# Liver, liver, liver



## kathylcsw (Jul 31, 2011)

Why is liver so hard?? It has been a struggle to get Lola to eat it at all! I am slowly introducing but she is not making it easy! I finally got her to eat a tiny bit twice last week by mixing them in with other meat. The first 2 times I got her to eat it I put Parmesan cheese on it but last week she ate it without anything. Last night I added some to her dinner and she just ate around it. My son reminded me that parmesan cheese had worked before and she did eat it after I added that to it. Will she ever get to where she will eat it by itself? I plan to keep slowly working up to 5%-10% to avoid poop issues. Next week I will add it to 3 meals and do that for 2 weeks. 

If I can't find other organs can liver be the entire 10%? I have searched stores here and there are no other organs anywhere. I am working to find them but may have to rely primarily on liver. Will that be ok and meet their nutritional needs?

When do I start adding liver to Buster's diet? He is 3 months old and has been eating raw since I brought him home the week of Christmas. So far he is eating chicken, turkey, and pork without issue. I also have a ton of venison that I want to add to his diet so I should I do venison next or liver? He is so food crazy that I feel pretty confident that he won't have any issues eating liver.


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

I wouldn't add anything to try to get them to eat it. You can try to feed it frozen, or even slighty seared to start, then as they are eating it more back off the searing. Sometimes though, they just don't like it no matter what you do. In that case, you may need to "shove" it to get them to eat it. I have had to put it at the very back of the throat and hold their head up and make them swallow. I was doing that to one of ours, Aussie and all of a sudden he just started eating it on his own. I guess he got tired of it being shoved and decided to go it on his own.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

I agree - try it frozen.

Snorkels, my dog who loves everything, hated kidney at first. She would pick it out and put it in a semicircle around the outside of her bowl on the floor. I kept giving it to her like that because I found it endlessly amusing to watch her do that.

One day, she just started eating it and now she loves it. But I lost my foodly entertainment each day.


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

You are lucky! Seriously, I think Lola actually eating the liver, whether it's disguised in something else, or even by itself is a huge step forward. If she's prepared to do that, she'll be eating it just fine really soon. 

Mol detests liver with a capital D. To the point of being facetious. She got 1/2 a cornish hen last week, I was walking round later and stepped on something. It was the tinest piece of liver imaginable which she had spat out from the cornish hen. 
So, she gets force fed her organs, pain in the butt.


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## Herzo (Feb 5, 2011)

It's not hard for me my dogs all love it. I always think it's strange when I hear that peoples dogs don't like it. Even my last bassets loved it. I hope feeding mostly liver is ok cause that's what I can get most of. I do use different liver though, turkey, beef, lamb, pork and deer. The kidney is kind of stinky but I have fed it and need to again.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

We simply got tired of trying to trick the dogs to eat their organs...finally said screw it and just started shoving organ meat down throats. We still have to do it with only 2 dogs now. 

I have found that the more naturally raised organs ALL my dogs will gladly eat. Like the organs from an animal we butcher ourselves.


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## twoisplenty (Nov 12, 2008)

Wow, we have never had any issues with feeding organ meats. Now fresh whole fish is a different story, lol.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

The dogs did have issue with chicken liver but that was from the store, every organ they get is from grass fed/ naturally raised animals so maybe that's the difference, they happily eat all the organs I feed them with no problems.


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## Herzo (Feb 5, 2011)

Maybe that is it all my liver with the exception of the turkey comes from the meat plant where people get there own animals slaughtered. Could be a difference in it hummmmmmmmmmmmm that's a thought.


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## trikerdon (May 14, 2011)

Sheba just started eating a little liver mixed in with her meats. How much do you feed yours each week? How big are the servings?


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## bully4life (Aug 9, 2010)

My dogs would eat cement if they could,, but i ALWAYS pretend I'm eating a new food that I'm introducing. They figure "good enough for daddy, good enough for me"


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## kathylcsw (Jul 31, 2011)

I do feed the liver frozen and I have offered chicken, pork, and beef liver with the same results. I guess I feel like adding the cheese is a better way to go than to shove it down her throat. That seems like a lot of trouble and just wouldn't feel right for me. My hope is that I can add less cheese over time until she is eating it on her own.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

My dogs ate it the first few times but then Sprocket decided he didn't like it. So I started shoving it down his throat and he now eats it just fine. Smart dog knows whats coming if he doesn't eat it! LOL 

The other 2 gobble it up :smile:


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

kathylcsw said:


> I guess I feel like adding the cheese is a better way to go than to shove it down her throat. That seems like a lot of trouble and just wouldn't feel right for me.


