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Warning! This post contains images of raw meat (not whole animals). It is a blog about raw feeding, I know; this warning is for folks who are grossed out by these types of images.
DepositPhoto/AndreySt – Hearts
I recently got my hot little hands on some beef pancreas! Score!!! When it comes to organ meat, I'm not doing a great job offering variety to my dogs, but this was my shot to correct that and give them something new and healthy.
In the process, I learned three things about feeding pancreas to raw fed dogs that made me realize that my “Score!” had more to do with learning something new about raw feeding than finding an elusive organ meat.
What Constitutes Organ Meat in Raw Feeding?
One of the first misconceptions I had was about what organ meat is for raw feeders. After spending some time in raw feeding groups, I quickly learned that the traditional concept of organ meat doesn't fly in raw feeding. When raw feeders are talking about organ meat (or offal), they are referring to secreting organs.
Organs that Are Muscle Meat for Raw Feeding
- Heart
- Gizzards
- Tongues
- Lungs
- Green Tripe
Organs that are Offal for Raw Feeding
- Liver
- Kidneys
- Spleen
- Pancreas
Everything clear now? Well, let me return you back to “confused” where you belong. If you visit a few of the sites of raw food suppliers, you may see different lists under the organ meat.
Well, let me return you back to “confused” where you belong. If you visit a few of the sites of raw food suppliers, you may see different lists under the organ meat. Like everything else in raw feeding, this is one of those things that people don't always agree on. However, I've found that the majority (or so it seems) follows the guidelines I listed above.
DepositPhoto/voltan1 – Liver
Benefits of Organ Meat for Dogs
We feed our dogs organ meat because this is where a ton of vitamins and minerals are stored. And, surprise surprise, if your dog has a deficiency, organ meat can help. Does your dog have pancreatitis? Consider feeding pancreas. Does your dog have a liver deficiency? Consider adding liver to his meals?
And another thing that might surprise you is that organ meat is a great source of Omega 3 fatty acids. Yeah, I was surprised too. This is why so many Prey Model raw feeders don't believe many supplements are necessary; dogs technically should be able to get everything they need from their meals when fed a properly balanced raw food diet.
Sourcing Organ Meat
One of the hindrances to feeding raw is being able to source the organ meat. Three places that have proven to be great sources for a variety of organ meat include:
- A Local Raw Food Co-Op – I get everything I need through the co-op.
- An Asian Grocery Store
- A Local Butcher or Meat Supplier
- Tripe Organ Blend from GreenTripe.com
- Liver and Hearts from RawPawsPetFood.com
Call around to see what you can get; if it's a cut of meat that isn't popular, you should be able to get it for a steal.
DepositPhoto/Paul_Cowan – Kidney
3 Things About Feeding Pancreas to Dogs
As I shared, our dogs got to chow down on pancreas recently, and they loved it. I attempted to do some research on feeding pancreas and came up short, so I asked my co-op group for tips and learned a few things others might find helpful.
1 Pancreas Doesn't Keep Long
If you buy frozen pancreas, plan to feed it to your dogs within 90 days; it only has a shelf life of three months. This past year, I've learned a lot about expiration days – namely to pay attention to them. If something is too good to be true, it's probably going to expire soon I got a great deal on frozen
I bought my pancreas through our co-op, so not only did I get a great deal, I was warned to use ti quickly, given the expiration date, and given guidelines on feeding it to my dogs. I love my co-op.
2 Pancreas is for Dogs with EPI
If you buy pancreas, not an organ blend that includes pancreas, then you're probably buying something that is to be used medicinally.
The pancreas is the organ in the body responsible for producing insulin (which regulates the body’s blood sugar levels) and digestive enzymes (which aid in the digestion of starches, fats, and proteins in an animal’s diet). If the pancreas fails to produce enough of these digestive enzymes, exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, or EPI, develops.
EPI may affect a dog's gastrointestinal system, as well as general nutrition, and can cause problems such as weight loss and chronic diarrhea. The condition is thought to be hereditary in German Shepherds.
Source: PetMD.com
Pancreatitis, or inflammation of the pancreas, occurs when the pancreas isn't working correctly and is seen in overweight dogs, older dogs, and dogs fed a lot of fat, which is why vets caution against feeding dogs turkey on Thanksgiving (the skin is too fatty) or bacon and bacon drippings.
This is good to know because I saved some fat to make fat balls for Rodrigo. That plan has changed.
