All pet owners, including dog owners, worry about what they are feeding their beloved pets. What they eat directly affects their health. As such, owners need to be especially careful. For new dog owners, one thing they wonder a lot about is how to prepare raw liver for dogs properly.
They think about preparing raw liver because they might have heard that dogs can eat raw liver. Therefore, they might wonder why they need to prepare it. Also, it’s weird for some to feed their dogs a secreting organ.
In our article, we will answer all your questions about feeding and preparing raw liver for dogs of all ages. The article will contain information about how much raw liver dogs can eat, its benefits, and the different ways to prepare raw liver. Once you have read the whole article, you will be more convinced to feed your pup or dog a secreting organ in tasty ways.
Are Livers Good For Dogs?
Before you start figuring out how to prepare raw liver for your dog, you must learn just how safe it is to give it to your dog. The clear answer is that dogs can eat secreting organs like raw liver.
In fact, it should be a part of your dog’s daily diet. Raw and prepared livers have many health benefits.
Here are some of those benefits:
It’s a Superfood for Dogs
Our recommendation for the best liver is beef, as it has the most amount of essential nutrients for dogs, like vitamins (B12 and riboflavin), minerals (zinc, iron, copper), and even amino acids.
All of these nutrients immensely support a dog’s health. In addition, raw liver boosts a dog’s immune system and enhances its skin, fur, and overall energy level.
Supports Liver Health
Aside from having vital nutrients, the raw or prepared liver has many natural antioxidants like selenium and vitamin A. These antioxidants both support and boost their liver’s detoxification processes.
If your dog’s liver isn’t functioning at peak condition, you might want to go to a veterinarian to learn just how much more liver you might need to give it.
Improves Digestion
The properties of the raw or cooked liver you feed your dogs can aid their digestion. The liver has properties like enzymes that improve their digestion and help them absorb nutrients much better.
As such, having small amounts of liver daily can be really helpful for your dogs.
Increases Dog’s Palate
Not all dogs enjoy having kibble constantly, even if you switch them around. Also, some dogs don’t live having things like chicken or vegetables.
So, adding a bit of liver from beef or another animal can be really helpful. Dogs tend to find liver really palatable since it has strong flavors.
So, dogs that are picky eaters will be more likely to eat their meals if they see or smell liver in their food bowl.
How Much Liver Should I Give My Dog?
Before we figure out how much raw liver to give to dogs, we need to learn how much secreting organs you should provide to dogs. The answer for both are connected to one another.
How much of any organ you give your dog daily is connected to their weight and, in some cases, their breed. We have found that looking at the dog’s weight is more useful.
So here is a calculation you should do to figure out how much liver you should feed your dog daily. Remember, the answer will be in ounces.
All you need to do is divide their weight by 100, then multiply it by 2.5. Why 2.5?
Because 2.5% is the maintenance percentage that allows the dog to stay at their current weight.
If your female dog is pregnant, the maintenance percentage increases to 4%. For overweight dogs, it decreases to 2%.
For example, my dog Sam weighs 60lb. Here is the calculation I follow daily.
60/100 = 0.6 * 2.5 = 1.5lb = 24oz * 5% = 1.2oz
Therefore, Sam must eat 1.2oz of liver and another 1.2oz of some secreting organ. I feed him twice, so he has 0.6oz of liver per meal.
What Other Types of Secreting Organ Should I Give My Dog?
As stated above, dogs should have 10% daily secreting organs to stay healthy. What other type of secreting organ can you give your dog besides the liver? Here are some examples to help you out:
● Brains
● Eyes
● Spleen
● Thymus
● Pancreas
● Kidneys
● Testicles & ovaries
The liver needs to be half of all secreting organs you feed, so the other half can be anything from above. But don’t repeat too much and change the other half frequently.
How To Prepare Raw Liver For Dogs?
At this point, you know most of all there is to know about feeding raw liver to dogs. So, it’s time to move on to learning to prepare them for dogs. We will cover boiling them, baking them, and cooking a full meal with the.
Boiled Chicken Liver
The first method in our how to prepare raw liver for dogs article is the basic boiled chicken liver method. You will need one or ten chicken livers and some water for this first method.
1. Place the chicken livers in a bowl, clean them with cool water, and soak them for 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Drain the bowl and dry the livers with a paper towel.
3. Place a pot on the stove and put the livers in it. Please don’t add salt or butter, which might upset your pup’s stomach.
4. Add water to the pot. It should cover the livers, about 1 inch or 2.5 cm. Start to heat up the pot and boil the livers.
5. Once the water is temp, turn down the heat and let the livers simmer. For chickens, you will need 10-15 mins, and for beef livers, you will need to wait 30-50 mins.
6. After they are cooked, drain the pot and cool the livers in the pot or another bowl.
7. Cut the livers into cubes and serve the appropriate amount in the doggy bowl.
8. Put the rest in an airtight container for about two days. These will stay good for up to four months in the freezer.
Baked Beef Liver
The second way to prepare raw liver for dogs is to use beef liver, which will be baked. All you will need is raw livers. The process should take about 30 minutes only.
1. Set up your oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit or 120 Celsius.
2. Put the liver in a baking tray. Put foil both on the top and bottom of the liver. This will stop the liver from burning.
3. Cook the liver in the oven for 15 minutes with the top foil on and remove it before cooking it for another 10 minutes.
4. Remove and cool the liver. Once cool, cut the liver into small pieces. Serve the correct amount to your pup.
5. Put the rest in an airtight container, then store it in the freezer.
Cooked Beef Liver With Vegetables And Oats
The third recipe on how to prepare raw liver for dogs will be a complete meal. For this recipe, you will need a pound of beef liver, a sweet potato, a carrot, chickpeas, olive oil, and water.
1. Cut your raw beef liver into small pieces. Add the details to a skillet with some olive oil. Cook on medium heat until the liver is browned.
2. Cut your sweet potato and carrot into small pieces as the liver cooks. Mash half your chickpeas. Add the vegetable into another pot and add water. Boil everything until cooked, but still has a crunch.
3. Allow everything to cool down. Add everything in a doggy in the correct measurement. And Serve!
4. Put the rest in an airtight container, then store it in the freezer.
Conclusion
That’s all we have to say on preparing raw liver for dogs of all sizes and breeds. We hope you have learned something and that it’s useful. Caring for a dog is extremely important since these animals love us.
Call your veterinarian before changing your dog’s diet if you have any concerns.
Patricia White is a pet enthusiast. With 10 years of experience in the pet industry, she brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to MeToPet. She is honored to be a part of the MTP team and is dedicated to sharing her passion for pets with our readers.
