Hi folks,

I've been doing a little too much thawing of food these days for my dogs, and sometimes i end up serving meat that is starting to brown (or grey) a little (not smelling too funky though).

It got me wondering, what is bad meat for a dog? If some dogs eat roadkills or meat past it's prime if they find it, how does that translate to the meat we serve them?

I've been having a random soupy poop here and there for a week, and i'm wondering if that could be the cause...

One dog with mudbutt or both?

Any mold?

I toss it when it smells rotten (rather than just sour) or has mold.

I also have very little problem re-freezing if I realize that I have too much in the 'fridge.

P.S. Rancid fad is a definite toss, for me. It's an unmistakable smell once you have smelled it. Put some cooking oil into a clear container and store it on a windowsill for a month or so, then smell it so you know the smell. You do not want to feed rancid fat (IMO) because rancid (or cooked) fat is not even the same chemical composition as fresh raw fat, and can even be a potential carcinogen. My worries about it center around acute pancreatitis.

don't feed tuna, pressure cook mystery meat

Do you mean tuna in a can? Or do you mean that tuna in a can is pressure cooked mystery meat?

Also, there have been a few times I have fed sardines, mackerel and tuna from cans to my dog and I just now realized that it is cooked.

Is this bad?

 Quote: Nora Ferrell

Also, there have been a few times I have fed sardines, mackerel and tuna from cans to my dog and I just now realized that it is cooked.

Is this bad?

No. Sardines, etc., are a handy protein profile change-up, and the canning means that the bones are past cooked and completely safely edible (even to humans). I like to buy no-salt-added sardines and salmon for the dogs, but I'll go for regular if it's cheap, and rinse it. (When it's $1 a can, I will buy it, salt or no.)

Tuna, not so good. White tuna (albacore), bad. This is a very high metal fish (like mercury and arsenic). It's no better for the dog than it is for you. There's a reason for drastically limiting the tuna consumption of expectant mothers.

Good. I don't feed a lot of canned fish due to what I think you referred to as mudbutt? Funny. If that means runny poop, then that's what she gets if I feed much tinned fish or organ meats.

I will never again feed her tinned tuna. At her size, it probably wouldn't take a great deal to kill out brain cells. I'll eat no more of it either.

Thanks.

ps Connie.

Thanks so much for all the help you and the others gave me when I switched to raw. I think that if you poured out in the floor the most expensive, name brand kibble on the face of the earth, I don't think my dog would touch it. She wouldn't recognize it as food and she is a big time food hound. My ex (with the boxer if you recall any of it) finally made the complete switch to raw/slightly cooked and no more kibble, ever and the boxer is doing great now. Rarely has poop or throwing up problems. As a matter of fact, now that I think of it, she hasn't been to the vet since the switch last year and he had her in there at least every month for some sort of problem from the throwing up to hair loss before switching.

I don't want to hijack this thread, but I just can't advertise enough the benefits of raw feeding. For the sake of spreading the word for the health of all animals.

Edited by Nora Ferrell (03/20/2009 09:52 PM)
Edit reason: speling/proof reading

If I don't gag when I sniff it, its safe for the dog.

both but at different times. It coincides with a new organ mix blend too so that's probably the reason...

I've never did the oil test, but i take a good sniff in the meat i give them...it never smells bad...it's just discolored a little...

Thanks Connie...

If the oil smells bad, it's bad. "Fishy" is different from rancid.