# Need a myth dispelled



## Tarielle (Oct 22, 2010)

I have been reading through the posts and know that some of you feed your dogs frozen meat/fish etc.

I was told that I should always feed meat, bones etc at least at room temperature which I have been doing.

Is this a complete myth or is there some truth to it?


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## SerenityFL (Sep 28, 2010)

I think that may be a myth. I feed the hoodlums their food straight out of the fridge.....and...ahem...on days when I...er, forget...to pull their meat out of the freezer, I'll run it under warm water until I can break the food apart and feed them their dinner partially, (mostly), frozen.

Never had a problem. Takes them longer to eat when it's frozen and frankly, since they are getting their adult teeth, I think they probably like it more.


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

Myth. I feed partially frozen things on occasion, but every other time its food straight out of the fridge. The only time Ania gets room temp food is when I've left something out to thaw for way too long. :biggrin:

In the wild, I believe wolves will feast on partially or even fully frozen carcasses that they come across. SO I don't think there is any issue with us feeding our dogs cold meat.


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## Tarielle (Oct 22, 2010)

I guess that would be true but mostly, don't wolves make a kill and then eat straight away or not long after?

Warm body, warm meat.


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

I would say Myth. :smile:

What if a wolf comes across a carcass in the dead of winter? Don't think if the meat was cold/frozen would stop him from a meal. 

I also have fed my dogs some partially frozen meat....they didn't mind at all and they had no problems. :smile:


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

i don't know what wolves do, but my dogs eat room temp, refrigerated, frozen, partially frozen....

i give them food.

they eat the food.


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## Tarielle (Oct 22, 2010)

Yeah sure, I never said that a frozen carcass would stop a wolf from eating in the dead of winter with survival being paramount.

I was more wondering if a frozen meal could cause a stomach upset or something like that and why I would have been told to feed only at room temp. Could be something simple like the meat smelling better (to encourage my dog to eat) whereas there is probably no smell when it's frozen. Haven't tried frozen yet so no idea.


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## xxshaelxx (Mar 8, 2010)

I read somewhere, and now I can't remember for the life of me where, that wolves will sometimes kill right after they've eaten, just because they can, and will leave the prey and come back to it days later to eat again.


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## JayJayisme (Aug 2, 2009)

My dogs won't eat cold or frozen meat at all. If I feed them meat out of the fridge, they will let it sit in the sun for hours, then come back and eat it when it's warm, and I let them. I doubt if it's bad for a dog to eat cold or frozen meat but getting them to eat it is another story in my house.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

Its definitely a myth but I can see where you might want to let it warm up a bit if you have a picky eater, the warmth will let the juices flow and the smell permeate!


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## Tarielle (Oct 22, 2010)

Thanks everyone for clearing this up for me.
Definately seems to be a myth

I'll keep feeding warm when the weather is cold and try meat straight from the fridge when our summer hits which won't be too far way now.

She'll either dig in or she won't.

If she doesn't then I can always nuke it.


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

Tarielle said:


> If she doesn't then I can always nuke it.


I would not do that. Microwaving = cooking in my book. Even if if is just a little bit. It could still change the bones and make them splintery.

I've found that the fastest and safest way to thaw meatcicles is to submerge them in cold water (my hero, Alton Brown, suggests cold RUNNING water, but I haven't noticed enough of a difference to justify the slightly higher utility bills). Water is much more dense than air, so the meat thaws in much less time than if you just left it out.

Whenever I find myself at meal time with no thawed meat, I just feed canned fish or tripe. :biggrin:


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## Tarielle (Oct 22, 2010)

Definately have not microwaved bones.

I only nuke the meat and for 20 seconds which is enough to get a little bit of warmth in the food but nowhere near enough to cook it.


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## schtuffy (May 17, 2010)

My guess is it's a myth. I'm not saying go grab meat out of the freezer and feed it directly 7 days a week, but I doubt a little "frozenness" would hurt them. Like many others, I also feed directly from the fridge. Once in awhile it will be at room temp because I let it sit in the sink. A lot of times I forget to thaw meat out the night before and it is still partially frozen by the time I feed my pup. 

Sometimes, I also resort to canned fish on days where I forget...or am lazy :biggrin: Frozen, mushy, soggy, bloody...he will eat it any which way and I don't think I see any tummy issues. Then again, he is a little piggy and will dance, jump, twirl, etc. no matter how the meat looks


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## SamWu1 (Oct 15, 2010)

Tarielle said:


> Definately have not microwaved bones.
> 
> I only nuke the meat and for 20 seconds which is enough to get a little bit of warmth in the food but nowhere near enough to cook it.


Try avoiding the microwave to thaw the food because even moderate defrosting tempatures can destroy enzymes that are present in raw flesh.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

personally, i think the only downside, possible downside to feeding frozen or semi thawed, is if your dog's teeth are sensitive to cold...

oh.

brainfreeze. i wonder if dogs get that.....

even still, humans can eat frozen food...why can't dogs?


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## SamWu1 (Oct 15, 2010)

The only reason I gave feeding frozen an afterthought was because a well respected canine nutrition author wrote in her book that frozen food cannot be digested but never gave a reason. 

I've already fed frozen for over 2 years at that point and he hasn't died from starvation so I figured that claim isn't 100% true. However I do try to feed his meals thawed now.


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## jackied (Oct 19, 2010)

Many, many people feed their dogs frozen kongs full of yummy stuff. OK that is usually dog food or peanut butter or whatever but I can't see there's any different from raw on this issue.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

SamWu1 said:


> The only reason I gave feeding frozen an afterthought was because a well respected canine nutrition author wrote in her book that frozen food cannot be digested but never gave a reason.
> 
> I've already fed frozen for over 2 years at that point and he hasn't died from starvation so I figured that claim isn't 100% true. However I do try to feed his meals thawed now.


the act of eating food below room temp has a causal effect on metabolism, in that the body must expend calories to heat the food.

that is why it is recommended that people who are ahem dieting drink cold water because their bodies expend calories to heat the water to body temp....

other than that.....there is no reason that i can think of -- dog or human.....to avoid frozen foods....the amount of energy required from the dog or human to warm up the food as part of metabolism is only a few calories.....

but frozen food can't be digested? wow. i'm gonna go out and get me a freezer full of ice cream and gelato


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## Tarielle (Oct 22, 2010)

Brain freeze, lol that's funny.
Check out the dog's face next time you feed frozen and see if they start winking or have a funny smile, then you'll know.

Not sure if the ice cream or gelato binge is worth it. A moment on the lips is a lifetime on the hips as they say but you can guinea pig it and let the rest of us know if we can get away with it :biggrin:

SamWu..... never have defrosted any meat for the dogs in the microwave, I can never get it right anyway. When I do it for my own food I always end up half cooking the stuff. I'm severely microwave impaired.

I am going to do more research on feeding frozen food to dogs and hopefully can find an answer with a good explanation behind it.


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