Believe me, I hear where you are coming from. I HATE having to force Mol to eat organs, but if we want to continue with the raw diet, then she has to eat organs of some type and if she won't eat them willingly, I don't see any other choice. To be honest, it is quite funny, she looks like she has thrown up in her mouth every time she sniffs the liver I'm offering her. Maybe one day, in, 9 or 10 years time, she'll give up and eat it on her own.


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## lucky (Jan 8, 2011)

I have the same problem with lucky. She will eat it frozen most of the time though. Today I fed thawed liver, pig heart and a chicken wing, the only way I got her to eat the thawed liver was to hand it to her while she was hungry before she tasted the heart or chicken. Thawed kidney is even worse, she wont tough that thawed, hungry or not, I try and feed it frozen once a week


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## DaneLover228 (Nov 29, 2011)

Wow! Its so strange to hear of so many people having problems getting their dogs to eat liver. I'm pretty sure liver is Montys FAVORITE thing that I've fed him so far. I feed it in his bowl because its nasty and slimy and I don't even want it on the towel. He licks his bowl CLEAN! It looks like it's been washed after he's done!


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## kathylcsw (Jul 31, 2011)

DaneLover228 said:


> Wow! Its so strange to hear of so many people having problems getting their dogs to eat liver. I'm pretty sure liver is Montys FAVORITE thing that I've fed him so far. I feed it in his bowl because its nasty and slimy and I don't even want it on the towel. He licks his bowl CLEAN! It looks like it's been washed after he's done!


Then count yourself incredibly lucky! It is no fun to try to get it introduced into the diet when your dog doesn't want to eat it at all.


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

DaneLover228 said:


> Wow! Its so strange to hear of so many people having problems getting their dogs to eat liver. I'm pretty sure liver is Montys FAVORITE thing that I've fed him so far. I feed it in his bowl because its nasty and slimy and I don't even want it on the towel. He licks his bowl CLEAN! It looks like it's been washed after he's done!


I called you a bad name that would probably get me banned on here!


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## DaneLover228 (Nov 29, 2011)

MollyWoppy said:


> I called you a bad name that would probably get me banned on here!


LOL. It's okay. I forgive you. :-D


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

MollyWoppy said:


> I called you a bad name that would probably get me banned on here!


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## Love my lab (Dec 9, 2010)

hahaha that is to funny sprocket. My girl eats liver like its nobodys buisness, 1st time she was given kidney she dropped it on the floor and looked at me like ummmm you want me to eat this smelly crap???? She got over it and eats it, but does not enjoy it as much as liver. Oddly, I discovered and can't figure out why my dog refuses liver from wild turkey and goose......strange. I guess ya have to do what ya have to do as long as the liver goes down the hatch. Dogs are smart and can pick out what they don't like that is for sure, so if you can get it down w/ a little parm cheese then keep sprinkleing less and less, hopefully it will become an aquired taste. Good luck


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## kathylcsw (Jul 31, 2011)

Tonight I added liver to Lola's evening meal. For the past 2 weeks I gave her tiny pieces twice in a week. This week and next week I am adding it in 3x per week. I put 4 grams of beef liver in with her venison tonight and added some blood from the venison. Tonight she ate it without any parmesan having to be added. I don't know if the blood helped or if she is going to be ok eating it. I guess I will see next time I feed her some. It just feels like it is going to take forever to get her anywhere near the 10%. I hope that I can find some other organs and be able to just do 5% liver but so far no luck at all.


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## kathylcsw (Jul 31, 2011)

We may be over the hump with liver - fingers crossed. I gave Lola 8 grams of beef liver in deer blood on Wednesday and she ate it with no problems. Tonight she had an egg for dinner and I added 8 grams of liver in with the egg and she ate it!! Her poop has been perfect too. I am trying to be patient and continue going slowly. My plan is another week of giving liver 3x with an increase from 8 grams to 11 grams. The on to 11 grams 4x per week for 2 weeks and so on up to 10%.

