I have recently started my dogs on the raw diet. So far I have been sticking primarily to chicken. (Breasts, leg quarters, drumticks, hearts, livers etc) I have also been giving them some cow hearts and livers for organ meat.

A week ago a friend of mine shot a deer and I asked him for the heart and liver. He was more than happy to oblige my request and so I took them home and cut them up, put them in baggies and threw them in the freezer.

I was talking about the raw diet with a guy at work who doesn't seem convinced its a good idea. ( he slides back and forth on it). He suggested that the deer heart and liver would possibly give my dogs some kind of worms or parasites of somekind. I initially shrugged this off and then started to wonder.

I am seeking the opinion of the more experienced raw feeders on this subject. Is it safe to feed the Deer organs to my dogs?? Specifically Heart, Liver and whatever else was attached to the liver? (not exactly sure, big ole liver and some other part that looked like a mini liver and something that looked like a kidney or something)

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Worst the dog can get from deer is one of two species of tapeworm. Easily treatable. Mine got a tapeworm infestation from a wild rabbit once, but never from wild deer...and I've been through lots.

Never hurts to give it a deep freeze for a while though.

I freeze all my wild game at 0 degrees for at least 10 days but preferably 20 or more. I feed the lungs and liver as well. The rest of the "gut" is left out for the coyotes where we gutted the deer.

My dogs are all on a worming schedule, they get Panacur every 4 to 5 months. I have the schedule because I have multiple dogs here as well as dogs that come in and out for boarding and/or training.

If I just had a couple dogs then I would not have them on a schedule but would worm as needed.

Ditto-ing what Steven and Carol already said.

Ask him for whatever else he doesn't use, too. Heads, possibly the neck, some hunters don't use the ribs, tripe.

I got some fresh deer meat including organs for my dog. Most of it is in small frozen baggies now, but she has had some that was fresh (loves it by the way).

I forgot about the worm thing.

What should I look for if she got some kind of worm?

Segments, not the whole worm, will show up in your dogs stool.

Fresh, they will be flat, squirmy segments of the worm. After they have been there for a little bit, and dried up they look like grains of rice.

I don't recall anything yet (yeah, yeah, I'm a poop watcher), but will tape worms looks like that too?

 Quote: Nora Ferrell

but will tape worms looks like that too?

Thats what I was describing.

Roundworms are pretty obvious.

A little poo inspection is a good thing. Same class as smelling ears and breath, looking at the teeth, checking the skin and coat during grooming, looking between toes and pads, etc.

 Quote: Michael_Wise

 Quote: Nora Ferrell

but will tape worms looks like that too?

Thats what I was describing.

Roundworms are pretty obvious.

A little poo inspection is a good thing. Same class as smelling ears and breath, looking at the teeth, checking the skin and coat during grooming, looking between toes and pads, etc.

Michael, thanks, once again, for your wise advice. (Sorry couldn't help it.)