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Liver! Liver! And Still More Liver!!

BAMCB

Well-Known Member
What do I do with all this dang liver? We've dried some and I've considered making more liver brownies but I am concerned about throwing their organ meats off ratio. Some is fine, I know but how much is too much? Thanks!
 

BAMCB

Well-Known Member
Liver is a tough one. Definitely do not over buy hahahaha.

It was all free from slaughter day. I just hate to waste it. I wish I knew other raw feeders in my area. I had also considered calling some local people who sell homemade dog treats.

Freezing small bites is a good idea too!
 

angelbears

Well-Known Member
My understanding and I have seen it emphasized over and over again. Liver is critical in a raw diet but should be no more than 5% of their diet(including treats). Lucky you!
 

BAMCB

Well-Known Member
AB- I have read that which is why it concerns me. Do you, or anyone, know why that is? It already counts for 5% of their daily meatballs. Maybe I can mix in only 3% next time and use the treats safely?
 

Max's mom

Well-Known Member
Freeze it! I buy sliced and bake it dry. Cut into tiny pieces and use for treats and training. Can you freeze it? Mail me some! lol!!jk
 

BAMCB

Well-Known Member
Freeze it! I buy sliced and bake it dry. Cut into tiny pieces and use for treats and training. Can you freeze it? Mail me some! lol!!jk
We dried it along with esophagus. I could definitely send you some if you like. Heading to the post office today.
 

TricAP

Well-Known Member
Glad to hear you got a good haul! 2nd the advice to freeze in little pieces - either for training or to add as a topper. Or cook it up with flava beans and chianti.....sorry couldn't resist a good movie reference.
 

Iulicris88

Well-Known Member
AB- I have read that which is why it concerns me. Do you, or anyone, know why that is? It already counts for 5% of their daily meatballs. Maybe I can mix in only 3% next time and use the treats safely?
Liver (especially from beef) has alot of vitamin A, which in high doses is quite toxic. Apparently it interferes with the bone metabolism, affects the nervous system and so on. That's why it is recomended to be given in small amounts.
 

BAMCB

Well-Known Member
Liver (especially from beef) has alot of vitamin A, which in high doses is quite toxic. Apparently it interferes with the bone metabolism, affects the nervous system and so on. That's why it is recomended to be given in small amounts.
Thank You!
 

TricAP

Well-Known Member
Liver (especially from beef) has alot of vitamin A, which in high doses is quite toxic. Apparently it interferes with the bone metabolism, affects the nervous system and so on. That's why it is recomended to be given in small amounts.
Just curious where you got your info from and what amounts it listed to be considered toxic? Can you provide a link for your source?
 

DennasMom

Well-Known Member
You can over do it, but I think you'd stop due to runny poops long before you'd have to worry about vitamin A toxicity...

Toxic levels are between 50 and 2300x the daily recommended values... (from link, below)

From: Vitamin A Toxicity in Dogs
Safe and Toxic Vitamin A Dosages for Dogs
The American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) regulates the vitamin levels in all pet food. The group has determined that the recommended minimum daily dose of vitamin A for dogs is 2,272 International Units (IU) per pound of food or 50 IU per pound of body weight.
The toxic dose of vitamin A for dogs has been set at between 2,500 and 113,600 IU per pound of food, but only if this elevated level of vitamin A is fed to a dog daily for months or even years.
 

DennasMom

Well-Known Member
If you want to give it away, check craigslist in your area for "freezer cleanout?" posts... i.e. other raw feeders looking for free stuff. :)
 

TricAP

Well-Known Member
You can over do it, but I think you'd stop due to runny poops long before you'd have to worry about vitamin A toxicity...Toxic levels are between 50 and 2300x the daily recommended values... (from link, below)From: Vitamin A Toxicity in DogsSafe and Toxic Vitamin A Dosages for DogsThe American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) regulates the vitamin levels in all pet food. The group has determined that the recommended minimum daily dose of vitamin A for dogs is 2,272 International Units (IU) per pound of food or 50 IU per pound of body weight.The toxic dose of vitamin A for dogs has been set at between 2,500 and 113,600 IU per pound of food, but only if this elevated level of vitamin A is fed to a dog daily for months or even years.

Denna's Mom - exactly my point. It would take a diet of almost exclusively beef liver to reach those amounts for an extended period of time and other issues would develop long before then. To get those amounts would require pounds, as in 3 to 5 lbs per day for a 100 lb dog and they don't eat that much period. 5 to 7 lbs about the average size of an entire steer liver. JMO I'd never discourage anyone feeding beef liver as part of a raw diet. I'd hate for anyone seeing this thread later to take a statement like that and take it to mean it was dangerous to feed beef liver. Dogs get so many benefits from the liver and vitamin A toxicity is almost impossible to occur in that way.
 

BAMCB

Well-Known Member
If you want to give it away, check craigslist in your area for "freezer cleanout?" posts... i.e. other raw feeders looking for free stuff. :)
Awesome! Never even crossed my mind! Sheesh. I may lower the added amounts of liver down to 4% just to be on the safe side. I do not need to be fighting against runny poops;) lol
 

Iulicris88

Well-Known Member
You can over do it, but I think you'd stop due to runny poops long before you'd have to worry about vitamin A toxicity...Toxic levels are between 50 and 2300x the daily recommended values... (from link, below)From: Vitamin A Toxicity in DogsSafe and Toxic Vitamin A Dosages for DogsThe American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) regulates the vitamin levels in all pet food. The group has determined that the recommended minimum daily dose of vitamin A for dogs is 2,272 International Units (IU) per pound of food or 50 IU per pound of body weight.The toxic dose of vitamin A for dogs has been set at between 2,500 and 113,600 IU per pound of food, but only if this elevated level of vitamin A is fed to a dog daily for months or even years.
You don't need pounds of it to reach the toxic levels. 100 g of beef liver contains about 25.000 IU of vitamin A, which, in my opinion, is quite alot for both dogs and humans. And it's not that hard to belive that someone cold feed this amount, or even more, to a large breed dog for months, or even years, especially as it is very easy to get and quite cheap. My point isn't that people shouldn't feed their dog liver, just that they should stick to the recommended amount, if you're going to feed it every day. For me, it is better to be safe than sorry.