[Tucker]

I have just bought a pound of beef heart to cook and use as a supplement to my dog's regular food. I had read in another thread that you should not feed organ meats too often since they are so rich. I have also cooked calf's liver and combined with an equal amount of hamburger - fed it once so far a few days ago (about 1/3 cup total) and froze the rest. How often do you think I can add these types of meats and how much at a time taking into account he has hemangiosarcoma (see other thread under health) and I don't want to overload his system. I am think of combining the heart with an equal amount of chicken breast -I have been grinding up the meat after cooking in the food processor.
Also, how long do I need to cook a pound of heart? (gagging) ;-)
Thanks in advance for any advice!

[Ozzy29]

what is the dog's normal food?

[Tucker]

Originally Posted by Ozzy29

what is the dog's normal food?

EVO dry and canned

[Todd]

As a rule of thumb about 10% of the diet should consist or organ meats. How many pounds of food does your dog eat per week? If you feed mostly the EVO you can add up the calories for the week then take 10% of that. This is how much organ to feed. 10% of the weekly intake or you can feed a small amount each day (which is what I do because of the richness) equalling 10% of the weeks consumption in total.

Again, what I'd do is feed smaller amounts each day. Add up how many calories or pounds (how ever you wish to do it) you feed per day then take 10% of that to find out how much to feed per day. If for some reason you decide to feed organ meat just once per week you can add up total calories or pounds per week or multiply 1 days worth by 7 and then take 10% of that number.

Also, half the organ meat should consist of liver while the other half can consist of other organs such as kidney and heart.

Here's some info from the net of cooking that heart lol (is it a beef heart?);

How to cook beef heart? - ChefTalk.com Community

Here's a link now of cooking a deer heart. I'd assume it's the same concept as cooking a beef heart;

How to Cook Deer Heart | eHow.com

Good luck!

[Tucker]

[QUOTE=Todd;85179]As a rule of thumb about 10% of the diet should consist or organ meats. How many pounds of food does your dog eat per week? If you feed mostly the EVO you can add up the calories for the week then take 10% of that. This is how much organ to feed. 10% of the weekly intake or you can feed a small amount each day (which is what I do because of the richness) equalling 10% of the weeks consumption in total.


Yikes! I really have no idea how many pounds he eats a week (2 1/2 cups of dry and 1/2 of a big can plus plain yogurt divided in 2 meals but since he got sick have been supplementing with egg, hamburger, chicken, salmon, sardines, beef or additional canned EVO so he is eating more now) - think I'll just eyeball it and give about 10% a day - will probably start with less to make sure he can handle it and gradually increase.... yes it is beef heart - thanks for the link on cooking it ;-) I froze it and will cube it after I partially thaw it and then brown it in olive oil, then braise as it suggested - maybe add a little garlic.
Thanks!

[Todd]

[quote=Tucker;85188]

Originally Posted by Todd

As a rule of thumb about 10% of the diet should consist or organ meats. How many pounds of food does your dog eat per week? If you feed mostly the EVO you can add up the calories for the week then take 10% of that. This is how much organ to feed. 10% of the weekly intake or you can feed a small amount each day (which is what I do because of the richness) equalling 10% of the weeks consumption in total.


Yikes! I really have no idea how many pounds he eats a week (2 1/2 cups of dry and 1/2 of a big can plus plain yogurt divided in 2 meals but since he got sick have been supplementing with egg, hamburger, chicken, salmon, sardines, beef or additional canned EVO so he is eating more now) - think I'll just eyeball it and give about 10% a day - will probably start with less to make sure he can handle it and gradually increase.... yes it is beef heart - thanks for the link on cooking it ;-) I froze it and will cube it after I partially thaw it and then brown it in olive oil, then braise as it suggested - maybe add a little garlic.
Thanks!

Sure, no problem!

Yea, eye balling it works. About 10% per day. My Lucky usually eats about 2 pounds of food per day which is probably similar calorie wise to your dog. I give 1 pound of organ meat per week. I buy in 1 pound containers or close to a pound and use 1 for the week. I mostly use liver but add some heart and kidney occasionaly.

[Ozzy29]

wow, my husband wants to eat at house LOL. He got hamburger tonight...

[CorkyMax]

Quote/Todd: Sure, no problem!

