Like most dog people and owners, you’re all about giving your dog the best of everything: Plenty of exercise, all the squeaky toys, and a balanced, nutritious diet.
But do you know what a balanced diet for dogs actually looks like? Ensuring a healthy dog’s diet is not as simple as picking between kibble or canned food and calling it a day. As omnivores, dogs rely on a wide range of essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals from different sources, including meats and plant foods.1
Organ meat for dogs is one particularly nutrient-dense option to include in your dog’s diet. Organ meat (also known as offal) is rich in protein, vitamins, minerals, and other compounds that help keep your pup in the prime of life. Yet, there are also some important dos and don’ts to know before feeding your pooch organ meat. Keep reading as we dish up all the facts about feeding offal to your canine companion.
What is Organ Meat?
Let’s start by defining what sets offal dog food apart from the cuts of muscle meat that are more commonly found on our plates.
Raw organ meat refers to all the edible parts of an animal’s internal organs, including:
- Heart
- Liver
- Kidney
- Brain
- Tripe (stomach lining)
- Lungs
- Gizzards (found in birds)
To humans, these parts of the body are often considered less appetizing than the muscle portions—but to your pup, they’re absolutely delectable. Better yet, organ meats are often rich in minerals and vitamins such as Vitamin D that are crucial for building muscle and maintaining healthy skin, coat, eyes, bones, and more.2
What Do Dogs Need in Their Diets?
As mentioned above, canines are known as omnivores—animals that are adapted to consume both meat and plant foods to get all the nutrients they need.1 Certain nutrients, in particular, are vital for dogs to get into their diets because their bodies can’t synthesize them on their own. Vitamin D3, for example, is a vitamin that humans can make naturally, but dogs cannot.3
That’s why it’s critical for a dog’s diet to be carefully balanced with the proper amounts of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals. Watching for signs of hip dysplasia in dogs, and other genetic diseases, can help determine how urgently your canine friend is in need of a diet enhancement.
Feeding a raw diet comprised of organ meats is a popular choice for dog owners who are concerned with making sure their four-legged friend has a fresh, absorbable source of all the nutrients dogs consume in the wild.
But what exactly do organ meats provide for your dog? We’ll take a closer look at that next.
Nutritional Benefits of Organ Meats
All organ meats are high in amino acids (the building blocks of protein), but they vary in the amounts of other nutrients they contain. Here’s a quick rundown of what organ meat can provide4:
- B vitamins – Vitamins B1, B2, B6, and B12 are found in high concentrations in an animal’s heart, kidneys, and liver. The B vitamin complex is essential for digestion, cardiac health, metabolism, skin and coat health, and brain function.
- Fat-soluble vitamins – Most vitamins are water-soluble, meaning they’re flushed out in the urine, not stored in tissues. Just four vitamins—A, D, E, and K—are fat-soluble, meaning they’re stored in the fatty tissue. To that end, high-fat organ meats are an excellent source of these four vitamins which are critical for vision, immune system health, bone health, and much more.
- Trace minerals – These include iron, zinc, selenium, copper, manganese, iodine, and others. Although the body only requires small amounts of these minerals, they’re essential to an incredible range of bodily functions, including wound healing, immune function, hormone regulation, protein synthesis, and nerve function. Additionally, organ meats have been found to be a better source of some trace minerals—such as iron, copper, zinc, and manganese—than muscle tissue.5
How to Incorporate Organ Meats into Your Dog’s Diet
If you’re feeding your dog a high-quality, properly balanced commercial food, they’re probably already getting some organ meat in their diet. But if you’d like to ensure that they’re getting those nutrients at their freshest—or you just want to give your pup an extra-tasty treat—adding fresh organ meats to their regular diet can be a fantastic option.
Here are some tips for incorporating organ meats into your dog’s diet:
- Feed sparingly – Organ meats such as beef liver and beef heart are high in fat and other nutrients that can accumulate in the body (such as vitamin A, thyroid hormone, and purines), so they shouldn’t comprise a big part of your dog’s diet.6
- Add to standard kibble or canned food – A good way to incorporate organ meat into your dog’s diet is by heaping a few tablespoons as a tasty topping on top of their regular food. This way, you can ensure that your dog is getting a balanced diet with an extra boost of vitamins, fatty acids, and minerals.
- Store organ meats properly – As with any raw meat, offal should be kept frozen or refrigerated until use. Don’t feed your dog meat that’s expired, discolored, or smells sulfurous or sour.
- Cook to a safe temperature – While some advocate for a raw diet, feeding raw meat to your dog is a risk. Raw organ meat can carry salmonella, E. coli, listeria, tapeworms, and many other nasties that can sicken your dog and other household members who come into contact with your dog’s feeding area.8
Risks and Concerns of Feeding Organ Meats
Organ meats are generally safe and healthy to offer occasionally but use caution if you’re making them a large part of your dog’s everyday diet. Here are a few facts to keep in mind:
- Raw organ meats can carry disease – There’s a misconception that dogs are immune to pathogens that can be carried on raw meat. In fact, dogs can become just as sick from bacterial contaminants and parasites as you can. For this reason, it’s safest to cook organ meat to an appropriate temperature before feeding it to your dog.9
- Too much organ meat can cause toxicity – When it comes to organ meats, there can definitely be too much of a good thing. Because they’re so packed with vitamins and minerals, overfeeding can lead to toxicity.