If liver is the only only organ I am able to find she will have to eat 80 grams per week to get 10%. I am hopeful that I can reach that goal by the middle or end of March. Of course I may finally find some other organs so then it will only be 40 grams of liver. Are other organs easier to get them to eat than liver?? The way Buster wolfs down everything I am pretty sure that I won't have any trouble getting him to eat liver.


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## kathylcsw (Jul 31, 2011)

Looks like Lola is not a fan of chicken liver. I put in 11 grams with an egg last night and she ate all around it. It had been a long day and I was tired so I threw it away rather than putting some parmesan on to see if she would eat it like that. Tonight I will use the beef liver she will eat and will add a pinch of chicken liver. It would just figure that she won't eat the dirt cheap chicken liver that I can get for .69 a lb! Luckily it looks like Buster will eat it! He is not ready to add liver yet but I gave him a tiny taste of it before I threw it away and he swallowed it on down. Not that I had any doubts since he lives for food.

I did find pork kidney at a local ethnic market so I will introduce that to Lola in the next couple of weeks. I want to feed her the liver at 10% for another week then slowly add the kidney in the following week. 

Wth Buster I am introducing fish this week and he is doing fine. I plan on starting beef with him next week. Once that is introuduced he will be on chicken, turkey, pork, deer, fish, and beef. Then in the beginning of March I will start with the liver. It is so hard not to rush him so that he will be caught up with Lola. It would be so much simpler if they both ate the same thing every day. I will be patient though because I know that by April at the latest I will be done with introducing new proteins and organs (for the most part) and will just be feeding it all.


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## kathylcsw (Jul 31, 2011)

Lola won't eat pork liver either! I fed it to her last night with deer and deer blood. She ate everything but the liver. I even tried adding Parmesan this time but she just licked away all the cheese and left the liver. The good news is that my cat will eat pork liver.

So this morning I fed her beef liver and she ate it all up. For now I will stick with the $3/lb beef liver I guess! In time I will start slipping in little bits of chicken and pork liver to try to get her used to it.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

Good thing you found something! I haven't tried any liver except chicken liver because I have so much on hand  

I did find a good way to feed it to Sprocket. I mash it up into his ground venison...he can't really pick it out and he REALLY likes venison


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## Mondo (Dec 20, 2011)

Liver goes down good. I've got some kidney in the freezer. I'm not sure how that is going to go over. I've seen humans on TV eating kidney, and it seems it can have a "unique" taste, cough.


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## NewYorkDogue (Sep 27, 2011)

Love my lab said:


> hahaha that is to funny sprocket. My girl eats liver like its nobodys buisness, 1st time she was given kidney she dropped it on the floor and looked at me like ummmm you want me to eat this smelly crap????


Same thing happened with my pup. He has never refused anything raw I've given him-- and eats liver (all kinds) like a champ.

Well, I finally found some kidney and thought he would just inhale it like everything else. Nope. First time he actually left something behind, that sad chunk of blobby kidney. Next day, I decided to chop it up and mix it in with some tripe- it worked.

So, I guess you gotta do what you gotta do...


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## Herzo (Feb 5, 2011)

Mine ate the kidney no problem, sorry. they still haven't turned down anything. I need to take out the last bag of it, I'm bad about feeding it and they have only had a little. It's kind of gross. I would much rather feed liver.


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## kathylcsw (Jul 31, 2011)

Lola is finally eating the frozen beef liver regularly. I measure her food in grams because the math is easier so she needs 40 grams of liver and 40 grams other organ weekly to get the 10%. All she needs for her 5% of liver is 5 more grams!! I will get that tonight and I have been adding bits of pork kidney each day too. Her poop is great, small and formed!!

She wouldn't eat the thawed kidney but has eaten the frozen bits with no problems - so far. Since I will get her liver for the week in tonight I will start increasing the amount of kidney and may actually got thet 10% in this week too. I am so happy to finally be getting in the liver and organs. Since she is till so young - 8 months old - I have been worried that she is missing out on needed nutrients.

