Feeding dogs wild game

[atfrith]

I aged last years moose quarters in the walk-in for a week or so, long enough to form a pretty thick rind on the meat. I saved the rind and ground separately, which we mix with the dogs dry food every once in awhile as a "treat". They love it. Also keep femurs and what not. Those that don't get used for bone broth get cut into dog bones.

 

[MuleyFever]

Are you guys feeding the grind raw or cooked?

I was just thinking about this when I processed my last deer. So much waste in the scraps.

 

[Ucsdryder]

Are you guys feeding the grind raw or cooked?

I was just thinking about this when I processed my last deer. So much waste in the scraps.

I took my trim pile that usually ends up in the trash and put it in baggies about 1lb each. Froze them and have been feeding the dog the frozen 1lb chunks. I would think raw would be better than cooked but I don’t know. I don’t see the point of running dirty meat through a grinder either unless your dog is old and missing teeth maybe.

 

[Milestone522]

My springer always gets some cooked pheasant in her kibbles after a pheasant hunt, as she did the hunting and I did the shooting. And I always share the cooked deer heart and liver with the dogs along with some scraps....never thought twice about it

 

[Huntinaz]

Same as most my dogs get bones and scraps. So do the chickens, they love it. Also the neighbors dogs do too. I try to ration the intake or let them sleep outside for a day or two though afterwards

What I should do is ration and freeze as intermittent treats, that’s a good idea

 

[rclouse79]

All my scraps go into the freezer in sandwich bags for the dogs to be eaten raw. They love it.

When we discovered worms in our dogs turds the first thing the vet asked was if we gave them raw venison. Oops. Maybe freezing it would kill them, or maybe your dogs are tougher than mine.

 

[flatlanderhuffandpuff]

Any time I open a pack of venison steak or roast the cat will come by and meow until I give her the trim meat. She can really put it away.

 

[MeatBuck]

Had a pit bull and a fox terrier get into a gnarly fight over a deer leg once. I specifically recall my dad (who was barefooted on the roof, checking the work I’d been doing removing the shingles) jumping off the roof into the backyard and pulling peaches the pit bull off of dusty the fox. Had to take an immediate trip to the vet. Dusty needed stitches and was severely bruised but no broken bones.
Turned out that one of the dogs hid a leg while the other ate hers and then found the hidden one days later.
Keep this in mind, no matter what breed of dog you have.
Never had any problems between them before or after the incident.
Both have since passed of old age but I think I can still smell peaches farts, poor girl would fart, look back at it, get up and walk away. It was that bad.

 

[LostArra]

Had a pit bull and a fox terrier get into a gnarly fight over a deer leg once. I specifically recall my dad (who was barefooted on the roof, checking the work I’d been doing removing the shingles) jumping off the roof into the backyard and pulling peaches the pit bull off of dusty the fox. Had to take an immediate trip to the vet. Dusty needed stitches and was severely bruised but no broken bones.
Turned out that one of the dogs hid a leg while the other ate hers and then found the hidden one days later.
Keep this in mind, no matter what breed of dog you have.
Never had any problems between them before or after the incident.
Both have since passed of old age but I think I can still smell peaches farts, poor girl would fart, look back at it, get up and walk away. It was that bad.

I have two dogs and similar experience with raw meat or deer blood. Just the deer blood on my hitch hauler a week ago caused a nasty violent fight between two dogs that otherwise seem to love each other. (They never fight over food or cooked game treats.)
And it's the reason my wife insists on using a processor for deer.

 

[ElMuercielago]

I gotta say it really chaps my ass when people feed their dogs good wild game meat. I give my dogs scraps and bones but to kill an animal and give it to dogs just seems really disrespectful to me. That said, I struggle finding any real justification for why I feel that way so I can't really argue with folks that do it.

Haha I'm one of those folks! Our dogs are strictly 'family' dogs and not 'work' dogs in the slightest so that might have something to do with it. They are also fairly small so an ounce of meat goes a long way If it were any more than that I might have reservations.

 

[theCaptain]

Anybody cut their femur bones down or dehydrate them before giving it to the dog? I've been giving them to my girlfriend's lab whole and just keep an eye on him, but she sometimes worries about it splintering.

Needless to say, i am his best friend now. Plus i give him all the sheds i find.

