# Feeding Organs: Tips?



## pandaparade (Dec 29, 2010)

First off, most of you guys just feed liver and kidneys for organs right?

I have not started feeding organs yet and fear my dog will turn his nose up at them so can any one give me a few pointers on what I should do? Thank you! I have some calf liver in the freezer but I can also pick up some kidney if need be.

Edit: If possible I do not want to use the shove method


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## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

pandaparade, I will not use the shove method as I believe it is forceful and a choking hazard. 

I now sear his organs on the stove with some butter. Sometimes he will eat them frozen, too.


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## pandaparade (Dec 29, 2010)

Eventually are you going to have it fully raw? How long should I sear the organs (liver?) I will try that. Thank you!


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## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

I hope to eventually feed the organs fully raw but we'll see...

It seems that he just doesn't like them...

Hopefully I will eventually get him to at least eat them frozen. If I douse them in fish oil, it helps!!

I sear them until the outside is just lightly browned - probably about 30-60 seconds on a scalding hot pan. The inside is still nice and raw.


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## KlaMarie (Dec 30, 2010)

does it make a difference to your dogs if it's ground organ??? I haven't given my dog any organs yet, and I'm hoping she'll eat them.


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## pandaparade (Dec 29, 2010)

And you also feed a whole days worth of organ a week correct? I.E. a dog that needs a pound of meat a day would get a pound of organ a week?


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

My guys will eat any organ as long as it is frozen and I offer it like a treat. I also dehydrate some liver. We feed liver, pancreas, spleen and kidney.


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## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

pandaparade said:


> And you also feed a whole days worth of organ a week correct? I.E. a dog that needs a pound of meat a day would get a pound of organ a week?


I feed 10% of my dogs' diet in organs. Millie eats 16 oz. daily. That would mean 1.6 oz. of that should be organs, daily. Instead, I multiply 1.6 by 7 to get her weekly amount. Therefore, she gets ~12 oz. organ weekly.


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

I sear the liver (beef or chicken) in a pan, usually with a little bit of chicken stock. The dogs actually LOVE it and gobble it right up. Chelsy refuses any raw organs and actually will refuse heart or kidney even if cooked, but she loves the liver if it is cooked just enough to make it not slimy anymore. The boys will eat any of the organs that I've tried (heart, liver, kidneys). I'd rather they lose a bit of nutrients by having it cooked a little bit then to have to try and force feed three dogs some raw organ meat. My three have never had any digestive upset from it.


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## pandaparade (Dec 29, 2010)

I defrosted the liver and cut up a piece and he ate it. He didn't want a huge piece but I am happy he took the small piece. I am more than happy to cut it up in small pieces if he will take it : )

I did cut some more up and will freeze it and the rest of the raw will go in his meal tomorrow as small pieces... one can hope!


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## schtuffy (May 17, 2010)

I would put a really thin layer of peanut butter in my palm, and place the small frozen chunk of liver on top of it, and my dog gobbled it right up. I started with a really small piece of liver and worked my way up to about 1 inch cubes now. I only had to use the peanut butter method about 3 times or so, after that he didn't hesitate to eat it. In fact, my dog now gobbles liver up like he loves it...sometimes he will eat the liver before any of the other meat in his bowl. I still give it to him frozen, they are less messy that way anyway :biggrin:


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

Try just feeding it as treats - also dehydrated is not so bad. Mine love lung and liver dehydrated. Plus it is a great training treat.


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## CavePaws (Jan 25, 2011)

I was given hints to try giving it frozen...It worked, the dogs love!! it now.
Indi won't eat a giant chunk of it like the others will...She has to have hers cut up into treat sized portions but she would easily eat an entire lb of liver if I decided to give her that much...I wouldn't...for fear of waking up to diarrhea everywhere!! I like giving her a little organ meat everyday if I can...So I know she is getting a fair amount of vitamins everyday. The main organ she gets would be beef liver...I need to go get some kidneys BADLY. I don't think we'll have too much of a problem there though...They eat all the organs from the whole chickens I get readily, chicken organs are perfectly bite size for them. ;]

So what I did was slow bake them first.
Then I started searing it a tiny bit.
Then we did the frozen liver in small pieces.
Now I give it completely raw in small chunks. :] 

They love their organ meats thanks to the tips I've received here!!


