OK, first let me say that I think this sounds horrible. I was looking for natural grain-free treats online. (I buy some from Leerburg already, but was looking at other sites). Anyway, I came across some treats that are 100% beef lung. Is this a good thing or bad thing for a dog to eat? In all my research re: all-natural diets, I've never seen anything that mentioned feeding lungs (even as treats). They also sell dried venison lung treats. There are some other treats that look like the usual stuff (liver, etc). I just never heard of feeding lungs before. Wouldn't that be considered a "by-product"? Just wondering. Maybe they're the best thing in the world for a dog (although I doubt it.) Ugh!

I feed beef, pork, and deer lung when on hand. I don't feel it hurts anything. I try to feed as much of an animal as possible if I can't feed whole.

If you can put it in your dogs diet, great. If you can't, don't sweat it.

Sounds like a good treat to me!

I obedience and track with elk and deer dried, heart, liver, lung, pancreas. It is all natural.

It's like a fluffy candy for dogs. It's one of the first things they eat when we butcher an animal.

I feed Redhead raw beef and lamb lung all the time. I don't trust the pork where I live, at least not raw pork.

Wow - I have a lot to learn about canine diet and nutrition. Thanks for the info. I wasn't sure if lung would be called a "by-product" or not. Live and learn!

Kori, I'm not sure on the terminology, but I think that just about any part of a slaughtered animal that isn't muscle meat is considered "by-product".

Dogs need organ meats too, so there's no need to worry about what classification a particular meat part falls into.

Lungs are awesome dog food So is just about every other part of a prey animal - just because we humans might not touch it doesn't mean it isn't nutritious!

Take fresh untreated tripe for example: it's actually illegal to sell for the purposes of human consumption (lots of slaughterhouses/butchers won't sell it to you because of that no matter how much you insist that it's for a dog). And yet, fresh tripe is probably one of the most nutritious and certainly the most enjoyed food for a dog!! Lol.

I agree with Yuko (and others on the thread) about the suitability of lungs and other organ meats for dogs. And green tripe: Yumbo!

I do not buy anything that isn't defined on the label. The blanket term "by-product" as explained by the official AAFCO definition (The non-rendered, clean parts, other than meat, derived from slaughtered mammals. It includes, but is not limited to, lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, livers, blood, bone, partially defatted low temperature fatty tissue, and stomachs and intestines freed of their contents. It does not include hair, horns, teeth and hoofs. It shall be suitable for use in animal food.) allows for, and frequently is, products from 4D* animals without regard for how the animal was 4D.



*Dead, Dying, Diseased or Disabled

 Quote: kori bigge

Wow - I have a lot to learn about canine diet and nutrition. Thanks for the info. I wasn't sure if lung would be called a "by-product" or not. Live and learn!

"By-products" is a term that the producer does not have to use when the product is actually a named part of the meat or organs.

Oh of course Connie, I wasn't even thinking of kibble or other processed commercial dog food. My bad!

I meant lungs and organ meats that you would buy from slaughtered animals fit for human consumption.

I wouldn't trust any commercial dog food that doesn't use exclusively 100% human-grade ingredients or that doesn't specify each individual ingredient on the label.
Lumping ingredients and calling them "meat meal" or "by-products" is unacceptable, in my opinion, you have no idea what you're getting - the AAFCO standards are so lax that you could be getting nothing but feathers, poop, hair and horns in the dog food and this would still qualify as "by-products".
Yes, their definitions for meat or meat by-product meal say "does not include hair, horns, teeth etc..." but they do allow for those very waste products to be included "in such amounts as may occur unavoidably in good processing practices".

Since they don't define "good processing practices", it's basically a free for all. The rendering plants can use whatever the hell they please and they're well within the standards. Horrible.

Anyway, the only way to be sure of what you're feeding your dog is to buy the meats yourself and feed a raw diet

As far as treats go, dried lung sounds excellent.

I use home-cooked meats/organs as training treats for the sake of cost, but dry is more convenient and less messy for sure