“Freshly frozen beef pancreas is offered as an alternative to treating dogs with pancreatic problems.” Source: GreenTripe.com
3 A Little Goes A Long Way
When I asked about feeding pancreas, I learned that it doesn't take much to have a positive impact and feeding too much can damage a dog's pancreas. For the size of my dogs (60-75 pounds), if they had pancreatitis, they would be fed four tablespoons of freshly frozen beef pancreas twice a day. Because my dogs are healthy, a small amount of pancreas is included in an organ/tripe mix (beef heart, lungs, liver, spleen, pancreas with green tripe) I order from GreenTripe.com.
How Much Pancreas Should We Feed Dogs?
I reached out to my raw food co-op group and was told the following:
Feed 2 ounces of beef pancreas for every 20lbs of body weight, divided between two meals (I feed 2x daily). Feeding more than 2 ounces twice daily isn't recommended. Formula: (Dog's Weight / 20) x 2 = recommended daily amount to feed your dog. The below amounts are rounded up.
- Rodrigo: 65 pounds – 6.5 ounces of beef pancreas daily
- Sydney: 80 pounds – 7.5 ounces of beef pancreas daily
- Scout: 85 pounds – 8.5 ounces of beef pancreas daily
- Zoey: 75 pounds – 7.5 ounces of beef pancreas daily
It's important to remember that pancreas has a shelf life of only 3 months.To maximize enzyme efficiency, whip pancreas with a fork or wire whisk to a pudding-like consistency or liquefy in a blender and serve at room temperature.
If your dog isn’t suffering from a health issue, then I recommend the following two products to help with the loose stool; I’ve had great success with these products with Rodrigo:
Olewo carrots: https://amzn.to/2MXePlb
FullBucket Daily Canine Powder: https://www.keepthetailwagging.com/fullbucket
Best.
I need help with my German Shepherd. She is 22 months and she has had loose/diarrhea since she was 3months. Treated and tested for worms, EPI, everything all test ok. Tried all kinds of foods. Stool is loose watery and shinny. Now I am giving her raw beef pancreas I get from butcher. Does pancreas have a lot of fat? She’s about 98lbs I give her 6oz a day. Is this safe to do? I really need help she can’t keep popping like this.
Hi Tricia…
When I order pancreas, I partially thaw the chub (it comes in 2 lb chubs) and separate it into small containers (https://amzn.to/2E9WnUF) and put back in the freezer. That way I’m only thawing a couple of days worth of pancreas at a time.
Hi there!
I got my first bit of pancreas and I see that you said to use within 90 days. My question is once it has been defrosted how quickly does it need to be used? I have one pound of beef pancreas that has been coarsely ground. My other question is does.it have to be whipped/completely blended for best absorption? I have two mini dachshunds, 12 pounds, so I am worried it will go bad before I can use it up.
Thanks so much for all of your great work!
Hi Rebecca
Sounds like you gave your dogs too much pancreas; the dosage amount is 2 ounces for every 20 pounds of body weight. For a 60 pound dog (which is what I have), I would feed 6 ounces daily (3 ounces per meal).
I live in Ohio, and we hunt, preferring natural meats with no chemicals…we feed our dogs the lovers and hearts (chopped up and added to their regular dry dog food) this last time, we added pancreas to this mixture=3 out of 4 of my shepherds have been throwing up yellowish/white slimy stuff for the past two days. Needless to say, I threw the rest of this mixture out. They never got sick off of the liver/heart mixture before, so could the added pancreas this time have been the fault?
Thank you for this post :).
Thanks, Julien
In the calculation, I say that I was told to feed my dogs 2 ounces of pancreas per every 20 pounds of body weight. Rodrigo weighed 65 pounds (at the time of this post) so the calculation would be: 65 / 20 = 3.25 x 2 = 6.5 ounces. The confusion is that I feed my dogs 2x daily, so I would split this between two meals. I clarified that point in the blog post. Thanks!
Hi Kimberly!
In this blog you said 2 oz per 20 lbs twice a day but you also said Redrigo eats 6.5 oz daily. Redrigo should eat 13 oz daily if you calculate twice a day or it’s 2oz per 20lbs daily?
Thank you.
The only serving amount that I have is in the blog post and it’s for a 65 lb dog. I’m not sure if you can calculate it down to 9 lbs or if there is something more you have to consider. I would recommend contacting a company that provides pancreas for dogs like My Pet Carnivore or GreenTripe.com. If you find out, I’d love to know what you learn and I’ll update the blog post.
