Offal Organs: Why Feed Your Dog Raw Organs?

Organs: you either love feeding them, or you the idea of it makes your skin crawl. If the latter rings true, it’s quite likely you are about to become a convert. Ignorance may be bliss… but our applause-worthy list of every reason to start singing their praises may have you thinking otherwise.

Are Organs Good for Dogs?

Let’s start with why – organs have been coined many things from ‘Mother Nature’s multivitamins’ to being a nutritional powerhouse, both of which we believe to be true. Why? Organ meats (which include heart, lung, liver, and kidneys… to name a few) are like unearthing raw treasure! Think of them like a goldmine of essential nutrients. Secreting organs, for example, can often be overlooked in DIY raw feeding however should be very top of the priority list when it comes to creating a balanced and complete raw diet. These nutrient-dense organs are packed with all sorts of goodness from Vitamin A, B & D to Phosphorus, Iron, Copper, and Selenium. Making them richer in vitamins and minerals than muscle meat, as well as each protein and organ boasting its unique superfood strengths. No wonder most wild carnivores eat the organs first (as they are the most valued part of the carcass)!

So, in short, feeding raw organs is undeniably beneficial for your dog.

Raw Rulebook

For our law-abiding raw feeders out there, this one is for you. New to raw feeding or not – you’ve probably heard of the 80/10/10 rule. These are the recommended Prey Model Raw diet ratio guidelines which suggest feeding 80% muscle meat, 10% edible bone and 10% organ meat (suggested as 5% liver and 5% other secreting organs). PMR is also known as a ‘species-appropriate’ or ancestral diet, simply based on what dogs would eat in the wild in terms of hunting wild prey. This approach can be achieved either with whole prey or ‘franken prey’ (using multiple animal protein ingredients) and does not include feeding plant ingredients.

Now you know the basics, can you guess the number one mistake owners make when it comes to feeding organ meat? Confusing your muscle meat with your organ meat! Here’s how to spot the difference and make sure you don’t get mixed up… Secreting organs such as the liver, kidney, spleen, brain, and pancreas ‘create or filter fluid’ by definition. Unlike heart, lung, gizzard, and tripe which are considered muscle meats (despite being organs) because they do not secrete. Instead, they transport things like blood and oxygen around the body. A simple rule of thumb is to ask yourself ‘does this organ secrete or transport?’ and you should have the answer to perfect those all-important percentages.

Spoilt For Choice

Something we are particularly proud of at Top Dog Food & Supply are the extensive options we have made available for our customers when it comes to embracing organs. You can take your pick from whole organs to our organ mix that contains heart, liver, kidney, spleen, lung, and/or gizzard (depending on the protein). Our HVM (Healthy Variety Mix) also includes 72.5% muscle meat, 10% bone, 10% organs, and 7.5% fruits and vegetables. Plenty to fill your bowls and help with healthy rotation.

Our PMR (Prey Model Raw) range provides the foundational ingredients of a raw diet – muscle meat, bone, and organs. Our Beef PMR recipe contains beef heart, liver, kidney, and lung. Chicken, Turkey & Duck PMR all include heart, liver, and gizzard (birds of a feather stick together) - whilst our Pork & Lamb is made with heart, liver and kidney.

If there’s one thing you take away, let it be the hunger to experiment with the sheer wealth of organs and proteins out there. Variety is vital when it comes to your Top Dog’s health and happiness. PMR diets are typically more likely to be deficient in essential nutrients, however the secret to achieving this nutritional balance is aiming to mimic nature and expose your pup to all the different organs possible (over time).

Forget the bad rap, perhaps organs aren’t so awful after all…