bones I buy? 

You really should have frozen it, although I have in the past ( before I knew about it ) given beef i haven't frozen, with no ill effects, i think the Neospora acts very quickly, so you'd know within a few hours if anything was amiss. Not sure about beef bones, i guess if there's meat on them then yes, they should be frozen.

According to Merck it's a parasite.

As far as i am aware Neospora is only rarely found in beef. But since it is impossible to tell which cut of beef has Neospora in it then freezing it for a minimum of 24 hours is always advisable, just to be on the safe side. Any cut of beef, with or without bones or meat & fat attached should be frozen before giving it to your pets raw.
 

although I have in the past ( before I knew about it ) given beef i haven't frozen

I have as well until i read about it on here. I used to let my lot take it turns to lick the plastic mince tray out! Once i'd emptied first of course!

So that is something else I have learnt today - how can anyone manage without this forum! 

> Too much pork sometimes gives my dog/s a loose tummy but small amounts are fine. 

Do you think that may be because pork is the least fed of all the meats, therefore most dogs don't become used to digesting it? (It's easier to get minced rabbit than pork, and none of the raw food wholesalers stock it!).

I just wondered because a local butcher sells spare ribs very cheaply during the winter, so both mine have them on a regular basis when they're cheap. I also got some pigs trotters and tails cheaply from a butcher recently and again, no problems at all (apart from the oldie girl who gets constipated with too much bone).

> Oh dear! Something else to worry about.

I know - there really is always something isn't there!!  I freeze it just so I DON'T have to add this to my worry list.  In truth however I so rarely need to buy and feed fresh meat on the same day that I don't give it much thought.  I have fed it without freezing in the past - I'm sure many of us have - but now if I need to buy and feed immediately I stick to poultry OR I buy beef already frozen and just hand it over as an ice pop of sorts :)

...In fact I often feed wings and other chicken portions frozen too it certainly doesn't take them much longer to eat it and they seem to prefer it when it's at least half frozen.  Room temp chicken gives one of my dogs the heebie jeebies

Yes MsT - I rarely feed pork so might be the cause although I have fed it more regularly in the past and too much of it has often caused a loo rush...

Here's another interesting factoid, I was told by a canine nutritionist that the reason pork causes problems in some dogs is that the protein molecules are larger than in other meat.

I feed semi frozen meat too, they really seem to enjoy it that way.

I love this website - I've learned so much.  Right - off to freeze the beef!  By the way - pork/boar on the continent carries something horrible which is endemic in the population, and fatal to dogs.  So if you travel and feed raw don't take advantage of offers of boar.

> As far as i am aware Neospora is only rarely found in beef

Let's hope that is true - thought about steak tartare last night.  My husband thought that was really great when we ate in France a year or two ago.  ~We always eat well cooked pork because of tapeworm I understand - or is that an out of date thing now.   We as humans often eat beef rare. 

>

theyre the bits I was referring to in the OP, the trimmings etc. great idea about keeping a tub in the freezer.
I didn't know about freezing the meat, great advice as always!

I always eat my beef rare (or blue), and will eat it raw if left to my own devices.....

Neospora is a problem for dogs and cattle (and less commonly goats and horses I think).   Neospora Caninum can be fatal for dogs and cause pregnant cattle to abort (very important to clear up after your dogs in areas grazed by cattle).  From the information I've read Neosporosis is very unlikely in healthy humans.  It's possible in certain circumstances if a person is immuno compromised (I think that's the term).

It's an interesting topic but no need to worry if you like raw steak!!

Thanks dogs a babe, maybe I should start a new topic - What do you eat that you "shouldn't"! I can think of several that I do or have done in the past, I've got a strong stomach, oh and I started early - cat wormer aged 2, lol!

I think if neospora were a problem for people we'd have a quite few less celebrity chefs, they're always eating raw meat lol.

it's something I've always been curious about, but never had the stomach to try.

The Belgians and Dutch love their Broodje Tartaar, that is like a bun filled with a spiced raw beef spread.

I was invited to lunch at the home of Flemish friends and they provided a bread and salad help-yourself with coleslaw, pate, and other things from their local deli. When I went to try something from one of the tubs they looked worried, and had a mini argument in Flemish before tellling me in English "it is raw! not cooked meat!" but I took some and it was very nice, like some sort of a savoury spread - if they hadn't said it contained raw steak I really wouldn't have guessed at all.

I love beef carpaccio served with rocket and sliced red onion served with a horseradish mayo , it is delicious :-)