Figuring out the best food to feed your dog has always been puzzling, adding to the long list of your caretaking responsibilities: feeding, hygiene, dog training, and more. It’s not like you can simply ask them what they feel like eating or what’s good for them, as they’ll only bark or tilt their head at you in confusion. One particular ingredient some dog owners feel skeptical about is liver, as they tend to stay away from organ meats.

However, if you aren’t feeding your dog liver meat, your dog is missing out on some serious goodness. It’s a great source of vitamins and minerals, helping them keep healthy by feeding them a superfood. It’s also something they might find particularly tasty, ticking all the diet boxes. Here’s what you need to know about feeding liver to your dog:

The Benefits of Liver

Many people feed their dogs a raw diet due to its many advantages, of which liver plays an important role. Liver is often regarded as nature’s multivitamin because it’s full of essential nutrients like vitamin A, which supports digestion, and vitamin D, which is crucial for immune function. It also contains B vitamins and folic acid, which both enhance mental and nerve health. Of course, who can forget iron, which is what gives the liver its unique taste? This nutrient is responsible for improving your dog’s strength and endurance while helping them regulate their body temperature. Additionally, the liver is full of protein while being low in fat, making it an excellent food for your dog.

Is Liver Safe for Your Dog?

Despite the liver’s high nutritional value, many people balk at feeding it to their dog. After all, the liver is responsible for filtering the body of toxins, which means that the liver you may be giving your dog might be full of them, right?

It’s important to note that while the liver cleanses the body of toxins, it doesn’t actually store them. Muscle meats have a much higher toxin content than the liver does, which means giving liver to your dog won’t poison it. In fact, it’s a much healthier food to provide them with, mainly if they are organic or grass-fed!

The Kinds of Liver to Feed Your Dog

The fantastic part about feeding your dog liver is that it doesn’t have to come from one animal. You can give them liver from cows, goats, lambs, pigs, ducks, turkeys, and chickens. It would help to provide them with liver from different animals since they all have various nutrients, offering your dog more access to other minerals and vitamins. You can get these at a butcher’s shop, abattoir, farmer’s markets, or dog food suppliers.

Choosing from the Supermarket

However, if your only source of liver is the supermarket, that likely means you’ll be restricted to beef and chicken liver. Beef liver contains higher minerals than chicken livers, such as magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, copper, calcium, iron, and manganese. On the other hand, chicken livers contain more niacin, selenium, retinol, beta carotene, vitamin C, and vitamin D. Chicken livers are also fattier than beef livers, which is something you’ll want to keep in mind.

How Much Liver to Give Your Dog

Lastly, you may be wondering how much liver to give to your dog. The amount highly depends on the other organ meats present in your dog’s diet. If you’re feeding your dog raw liver, it’s best to give them the same ratio of body parts in the animal where the liver comes from. If your dog has never tried liver before, add only bits and pieces until they get used to it. When it’s time to feed them more, give them enough liver to constitute 5 to 10 percent of their diet. If they aren’t taking to the taste of liver, it’s worth considering pursuing dog training!

Conclusion

Liver is a quick and easy way to give your dog all the nutrients they need to stay healthy and happy. Still, it’s best to consult a vet to determine the best amount for your dog, especially if they’re tiny!

The Paw Resort & Wellness Centre is a 7,000 square-foot facility offering multiple pet services such as dog training and dog grooming in Brandon, MB. We employ the highest standards that you expect, and your pet deserves because their comfort is our priority. Contact us today to learn more about what we can do for your dog!