- Organ meat doesn’t contain everything your dog needs – Organs might be packed with protein and other nutrients, but they aren’t a nutritionally complete food alone. To that end, only feed organ meats as a treat, not a full meal.
And remember: if you’re considering making a change to your dog’s diet—whether that’s going grain-free, homemade, or raw food—always check with your vet to make sure your new diet will provide the right amount of every nutrient your pup needs.
How Can I Be Sure My Dog’s Diet is Nutritionally Complete?
In recent years, more and more dog owners have become concerned about fillers, allergens, and contaminants in commercial foods. Some owners turn to raw diets or grain-free foods hoping to provide their pooches a more natural diet. But these options can come with their own problems.
For one thing, it’s very difficult to create a balanced raw food or homemade diet without expert guidance. Grain-free foods contain alternatives such as legumes and pulses that haven’t been extensively researched in dogs and may be linked to serious health risks.8
So, what’s a concerned pet owner to do? One safe, simple option is to add Vetericyn ALL-IN supplements to your dog’s diet.
This multifunctional dog dietary supplement supports nearly every aspect of canine health:
- Immune system – Contains vitamins A, B complex, D3, and E, zinc, curcumin, and CoQ10 to offer clean but powerful immune support.
- Mobility – Contains all the most recommended nutrients for supporting joints, bones, tendons, muscles, and cartilage, including collagen, glucosamine, chondroitin, calcium, creatine, manganese, and more.
- Heart health – Packed with omega-3s, amla powder, lecithin, and L-carnitine for optimal circulatory and cardiac health.
- Digestive function – Provides prebiotics, probiotics, BioPerine, and a wealth of digestive enzymes to promote beneficial bacteria, support a healthy intestinal lining, and increase absorption of nutrients in the gut.
- Skin and coat health – Biotin, vitamin E, collagen, and omega-3 fatty acids work together to grow a beautiful coat and promote healthy skin.
- Neurological function and stress reduction – Are mushrooms good for dogs? ALL-IN is formulated with a blend of natural ingredients that support brain health and encourage calmness, including ashwagandha, taurine, and our unique 5-Mushroom Blend. Your dog’s brain function and happiness are part of their overall health too.
Are probiotics good for dogs and healthy digestion? ALL-IN is scientifically formulated to guarantee proper absorption. It even increases the absorption of nutrients from the rest of your dog’s diet, so you can rest assured that all that high-quality food is really working.
And with ALL-IN, there’s no worry of proper dosing or providing too much of any vitamin or mineral—we offer a perfectly formulated option for every life stage from puppy to senior.
Be Your Dog’s Best Friend with Vetericyn ALL-IN
Feeding organ meats to your dog can be a healthy way to level up their diet, but it’s not a complete solution all on its own. If you choose to provide organ meats as a supplement, be sure to keep the main part of your dog’s diet a food that’s AAFCO-certified and formulated to provide complete nutrition. Or, work with your vet to create a balanced custom meal plan.
And if you’re looking for a simple and effective way to make sure your dog’s diet is not just good but paws-itively great, reach for ALL-IN from Vetericyn.
Packed with nutrients and powered by our one-of-a-kind patented absorption technology, it’s clinically proven to help support dogs at all life stages. Because at Vetericyn, keeping your dog in peak condition for years to come is as important to us as it is to you.
Reviewed by C. Scott Van Winkle
Scott has been with Innovacyn for the past 11 years and has been working within the Burlingame portfolio of companies for the past 23 years. Scott brings a diverse background to Innovacyn. With an upbringing as the 5th generation on his families cattle ranch, Scott has a passion for animal health and the continuous improvement surrounding agricultural practices. Scott earned marketing and business management degrees from the University of Idaho and holds an Executive MBA from Pepperdine University.
Sources:
- Nature. The genomic signature of dog domestication reveals adaptation to a starch-rich diet. https://www.nature.com/articles/nature11837
- Healthline. Are organ meats healthy? https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/organ-meats
- Metabolites. The role of vitamin D in small animal bone metabolism. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7761812/
- Cleveland Clinic. The pros and cons of eating organ meat. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/organ-meat-benefits/
- Animals. Offal chemical composition from veal, beef, and lamb maintained in organic production systems. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6721235/
- Dog Food Advisor. Should your dog be eating organ meat? https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/canine-nutrition/offal-organ-meat/
- Canadian Veterinary Journal. Raw food diet for pets. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5432139/
- Tufts University Clinical Nutrition Service. Diet-associated dilated cardiomyopathy: The cause is not yet known but it hasn’t gone away. https://vetnutrition.tufts.edu/2023/02/diet-associated-dilated-cardiomyopathy-the-cause-is-not-yet-known-but-it-hasnt-gone-away/
