# Beef Heart



## readerchick87 (Oct 23, 2008)

I decided to get some meat for Pepper, I got heart because I've heard dogs love it, it was cheap, and it has the whole muscle/meat/organ thing going on. I've been reading up somewhat on raw feeding and the BARF diet. I don't think I will ever be at the point that that would be for us, but I like the idea of that sort of thing has a treat/supplement to her current diet. Would you suggest that I just get whatever is on sale? I've seen pig intestine, beef cheek, something called tripa, etc.
My boyfriend really wants me to cook the heart first, which I'm unsure of. We are cooking some of it in some way (I'm not sure of what method we'll use yet) because well we want to try the stuff. Overall I'll probably give her some raw and some cooked and see which on she prefers. But back to the point, he isn't worried so much that the food is raw, but that it may have been handled less than ideally because everyone assumes that you will cook the meat.
Also I've heard that we should not let her eat kibble and real meat at the same time. If so, how long should we wait between the time she has had kibble and when she should have meat? And should we give meat before or after kibble?

Sorry I have so many questions. I'm just so curious and nervous.


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## BoxMeIn21 (Apr 10, 2007)

Don't cook it, leave it raw.  You'll cook out all the good stuff. Honestly, it's been pounded into my head that they shouldn't eat raw and kibble in the samem meal. But I think we'll end up finding out that it's one big myth. I would just give it a couple of hours before feeding her one or the other and don't stress on it too much.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

I would definitely feed it raw. As for feeding raw and kibble at the same time, it's harder on the digestive system, and some dogs may not do well with it. But I think a lot depends on the individual dog as well. Another thing you might think of is maybe having one meal raw and one kibble, like maybe kibble in the am and raw in the pm. Just a thought.


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## JohnnyBandit (Sep 19, 2008)

readerchick87 said:


> I decided to get some meat for Pepper, I got heart because I've heard dogs love it, it was cheap, and it has the whole muscle/meat/organ thing going on. I've been reading up somewhat on raw feeding and the BARF diet. I don't think I will ever be at the point that that would be for us, but I like the idea of that sort of thing has a treat/supplement to her current diet. Would you suggest that I just get whatever is on sale? I've seen pig intestine, beef cheek, something called tripa, etc.
> My boyfriend really wants me to cook the heart first, which I'm unsure of. We are cooking some of it in some way (I'm not sure of what method we'll use yet) because well we want to try the stuff. Overall I'll probably give her some raw and some cooked and see which on she prefers. But back to the point, he isn't worried so much that the food is raw, but that it may have been handled less than ideally because everyone assumes that you will cook the meat.
> Also I've heard that we should not let her eat kibble and real meat at the same time. If so, how long should we wait between the time she has had kibble and when she should have meat? And should we give meat before or after kibble?
> 
> Sorry I have so many questions. I'm just so curious and nervous.


When I am feeding it as food, I am feeding it raw.....

I also use beef heart as treats.... I cut in strips. bake at 300 for about an hour, turn off oven.... Let oven come to near room temp with beef heart still in there.... Dries it out. Then I wash off all the grease and dice it up into little bites.... Goes in the pocket without making a mess and the dogs love it...


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

JohnnyBandit said:


> I also use beef heart as treats.... I cut in strips. bake at 300 for about an hour, turn off oven.... Let oven come to near room temp with beef heart still in there.... Dries it out. Then I wash off all the grease and dice it up into little bites.... Goes in the pocket without making a mess and the dogs love it...


Maybe that's something I should try.....


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## readerchick87 (Oct 23, 2008)

We gave her what was I assume about a 4th of a heart, after chopping it up at bit (to reduce the mess) and she of course loved it.
We're considering making stir fry, but it scares me .

If I am feeding it in addition to kibble should I try to mix it up a bit? I don't want to throw of the balance of her diet.

Oh and thanks for helping me win over my boyfriend.

We went and found some chicken liver, and some chicken gizzards. I want to wait a while before I give them to her, I don't want to spoil or overfeed her. Do most of you get this type of thing from your butcher or just in packets?


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

I just get the gizzards at Safeway here. I think they are just considered a muscle and not an organ like liver is. I just get it in the meat section.


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## readerchick87 (Oct 23, 2008)

Will it be okay to slightly microwave the meat? Giving her cold meat in winter just doesn't sound that nice, and normally if they killed something it would be fairly warm meat, correct?

So to those who feed raw either for treats or for all of the food what (general) temperature is the meat?


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

I would just give it raw. As for the kill, in the winter, it may be warm at first, but then when they come back to finish if it's a larger kill, they eat the frozen. So no issues there. I just feed straight from the fridge. I only buy a weeks worth of chicken legs for their snacks for the teeth and keep it in the fridge. Others feed straight from the freezer also. The cold meat doesn't have a negative effect on the dog. They drink their water cold when you give them fresh water, right?

I've really noticed a big difference in Chloe's teeth now. They were really bad looking when I first got her. But I've been feeding at least 1 chicken leg a day raw, and sometimes 2 legs, and her teeth are looking really good now. I did scrape them a couple times and brushed, but had a rough time with the back teeth. Now even her back teeth are looking pretty good, and I haven't brushed. So the combo if the dry kibble for one meal and raw with a chicken leg or 2 for the other and sometimes a chicken leg at lunch when I come home to let them out, it's really made a difference.


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