Can I give a dog raw meat? What heat treatment should a product undergo before treating it to a pet? The owners of the four-footed wards, who decided to feed their doggies with natural food, are often asked these questions. When compiling a shaggy diet, it is important to know how much meat should be included in it and how much should be given to the pet at one time.
What is meat good for?
Understanding the issue, it is necessary to clarify what kind of product in question. Each of them has a peculiar taste and special properties. Since not all meat can be given to a dog, we will only talk about permitted products:
- Beef is saturated with a high content of B, C, E, A, PP vitamins. Cow meat also contains minerals - copper, magnesium, sodium, cobalt, zinc, iron, potassium. Beef is good for blood formation. The product increases the level of hemoglobin and is an excellent assistant for anemia. When asked if raw beef can be given to a dog, the answer is yes.
- Chicken contains a lot of easily digestible protein, a minimum of fat and carbohydrates. The meat is considered dietary and is suitable for obese dogs. Chicken meat is rich in minerals such as phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, and iron.
- Turkey contains a large amount of vitamins A and E. Additional elements of turkey meat are iron, calcium, sodium, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, iodine, manganese, magnesium. There is a lot of sodium in turkey meat; as a result, the product is a storehouse of natural salt.
- Duck meat and rabbit meat rarely get on the table of our favorites. And yet, these products are allowed to be introduced into the pet's diet. They are rich in vitamins of group B, E, K, selenium, zinc, phosphorus, iron, copper, potassium, calcium. Rabbit meat is the most dietary meat of all of the above. It has a good effect on the digestive tract. The meat is easily digested and is indispensable for allergic dogs.
Features of the animal organism
When deciding whether to give a dog raw meat, it is necessary to observe the specifics of eating a pet. The animal chews quite a bit and most of the pieces are swallowed whole. Due to careful chewing in humans, food begins to be digested even in the mouth.
In dogs, the process of fermentation of food occurs already in the stomach. The intestines of the pet are shorter than in humans, the stomach is large, and the acidity of the gastric juice is higher. As a result, raw meat is perfectly digested by animals. However, this applies in most cases to beef.
What kind of meat can be given to a dog
So, the basis of the pet’s meat diet should be lean beef, possibly not even the first grade. It is undesirable to treat your pet with a pair of tenderloin and other types of meat of high quality. Along with a beef dog, you can give lamb, horse meat, rabbit meat. Poultry should be limited to chicken and turkey. It is not recommended to grind all products to the state of forcemeat, as ground meat is poorly digested by the pet.
Which meat is banned
Although the dog is a predator, not all products are equally useful to it. The meat that can do harm rather than benefit is pork. It is difficult to digest and is dangerous for dogs with digestive disorders.
Pork is a meat that contains a high percentage of fat and a low amount of protein. As a result, by eating pork, the dog runs the risk of becoming obese. Therefore, it is undesirable to give this meat to a dog, especially as a main product.
What raw meat can be given to a dog and why?
A fresh product may contain salmonella and Escherichia coli. This often causes the pet to vomit and diarrhea. However, this fact does not mean at all that it is strictly forbidden to give raw meat to a pet. Before serving on the dog table, it is desirable to process it, for example, thaw it first. Raw meat contains a large amount of animal protein, which is well absorbed by the dog's body. The product is a source of minerals and vitamins that decompose during cooking.
Is boiled meat useful?
However, the product, which has undergone heat treatment, has many nutrients. When deciding what kind of meat to give the dog - raw or boiled, you must remember that the latter should be combined with vegetables and herbs. So proteins will be absorbed better, and harmful compounds - completely leveled.
Boiled meat is very nutritious. It contributes to the rapid saturation of the pet. In combination with vegetables and herbs, it retains useful vitamins and minerals. In addition, there are no helminths in the boiled product.
How to combine meat in a dog’s diet
The following foods should be included in a portion of natural feed:
- from a third to half a portion - meat and offal;
- 25-30% - cereals and cereals;
- 20-30% - milk;
- 10-15% - vegetables and herbs.
The ideal option is when meat and dairy products make up three quarters of the diet of an adult healthy dog. The rest is vegetables and cereals. When forming a serving for a pet, you should adhere to such recommendations:
- It is strictly forbidden to give dairy products mixed with meat and vegetables at one feeding.
- Milk should always be a separate dish.
- It makes no difference which meat to give the dog - raw or boiled. The main thing is that it should be either an independent product, or mixed with finely chopped vegetables.
- You can also season the meat with vegetable oil and add finely chopped greens to it.
What about offal?
Despite the rather unpresentable appearance, offal is a very useful product in the diet of a four-legged pet. And all this is due to the greater amount of nutrients than in ordinary meat:
- Offal is a storehouse of animal protein.
- There are many times more trace elements, namely phosphorus, iron, copper, magnesium, iodine, potassium, zinc, selenium, in giblets than in paired beef.
- The tripe contains a large number of vitamins of group B, A, K, E, folic acid.
- In addition, the content of vitamin D in giblets is much higher than in other feeds. Lack of this element is the cause of muscular dystrophy. Fractures, malignant tumors, rickets, autoimmune and infectious diseases are the result of a lack of vitamin D.
- Dogs that live in the North and suffer from a lack of sunlight are required to enter offal on the menu.
- Another advantage of giblets is that they are a source of useful omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. They are known to saturate cells with energy.
- The advantage of offal is the fact that they are significantly cheaper than muscle meat.
Thus, introducing offal into the pet's menu, owners reduce the cost of its maintenance.
In what form can you give offal to a pet
Despite the proven benefit of offal, their number in the pet's menu should not exceed 15%. It is recommended that the dog be treated with offal no more than twice a week. Earlier, we figured out whether it is possible to give a dog raw meat. The same issue worries owners about offal. It is more useful to introduce some offal exactly in uncooked form. So they better retain their useful properties:
- For example, a raw liver is a storehouse of animal proteins, fats and amino acids. In addition, the offal is rich in vitamins A, C, E, B1, B2, D and trace elements potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, zinc, chromium, selenium, fluorine. The liver can be boiled, but for the greater benefit it is better to give it raw.
- The scar is also preferable to enter raw. Vitamins B1, B2, B12, PP and H, minerals calcium, magnesium, potassium, selenium, zinc, iron, manganese, sodium, phosphorus are contained in this by-product, not subjected to heat treatment.
- The lung is the source of a large amount of connective tissue. It is low in calories and low in protein. As a result, the offal is poorly digested by the dog’s body. The lung is given to the pet only in boiled form in small portions.
- The heart contains antioxidants and the immunomodulator coenzyme Q10. The amino acids contained in the by-product help build muscle and stop the aging process. Should the dog be given raw meat and heart? Veterinarians authoritatively declare: yes!
- The kidneys contain vitamins A, K, groups B, E, as well as zinc, iron and fatty acids. Giving the dog this offal, you thereby improve the condition of its skin and coat. The kidneys can also be given raw, pre-soaked and chopped.