Yea, eye balling it works. About 10% per day. My Lucky usually eats about 2 pounds of food per day which is probably similar calorie wise to your dog. I give 1 pound of organ meat per week. I buy in 1 pound containers or close to a pound and use 1 for the week. I mostly use liver but add some heart and kidney occasionaly.
__________________

Todd--Do you give the liver in one whole meal for the entire week? I have heard you can do it that way but I never thought it was a good idea--figured my 2 boys would get the sh*ts! Also do you buy organic liver? I don't give much beef liver cause I don't want to buy organic and don't like the idea of not giving this organic as that is where all the toxins/poisons go in the live animal! I buy mostly chicken or turkey liver--I figure it is not as toxic but I really don't know for sure!

How much does Lucky weigh! Sounds like a lot of food to feed a day! My Max-the pure cocker who weighs 42 'overweight' lbs.--Should weigh about 25-30 lbs! He gets fed a lot less than the 2 lbs. you feed--and I know he should for the difference in size of these 2 breeds but----Of course Lucky prob. is much more active than my 'house cat' 11 yr. old too. Lucky doesn't appear overweight in your pic--must get a lot of exercise!

[Todd]

Originally Posted by Corky/Max

Quote/Todd: Sure, no problem!

Yea, eye balling it works. About 10% per day. My Lucky usually eats about 2 pounds of food per day which is probably similar calorie wise to your dog. I give 1 pound of organ meat per week. I buy in 1 pound containers or close to a pound and use 1 for the week. I mostly use liver but add some heart and kidney occasionally.
__________________

Todd--Do you give the liver in one whole meal for the entire week? I have heard you can do it that way but I never thought it was a good idea--figured my 2 boys would get the sh*ts! Also do you buy organic liver? I don't give much beef liver cause I don't want to buy organic and don't like the idea of not giving this organic as that is where all the toxins/poisons go in the live animal! I buy mostly chicken or turkey liver--I figure it is not as toxic but I really don't know for sure!

How much does Lucky weigh! Sounds like a lot of food to feed a day! My Max-the pure cocker who weighs 42 'overweight' lbs.--Should weigh about 25-30 lbs! He gets fed a lot less than the 2 lbs. you feed--and I know he should for the difference in size of these 2 breeds but----Of course Lucky prob. is much more active than my 'house cat' 11 yr. old too. Lucky doesn't appear overweight in your pic--must get a lot of exercise!

I feed the liver over the course of the entire week. You can do it all in one meal. It may upset the dog's stomach initially but eventually the dog will become accustomed to it. I don't do organic. Wish I could but just cannot afford it.

Lucky weighs 65 pounds. She is in idea body condition. She's actually very lean with little fat on her. She's almost all muscle. I attribue this to her diet and also exercise. Yes, she does get a lot of exercise. At least 2 hours or more per day. A half hour walk in the morning, a half hour walk in the afternoon, and a full hour to run off leash at the dog park at night.

[Tucker]

Originally Posted by Ozzy29

wow, my husband wants to eat at house LOL. He got hamburger tonight...

....and we had frozen pizza actually I think I prefer that to heart or liver though

[Ozzy29]

Well, to be honest the pizza sounds better to me, as well. But hey, you went to a lot of trouble and it sounded as though the dog was really going to have a great meal. Lucky dog

[Tucker]

Tucker actually loved the beef heart - was literally drooling on the kitchen floor while I was heating it up for him; next time I will definitely not cook it in the crock pot though since we had the smell in the house all day!

[CorkyMax]

Originally Posted by Tucker

Tucker actually loved the beef heart - was literally drooling on the kitchen floor while I was heating it up for him; next time I will definitely not cook it in the crock pot though since we had the smell in the house all day!

