Hi everyone

My 6 month old Westie has been fed on chicken, carrots, broccolli and brown rice (all of which I cook myself) since he was 2 months old.  I feed him this as Westies can be prone to skin problems and was told this was the best option for him.  Could I feed him tripe now and then (the real stuff not cans).  I have been told that too much protein can bring on skin problems but I really don't know about tripe at all.  Hes doing so well at the moment I really don't want to do anything that could change that.  I would be so gratefull for your expert advise, you have all helped me so much in the past with my doggie questions.  Regards Jenny X

I would ask your vet about the likelihood of your pup growing anymore because I fed tripe to one of mine as a youngster and she developed growth plate problems by the time she was 6 months old.    The cause was the tripe as it is inbalanced in calcium to phosporous.   Asti had to have Calcium Carbonate tablets daily to rectify the damage.

Naturediet do a puppy line which i'm told by another Westie puppy owner is excellent.
Buddy's never had any further problems with his skin since changing to ND lite.
Budmag

A little tripe here and there shouldnt hurt her,just dont make it her sole diet,which i think was what lily meant when she had probs with her dogs,you will be able to see if it disagrees with her or makes her itchy, if so just stop feeding it.I have never met a dog who doesnt like tripe :D

christine

Tripe wasn't the main source of Asti's diet, it was minced tripe included with her complete food.

And her grand-daughter Ella cannot stand tripe whether it be raw or cooked!

Feeding tripe as part of a multi source diet will not cause any problems.  Feeding any type of meat only with NO bones or calcium will cause problems as meat only, whether it is tripe, heart, beef, lamb, pork etc is very low in calcium.  But it is not tripe itself that is the cause of any problems; just incorrect unbalanced feeding!

As long as you feed tripe as PART of the diet, as well as chicken, lamb, beef, duck, turkey etc etc and either bones or a good calcium source then you will not have any problems.

Knew you`d be along soon to answer better than I could ever Thome :D :D

Christine, Spain.

Thank you all for your help.  Regarding the calcium part of things, I don't give my dog bones but he does have half a Vetzyme daily conditioning tablet.  What other form of calcium should I be giving him.  Regards Jenny X

Hamish,
What about a doggy multi vitamin/mineral tablet?they have a bit of everything in it.

Christine