Now if Buster does well with the beef I will start liver with him in the next week or so. He is younger than Lola so I really want to get him started since he needs the nutritional value. I am so close to having them both through this transition period that I can almost feel it now!


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## Thunder409 (Jan 10, 2012)

kathylcsw said:


> Lola won't eat pork liver either! I fed it to her last night with deer and deer blood. She ate everything but the liver. I even tried adding Parmesan this time but she just licked away all the cheese and left the liver. The good news is that my cat will eat pork liver.
> 
> So this morning I fed her beef liver and she ate it all up. For now I will stick with the $3/lb beef liver I guess! In time I will start slipping in little bits of chicken and pork liver to try to get her used to it.


That is like Thunder lol. She loves chicken and beef liver and will eat it frozen or thawed. I tried giving her pork liver for the first time yesterday but she kept picking it up and dropping it. She did not like it at all, and this dog loves everything. I gave her a frozen piece and she ate it. She was even doing tricks hoping that I would reach in the bag and give her another one. 

She'll eat poo but she will not eat thawed pork liver. Dogs are so weird.


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## KittyKat (Feb 11, 2011)

Piper likes calf liver, not a fan of anything else. She eats kidney sometimes...

It's more of an issue getting my parents to feed her organs. They hate doing it.


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## kathylcsw (Jul 31, 2011)

So far Lola is eating the kidney fine. Pork kidney is all I could find so I am happy that she will eat it. Last night she got a decent sized hunk of it and I was thrilled when I saw that she ate it all. So it realy looks like for the first time she will get 5% liver/5% organ this week. I feel like such a raw veteran now!


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## kathylcsw (Jul 31, 2011)

Well 2 steps forward and 1 step back. For the past 2 nights Lola hasn't eaten her liver. I put Monday nights liver in with her Tuesday morning deer, poured deer blood over it and stored overnight. She ate it fine like that. Last night I put liver in with her beef and covered it with some chicken liver blood. She pulled all the liver out and didn't even drink the blood. Clearly she is never going to like chicken liver and all liver is always going to be an issue.

Buster is doing great though. He started getting bits of liver last week with no ill effects at all. He will eat any kind of liver with no jumping through hoops. This week I am working to get in 5% and will do that the following week. If that goes well on to kidney.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

I wouldn't worry too much about it...feeding liver everyday is fine in very small doses but there is a chance they're getting to much organ meat. Sometimes dogs will let us know of they're getting too much of a good thing. 

I would hold off feeding her liver at all for a week or so and then adding it back in. Maybe only feed liver every 3rd day or so.


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## kathylcsw (Jul 31, 2011)

Turns out that I accidentally gave Lola pork liver rather than beef liver. They are each frozen in baggies and I can't read the names on them anymore! She is just set on eating only beef liver. The spoiled brat! I am going to try to sneak in bits of pork liver this week to see if she gets used to it.

Luckily Buster will eat anything! He has transitioned well onto chicken livers and has stolen bites of beef and pork liver from Lola. I guess I can at least feed the chicken and pork to him so it isn't wasted. He started kidney last night and so far so good. Getting a puppy on raw seems so much easier than an older dog. Both of mine have transitioned so smoothly! The only issue at all has been Lola's pickiness about what kind of loiver she will eat. I know that I have been so lucky!


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## Mondo (Dec 20, 2011)

Beef liver is always a hit. Chicken liver has been refused by Tuffy at times. Beef kidney, eaten one day, not the next. Some dogs just seema bit more finicky. On Saturday Tuffy refused most everything. We were going out for dinner so I tried feeding earlier. Toby always eats, any time, anything. Tuffy not so much. So he pretty well got fasted on Saturday. Sunday he refused nothing.  

Beef of any type seems to be the biggest hit, where bone free meals are concerned.


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## kathylcsw (Jul 31, 2011)

Like I have posted before Buster eats any and everything! Lola has never refused any other raw meals except for the liver and thawed kidney. She eats frozen kidney with no problems at all. 

I can't really tell if either dog has a preference for one meat over another. They both gobble everything right up. At the moment venison is their main red meat because I was lucky enough to get a lot from my brother and CL. I will be sad when it runs out.


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