Glad he liked it. It is a favorite of my 2 dogs too. You can prob. feed more of the heart at a time than the liver. Some feel that the heart is more of a muscle meat than an organ meat---but it is still richer than other muscle meats! I raw feed mostly now but when I was home-cooking, I just boiled/simmered it in a pot with enough water to just have about a cup or 2 of liquid left at end of cooking time---Makes a good broth to add to the meal or you could pour it over your dog food too. If you cooked oatmeal for him, (Do you feed 2 meals a day? If so, this could be a breakfast meal) you could also use that 'broth' instead of water for the liquid to cook the oatmeal. I use 1-minute oatmeal and let it cook about 3 min.--easier for the dog to digest. I also add a couple eggs to the oatmeal after cooking---the white I stir in as soon as I take oatmeal off the heat--stir till the egg white turns opaque white and add the raw yolk AFTER the oatmeal has cooled down so as not to destroy the yolk nutrients! I cook yams/sweet potatoes (boil) and mash and store portions in the freezer--I sometimes add 1/4 to 1/2 cup to the oatmeal meal too. I put the thawed cold mashed yams in the bowl and when you add the oatmeal to the bowl and stir--It helps cool down the oatmeal. When just warm--I then add the raw yolk. Do you feed plain yogurt--not flavored or sweetened (with the acidophilus, etc)--Need this if dog is on antibiotics for sure but I give it most of the time anyhow. I add a couple/three Tbsps. same time I add the yolks. Then I end up stirring in about 1/2 tsp. of crushed fine (Use a coffee grinder) egg shell for calcium.
Sometimes I add a dash of cinnamon. (Never use nutmeg--Poisonous to dogs!)

About garlic--You know not to feed too much of this. About 1 clove a day--It is a member of the onion family but not as potent/dangerous. You could add some to the beef heart that you are simmering--I'd wait and add very small (pulverized) pieces about half an hr. before heart is done.

I have read/heard not to combine 2 different meats together---maybe it mostly is meant for raw-feeding, I'm not sure! I do combine chicken or turkey liver with any kind of meat though! But I don't combine chicken and beef muscle meats, etc.

If your dog eats any fruit--It should be fed a good hour before anything else--otherwise the fruit ferments/rots while it is waiting for the other food to digest! Can not go into the fine details but it is a cancer causing thing. Think I just sent you an email describing this very thing--Will explain it all better there.

[Tucker]

Originally Posted by Corky/Max

Glad he liked it. It is a favorite of my 2 dogs too. You can prob. feed more of the heart at a time than the liver. Some feel that the heart is more of a muscle meat than an organ meat---but it is still richer than other muscle meats! I raw feed mostly now but when I was home-cooking, I just boiled/simmered it in a pot with enough water to just have about a cup or 2 of liquid left at end of cooking time---Makes a good broth to add to the meal or you could pour it over your dog food too. If you cooked oatmeal for him, (Do you feed 2 meals a day? If so, this could be a breakfast meal) you could also use that 'broth' instead of water for the liquid to cook the oatmeal. I use 1-minute oatmeal and let it cook about 3 min.--easier for the dog to digest. I also add a couple eggs to the oatmeal after cooking---the white I stir in as soon as I take oatmeal off the heat--stir till the egg white turns opaque white and add the raw yolk AFTER the oatmeal has cooled down so as not to destroy the yolk nutrients! I cook yams/sweet potatoes (boil) and mash and store portions in the freezer--I sometimes add 1/4 to 1/2 cup to the oatmeal meal too. I put the thawed cold mashed yams in the bowl and when you add the oatmeal to the bowl and stir--It helps cool down the oatmeal. When just warm--I then add the raw yolk. Do you feed plain yogurt--not flavored or sweetened (with the acidophilus, etc)--Need this if dog is on antibiotics for sure but I give it most of the time anyhow. I add a couple/three Tbsps. same time I add the yolks. Then I end up stirring in about 1/2 tsp. of crushed fine (Use a coffee grinder) egg shell for calcium.
Sometimes I add a dash of cinnamon. (Never use nutmeg--Poisonous to dogs!)

About garlic--You know not to feed too much of this. About 1 clove a day--It is a member of the onion family but not as potent/dangerous. You could add some to the beef heart that you are simmering--I'd wait and add very small (pulverized) pieces about half an hr. before heart is done.

I have read/heard not to combine 2 different meats together---maybe it mostly is meant for raw-feeding, I'm not sure! I do combine chicken or turkey liver with any kind of meat though! But I don't combine chicken and beef muscle meats, etc.

If your dog eats any fruit--It should be fed a good hour before anything else--otherwise the fruit ferments/rots while it is waiting for the other food to digest! Can not go into the fine details but it is a cancer causing thing. Think I just sent you an email describing this very thing--Will explain it all better there.

