# Raw Beef Liver? Walnuts?



## Bearjing (Oct 24, 2008)

I have two dog food questions. 

First - Walnuts: Are they OK?

The other night, my SO was eating walnuts and gave a couple to our dogs. The dogs *loved* them. Our pup Boudi particularly likes them, eating them almost ravenously. He's of a mind to use them as treats now - obviously not like a ton of them, but now and again. 

I know they are high fat, and high phosphorus (kidney stones I guess?)... what I want to know is, are they actually *poisonous*. I've heard about a fungus on the ones that fall from trees, and I guess black walnuts are particularly bad, but is this stuff a problem with packaged 'ready to eat' walnuts?

Second - Raw Beef Liver?

When I was wandering around reading about dogs and poisons, I found someone that said raw beef liver is bad for dogs. Is this true? I know I shouldn't believe everything I read, and this one seems kind of crazy, but now I'm worried and I'm totally going to be avoiding feeding them liver until I learn more about it. Isn't beef liver sort of a BARF standard? I've definitely fed my girls raw beef liver before - I have some waiting in the freezer now. Is it really bad for them?


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## zimandtakandgrrandmimi (May 8, 2008)

Bearjing said:


> I have two dog food questions.
> 
> First - Walnuts: Are they OK?
> 
> ...


don't know About walnuts but beef liver is a staple of a prey model raw diet which is what I feed. it is very very good for the dogs..


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## pattymac (Oct 11, 2008)

Don't know about walnuts but beef liver is great for dogs. Just be careful how much you give, it can give them the runs, especially if they're not used to eating it. I think the percentage is about 5% of their diet.


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## Bearjing (Oct 24, 2008)

Thanks guys for helping me feel OK about the liver again. I don't use liver as their staple food certainly, but they enjoy getting some from time to time. They haven't had digestive issues from it yet, although they're pretty hardened to raw stuff by now I guess, and I don't give them liver daily. I would guess that when they get it, it's probably 50% of their meal, but they only get it once every week or two.

I'm glad to hear it's OK. It sounded so weird... but sometimes I get the irrational nerves where my pups are concerned.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

I wouldn't feed walnuts. It's not good for the dogs, and I do believe it's one that could kill a dog if too much is eaten. And because of high phosphorus levels, could possibly lead to kidney stones as well. As for liver, it's excellent for dogs, as long as you don't feed too much. Like said above, it's only about 5% of the dogs diet. The rest of the diet should be meat and bone.



> http://www.lacetoleather.com/fataltodogs.html
> Walnuts. When dogs eat the seed hulls, they can get an upset stomach and diarrhea. The real problem is the fungus or mold that attacks walnuts after they get wet (from rain or sprinklers), which produces toxins. If the fungus or mold is ingested by your dogs, they can become very ill and possibly die. Signs that should alert you to walnut poisoning are vomiting, trembling, drooling, lack of coordination, lethargy, loss of appetite, and jaundice indications such as yellowing eyes and gums. Severely affected dogs can produce blood-tinged vomit or stools. Dogs can take several days to exhibit serious signs of illness.
> 
> Raw liver or too much cooked liver (three servings a week) can lead to vitamin A toxicity. This can cause deformed bones, excessive bone growth on the elbows and spine, weight loss, and anorexia. Check the label of your canned dog food to be sure that it does not contain liver if you are giving your dog liver also.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

Liver is toxic in large amounts. Too much Vitamin A. 

Don't ever feed your dogs polar bear liver! 30-60 grams can kill a human. That is only about 1-2 ounces.


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## Bearjing (Oct 24, 2008)

Thanks all for the Vitamin A warning. 

I didn't realize Vitamin A toxicity was one of the (potential) issues with beef liver, but I do understand how fat soluble vitamins like vitamin A build up in the system while the water solubles do not.

I tried finding toxicity levels for Vit A, but wasn't successful. It does sound like the 5% of diet mark is a healthy level without this risk. I think I'll aim for that.



Kathyy said:


> Liver is toxic in large amounts. Too much Vitamin A.
> 
> Don't ever feed your dogs polar bear liver! 30-60 grams can kill a human. That is only about 1-2 ounces.


I had no idea! I don't live anywhere I expect to find polar bear liver, but I am glad to have the information anyway. If I had ended up in Alaska with my ladies, I probably wouldn't have thought twice about it. Wow, I had no idea!

LoneBlueWolf, It sounds like you might know something about Raw diets. I have been feeding my girls this way for only a few weeks. Of course, they love it. (Bones & meat both of course) Question - Is the 5% generally the recommendation for the level of organ meats in a raw diet? I have been "mixing it up" for them to try and achieve a balance, but my level of precision is relatively low.

Oh - 1 last thing. It's sounding like the risk / reward ratio for walnuts just isn't there... I have no desire to risk my girls lives over a nut. There are plenty of other things they enjoy as treats.


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