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

Lucky would not touch organs no matter what I did. Now, I mix in little cut up pieces of organ in Lucky's canned fish meal once a week...she eats it great this way.


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## hamblekg (Feb 1, 2011)

My guys haven't had a problem with anything but liver. They've had cooked liver as "treats" all their lives and just don't appreciate raw.


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## bumblegoat (May 12, 2010)

My dog used to hate organs. I did use to shove method once or twice with chicken livers, and after that he actually learned to like it! Weird dog. 

He just recently learned to like raw kidney. Before he ate it raw I used to pour some boiling water over it, that way it was slightly cooked.


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## Paws&Tails (Sep 3, 2010)

I have to lightly pan sear them and spread some coconut oil over them. I tried peanut butter one time, but he licked it off and left the organs. With the coconut oil he has to eat the organs. 

He won't eat them any other way. Raw? Absolutely not. Frozen raw? Heck no!

My kitties, on the other hand, love raw organs. Especially raw liver.


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## tracydr (Feb 25, 2011)

I finally figured out that my dogs love chicken livers cooked lightly in coconut oil with garlic powder. After months of trying to hand feed them frozen bits, hide it in other meals, etc. They would just spit it out and make faces. I cook and feed rare, they love it!


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

I have one who dosn't like liver, and rather than actualy "shoving it down, I open his mouth and drop it in. I hold his head upward and he chews and swallows on his own. Its better than a real "shove".


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## pandaparade (Dec 29, 2010)

Looks like I wont have much trouble feeding the dog liver. I am cooking it a tiny bit (mostly raw to keep nutrients) and he is eating it.... before his main course of chicken leg (to prevent the almighty CANNON BUTT) which was shocking!

I think I am going to do like Cavepaws and feed the liver everyday or every other so he gets a little daily dose

Now when should I try another organ? I suppose he should stay on liver for a couple weeks to make sure he starts eating it totally raw.


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## martye (Mar 9, 2011)

we started by adding small bite sized pieces of liver (raw) with our regular meal and it just gets gobbled up with everything else. We're at a point now where the liver, either beef or chicken goes down before any of the bony portion of the meal. We're going to introduce either beef or pork kidney this weekend.
The one thing I absolutely learned is to not overdo it with the organ meat, too much of a good thing results in cannon butt, and that is not a good thing.

Marty


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## sassymaxmom (Dec 7, 2008)

That is what I did as well. Max can eat 2 days of organ without a problem but while he would love a weekly organ binge it would cause poop trouble and he might not want to eat organ any more if that happened. Since he currently looks forward to it and eats it first if it is in his dish I don't feel like there is any advantage to a weekly organ meal.


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

martye said:


> we started by adding small bite sized pieces of liver (raw) with our regular meal and it just gets gobbled up with everything else.


This got me laughing. When I first started with organs I tried to do the same thing with Lucky. I gave her some boneless meat (I think it was beef) cut up and I put in a *tiny* little piece of liver to see how she would handle it. I look at her bowl after she is done and everything is gone....except that teeny tiny little sliver of liver.....and it's smack dab in the middle of her bowl. What a turd!! :laugh:


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## mischiefgrrl (Oct 28, 2010)

Tanis never had problems with organs but Tiffa - she dumped the bowl upside down and barked at me when I gave them to her. I made an organ "omelet" by cutting chunks of frozen organ and folding them in with the egg and then cooking until the egg was slightly firm but still runny - that way the organs were still completely raw. It worked - she LOVED it. I only had to do that once and now she eats her organs first with no problem. I think she just had to get used to the taste of it.