I am sure he would love that breakfast recipe! I am leery of using oatmeal tho, since he is off grain. I was able to use the juice from cooking the beef heart when I ground it up in the food processor. Since I cooked it in the crockpot I only added about 1/2 cup of water to 1 1/2 lbs. of heart - the broth was nice and brown and just the right amount to mix in...

We used to add plain fat-free yogurt to his evening meal (StonyField) but have switched to the regular fat now and just add it occasionally since he is getting probiotics in one of the supplements.

I think I read somewhere about combining meats also but maybe that is just for raw since EVO red meat has several different meat sources in it - he seems to be doing okay on that and also the chicken version - we give different meat/fish in the canned food also. Thank you for the fruit article - he does eat apples and bananas but we don't add them to his regular meals so he should be okay on that.

I have lots of little baggies frozen with different kinds of meats - but I have been unable to locate chicken livers anywhere - obviously I'm not looking in the right spots.

[CorkyMax]

[COLOR="SeaGreen"]I'm surprised you can't find the chicken livers too! Ask your grocer's meat dept. guys! My Super Walmart (super have the grocery store) has them--Purdue brand I belive and it is in the meat section where the chicken 'meats' are found ---also my groc. store--Piggly Wiggly has them but they are usually in a see-thru round plastic container on the order of what you purchase deli items in--but they are frozen ---Just ask your meat department! And maybe you can get them to save some for you too---My meat dept. saves this type of container full of chicken necks for me. (Not free though!) COLOR]

[Todd]

Originally Posted by Corky/Max

[COLOR="SeaGreen"]I'm surprised you can't find the chicken livers too! Ask your grocer's meat dept. guys! My Super Walmart (super have the grocery store) has them--Purdue brand I believe and it is in the meat section where the chicken 'meats' are found ---also my groc. store--Piggly Wiggly has them but they are usually in a see-thru round plastic container on the order of what you purchase deli items in--but they are frozen ---Just ask your meat department! And maybe you can get them to save some for you too---My meat dept. saves this type of container full of chicken necks for me. (Not free though!) COLOR]

I know this sounds nasty but I sometime will take meat of of a grocery's dumpster Lucky. It's not just throw in or anything. it's all packaged and put in together because it's outdated (not by much). Last month they put 10 pounds of outdated stake there. Still packaged and put in that day so they let me take it free.

[CorkyMax]

Hey! Not only is Lucky-lucky but so are you. I asked for that same kind of thing and they won't let me have it--required by law (and store policy)--Said they can lose their job! It has to go in the garbage---What a waste-law or no law! Just think how much stuff gets trashed every day at all the 'food sale places!' And yet people are starving everywhere including the good old USA! I know this is true at Walmart--deli/fast food, etc. They actually trash cooked stuff after so long (and not very long either!) and this stuff is in a warming glass case. I saw it happen with some cooked shrimp---and there was nothing wrong with it--not contaminated or anything!! They can not mark it down and sell it or even give it to food pantries! :-x

[Todd]

Originally Posted by Corky/Max

Hey! Not only is Lucky-lucky but so are you. I asked for that same kind of thing and they won't let me have it--required by law (and store policy)--Said they can lose their job! It has to go in the garbage---What a waste-law or no law! Just think how much stuff gets trashed every day at all the 'food sale places!' And yet people are starving everywhere including the good old USA! I know this is true at Walmart--deli/fast food, etc. They actually trash cooked stuff after so long (and not very long either!) and this stuff is in a warming glass case. I saw it happen with some cooked shrimp---and there was nothing wrong with it--not contaminated or anything!! They can not mark it down and sell it or even give it to food pantries! :-x

I agree with you. Just not right. My dad works in Kroger though which is where I get it.

[Lara's mom]

I guess I'm the dissenting party here but, I wouldn't eat meat that is beyond its due date so, there is no way I'd feed it to my kids.

[Todd]

Originally Posted by Lara's mom

I guess I'm the dissenting party here but, I wouldn't eat meat that is beyond its due date so, there is no way I'd feed it to my kids.

I'm talking literally a few days to a week out of date.

rather have dogs eat out of date then have dogs starve or not have enough food from shelters. I've even seen pet stores throw out dog food that's just out of date. Even EVO! Why not donate to people who can't afford food or dog shelters???