My little dog is about 9 lbs, and has been suffering Pancreatitus for over a year now, if I can get my hands on beef or pig pancreas, how much could I safely give her daily?
Thanks for the catch.
Lung is not a secreting organ and is not classed as offal. Brain however, is.
Hi Alton…
I don’t follow the 80/10/10. Instead, I treat it as a base amount and balance over time because not every dog responds to those ratios. When I start adding pancreas to Rodrigo’s meals, I’ll just add it with other ingredients and adjust based on his poop and how he responds to the diet.
As far as the dosage, I was told to feed 2 ounces of beef pancreas for every 20lbs of body weight, two times per day. Feeding more than 2 ounces twice daily isn’t recommended.
What is a good amount if feeding pancreas as a preventative? I was following the 10% organ rule, so for my 65lb dog it comes to around 350g liver and 350g other organs per week.
Wouldn’t feeding 4-5 oz daily be way too much, if following the 10% organ rule?
I was thinking about 150g beef pancreas (5.1oz) per week should be a good amount, Or should I feed him more?
Try phyto-synergy by Adored Beast.
The supplement Rodrigo gets is sourced from pork. The pancreas I have access to is beef pancreas from GreenTripe.com. That’s the only source I know unless I find a local farm that is willing to sell it to me. My concern is that I’ll get too much and it’ll go bad before I can use it. Ahhh, the life of a raw feeder.
My German Shepherd was diagnosed with EPI 2 years ago, she lost a third of her body weight whilst waiting for the diagnosis, we tried her with medication prescribed by the vet, but didn’t get a good response with it. It was suggested to try fresh raw pancreas…. within 3 months she had gained weight to achieve the ideal for her breed. I have continued feeding it to her since, we have a few gut problems now and then, so it’s important to check out recommended amounts for your breed. I feed 125gms chopped up very finely or blended down and divided between two meals daily. The pancreas I use is from pigs.
The only difficulty that arose was finding a supplier.
I think it’s for either; if your dog has EPI, I’d start at the recommended amount and adjust very slowly. From what I’ve learned about feeding pancreas, you can end up doing harm if you feed too much so I’d double check on the serving amount before starting.
GreenTripe.com is where I get my pancreas and other foods. They’re very responsive. I’ll contact them today to confirm the serving amounts and update this post. I’ll email you when I have the new information.
Is the chart you have for feeding pancreas. Is that for dogs with EPI or healthy dogs?
That’s crazy. So surprised that people would make it illegal to sell for dogs considering what’s in some pet foods. I’ve read that green tripe is illegal to sell in Australia.
Illegal in areas: goat milk in raw, unpasturized form is illegal to sell for consumption of human and animal in New Jersey here in the USA. I found a farmer that sells it to me because she understands the benefits and gives it to her own dog and consumes it herself.
I heard something about pancreas as well.
Hydatids tapeworm cysts were found in livers and dogs that ate them could be infected and pass it to humans. We had mandatory testing for dogs in the 1960s.
Very interesting. I wonder why it was illegal. I read that selling green tripe is illegal in Australia.
Sooooooo…. I wonder how to get me hands on some organ meat that’s not raw 🙂 Could I cook it – dehydrate it PAWhaps? Would it still have al the same nutritional goodness? You can’t blame a girl for asking….
Very useful post about raw feeding and even when a lot of dog owners are in doubt, more and more posts such as this blog are surfacing, preaching of its benefits. Keep it up!
Feeding raw liver to dogs was illegal for years in Tasmania. Not sure if it still is? Hydatids …
Thanks for the suggestion.
No, I have not. Our allergy vet said that a dog only absorbs about 10% of plant based Omega 3’s. But, plant based may be my only option. My dogs only get organ meat 2x a week, any more than that and their poo gets too black and tarry.
Have you tried Camelina oil? It’s a little more expensive than many fish oils, but it’s a great source of Omega 3s, it has a longer shelf life than fish oil, it doesn’t have to be refrigerated, and it doesn’t have an odor (or fish): http://amzn.to/2coUE0e
WOW! Thanks for this post. I did not know that most if not all organ meats are a great source of Omega 3 fatty acids. I have been struggling with trying to find a good source of Omega 3’s since Scotti is highly allergic to fish.