 

[bbassi]

I know peole who have their dogs on pure raw meat diets. Chicken, pork, beef, organ meets, etc. While we don't go that far, I can see the benefits. The only thing I dislike about feeding ours the scraps during processing, is cleaning up the pool of drool off the floor when we are done. That and listening to them whine if they think they've gone too long between treats. Yes they are spoiled rotten.

 

[rkcdvm]

Here is a veterinarian's perspective.

I give my dog trim. Raw and cooked. Not really worried about any parasites as the meat has been frozen under most circumstances. Certainly not a guarantee, but neither is most fast food out there either and people eat that every day.

I don't give bones to my dog. She's too spirited on chewing and has no problem trying do down one whole. I've removed a lot of bones from dogs over the years. Some required extensive intestinal reconstruction due to severe perforation. That certainly doesnt mean that other dogs couldn't have them. Mine certainly should not though. But, yeah, giving a bone can turn into a multi-thousand dollar poop storm if it causes an obstruction.

In my experience, most people know if their dog should have bones or not and the ones that I have had to do surgery on , most of them found the bones in the trash and were not given by the owner.

 

[CBreeze]

Contrite is the word

 

[Haggin]

we generally dehydrate the flanks, cut into strips, and the liver, cut into 1/2" thick by 1" strips, and use them for treats. occasionally (OK, rather often) they'll get a nibble or two from the scrap pile as we process.

We also make fish skin jerky (just dehydrated fish skins) for them as well. They love that stuff. I've heard of feeding dehydrated bird heads too, feathers and all, sans beak, as treats as well. Never tried and probably never will though.

 

[robby denning]

A little sensitive are you? My comment wasn’t directed towards you but from the reaction you gave I’d say you are wasting meat by way of freezer burn as well.

I crippled and lost a couple game animals recently, so why don’t we start an internet argument over it? Maybe this thread will get shutdown too.

damn you guys. Quit acting like kindergartners. Let it go


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[robby denning]

Not sensitive at all. Just not impressed by how you carried yourself on the last thread then had the audacity to bust some guys balls because he might have given his dog some freezer burn meat.

To answer your question a couple months ago I gave my dog about 8 pounds of round steak from 2018 that wasn’t getting eaten and needed to go. Hope that’s ok with you.

damn you guys. Quit acting like kindergartners. Let it go


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[Gunnersdad49]

So in Colorado, the regulations say it is illegal to "Fail to reasonably dress, care for and prepare edible wildlife meat for human consumption. At a minimum, the four quarters, tenderloins and backstraps are edible meat. Internal organs are not considered edible meat." Scraps, bones, and organs, would all be perfectly fine for the dogs.
I'm no internet game warden, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express one night, and it sounds to me like the intent of the law is to require the game meat to be prepared for and eaten by humans. Does anyone know if feeding a rump roast from your deer to your dogs would technically be a violation in this state?

 

[bsnedeker]

So in Colorado, the regulations say it is illegal to "Fail to reasonably dress, care for and prepare edible wildlife meat for human consumption. At a minimum, the four quarters, tenderloins and backstraps are edible meat. Internal organs are not considered edible meat." Scraps, bones, and organs, would all be perfectly fine for the dogs.
I'm no internet game warden, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express one night, and it sounds to me like the intent of the law is to require the game meat to be prepared for and eaten by humans. Does anyone know if feeding a rump roast from your deer to your dogs would technically be a violation in this state?

That's interesting. I believe the spirit of that law is mainly focusing on field care, not what happens after you get it home, but the phrase "prepare edible wildlife meat for human consumption" could certainly be interpreted in a different way.

I can't imagine how they would possibly enforce that but it's an interesting question.

 

[Lawnboi]

I make jerky out of scraps, stuff with a lot of silver skin, for the dog. After seeing what a bag of dog jerky cost I don’t mind putting some meat toward the dog.

We really care about our dog too, the venison treats taste good to me, straight ground dehydrated venison. I can’t pronounce half the ingredients in most of the store bought treats.

I have zero issue feeding my dog venison, regardless of what part of the animal it comes from. That protein in her dog food comes from somewhere as does the beef I buy at the store.

Edit my dog is also spoiled rotten. Sleeps on a pillow in bed. Gets rice with chicken, venison or beef when she is sick. She’s part of the family.