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## tem_sat (Jun 20, 2010)

> ...but Tiffa - she dumped the bowl upside down and barked at me when I gave them to her.


That cracked me up.


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## mischiefgrrl (Oct 28, 2010)

tem_sat said:


> That cracked me up.


LOL me too - that girl was telling me off! I wish I'd gotten a video of it! She did that twice before I knew I was going to have to figure something else out.


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## Khan (Jan 17, 2010)

Ok, so I have been wondering this for a while. I do not give them a weekly meal of organ. Instead I just add a little to their nightly meal. Mine all really like liver and heart (which I know technically isn't an organ) Anyway, is that a bad way to go? Khan really gets "loose" if he only eats organs. If I feed it this way however I see a little change; but it firms right back up by the next meal.


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## Herzo (Feb 5, 2011)

That's the way I have been doing it also.Not that my girl wouldn't eat a hole meal of it, she loves it.I got some packages of turkey neck with all gibblets in it and I have fed all at once, or I put a little beef liver in with what ever.I have started keeping a log on the calander to see if I'm feeding enough of every thing.I think I will post it sometime to see if it looks ok.


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## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

That's how I do it, too. I feed two meals daily and my dogs each get 1-3 oz. of organ with breakfast each day. Because I am still relatively new to raw, I usually throw at least some bone in that AM meal that contains organ. Eg. A chicken foot or 2 chicken necks (I call them "bone tablets" LOL) because my dogs only get big bone-in meals every other morning. This keeps things nice and steady. :smile:


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

Liz said:


> My guys will eat any organ as long as it is frozen and I offer it like a treat. I also dehydrate some liver. We feed liver, pancreas, spleen and kidney.


that's what we do. morning walk. cube of organ. frozen. down the hatch it goes. : ) since it's fed to them daily, i feed in very small amounts....to make up for the approximate 10% organ need.

some dogs don't care. mine do. they just don't like liver and kidney in its natural state...fish too...so they get fish-cicles, also....

works for them. works for me.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

Khan said:


> Ok, so I have been wondering this for a while. I do not give them a weekly meal of organ. Instead I just add a little to their nightly meal. Mine all really like liver and heart (which I know technically isn't an organ) Anyway, is that a bad way to go? Khan really gets "loose" if he only eats organs. If I feed it this way however I see a little change; but it firms right back up by the next meal.


i don't see why you can't feed it that way....it's not as if khan gets cannon butt from it LOL


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

I agree. Sounds like a great way to do organs. I think whatever works for you and your dog is the way to go.


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## Khan (Jan 17, 2010)

Magicre, When Khan was eating kibble that's all he had! I've seen enough cannon butt to last a lifetime!! LOL!!!


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## pandaparade (Dec 29, 2010)

Annnd guess what? My doggy eats raw liver, yay! It just took a couple of times getting used to it I guess. He gobbled up two ounces for his daily meal today.... before his pork shoulder! So, should I try kidney next? I fear the pee smell... how does that even cut? Is it solid?


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## dogfoodlover (Mar 13, 2011)

pandaparade said:


> Annnd guess what? My doggy eats raw liver, yay! It just took a couple of times getting used to it I guess. He gobbled up two ounces for his daily meal today.... before his pork shoulder! So, should I try kidney next? I fear the pee smell... how does that even cut? Is it solid?


Way to go! Have you noticed any changes since introducing liver?


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## pandaparade (Dec 29, 2010)

It has only been about 3 days with liver so no I have not. Am I supposed to?


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## Sapphire-Light (Aug 8, 2010)

You have to feed the organs everyday or only some days of the week?


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## sassymaxmom (Dec 7, 2008)

10% of the diet is organ. It is up to you and the dog how best to achieve this. Max gets about an ounce a day. I can feed it one ounce a day, 2 ounces every other day, 7 ounces once a week and so on. Max and I are comfortable feeding 2 ounces every other day. For a long time he got an ounce total of both liver and kidney every day, then I moved to liver one day and kidney the other.


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