# We were just given free meat. Can our dogs eat this?



## counter (Feb 20, 2009)

The Holiday Helper Program just delivered a bunch of free goods to us, to include frozen human meat. We're strict vegetarians, so we can eat the other food, but I'd like to give the meat to our pups. I've fed them raw before, but it was prepackaged and made for dogs, so I knew they could eat that. However, I'm not so sure about these items. I'll list them so you all can offer feedback on what's OK and what might not be. Also, since they're frozen and some items have bones, do they need to thaw first, or can the dogs have them frozen and can they eat the bones?

- Trader Joes Natural Chicken Breast Tenders
- TJs Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breast Fillets
- TJs Natural Chicken Drumsticks
- TJs Butcher Shop Ground Beef 80/20
- Whole Foods Uncured Center Cut Smokehouse Bacon
- Nature's Rancher Uncured Beef Hot Dogs

I've read before that bacon/pork is not good for dogs, and I never find it as an ingrediant in dog kibble or prepackaged raw. Can they have the bacon?

Help if you can! Thanks in advance.


----------



## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I give my dogs pork, unseasoned-not smoked. 
If you give the bacon, I'd go very small portion, like a training treat, see how they tolerate it. Should be no problem for most dogs with healthy digestive systems.
The other stuff looks just fine!


----------



## counter (Feb 20, 2009)

Thanks for the info on the bacon.

Can they eat the drumsticks and bone frozen, or do I need to thaw them out first?


----------



## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Do you rawfeed now and then? I would offer them thawed, but dogs eat the frozen readily too. Many times they will gulp down a leg or thigh if they are thawed, frozen will slow them down a bit.


----------



## counter (Feb 20, 2009)

After we rescued Beowulf and realized each dog was eating $100+ worth of raw food a month, we had to go back to kibble. We couldn't afford $300 a month in raw. We're looking for cheaper, but healthy, alternatives now, so I can supplement with raw or go back to raw 100%, as long as we can afford it.


----------



## counter (Feb 20, 2009)

So I gave them the drumsticks and the breast tenders. Paw Paw and Nara took their time gnawing and enjoying each piece. Beowulf WOLFED each one down in like 3 CHOMPS. He barely even chewed them, including the ones with bones. It's either because he was starved as a pup, or it's the wolf in him (if he has any wolf in him). I hope his stomach will be OK. I'll be watching him closely. He tried to take one out of my hand and nearly removed my pinky finger. He got punished for that! Poor lil hungry man.


----------



## Verivus (Nov 7, 2010)

He should be fine.


----------



## JKlatsky (Apr 21, 2007)

counter said:


> The Holiday Helper Program just delivered a bunch of free goods to us, *to include frozen human meat*. We're strict vegetarians, so we can eat the other food, but I'd like to give the meat to our pups.



I won't even pretend that I didn't do a double take when I read this...:crazy:


----------



## VaBeachFamily (Apr 12, 2005)

LOL J... It took me a second also before I read the list of meat, especially after reading the post title!

I feed my dogs just about anything. They like pork, and we get Pork Roasts and such all the time. We actually had it with the local food banks that when the food was freezerburned to let us have it, but I guess they stopped caring and give it out that way to people *gag*

Never done bacon though, I guess I always worried about the Salt Curing and such.. and my dogs refuse to eat fish unless it comes out of a can or is cooked, so we don't do that either, but any other meat is fair game.


----------



## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

counter said:


> After we rescued Beowulf and realized each dog was eating $100+ worth of raw food a month,


WOW!! I'm not sure what you are buying or how much you are feeding them but that is WAAAAY high!!!

My boy Mauser gets about 2 pounds of food per day. That's roughly 60 pounds per month. The stuff I buy (in bulk) runs between $.40 - .90 per pound so I'm spending around $45 per month for his food.


----------



## kidkhmer (Jul 14, 2010)

JKlatsky said:


> I won't even pretend that I didn't do a double take when I read this...:crazy:


HAHAHHHAHAHA me too ! CANNIBAL !!!

Karma is 7 months old and is 80% raw. Only kibble when we get caught short. I have been feeding her raw everything since about 3 months old. Started her on chicken necks and livers and finely diced beef. Around 4 months she started getting unfrozen raw chicken wings and beef bones ( ribs etc ) and now....she eats anything in sight . Raw drumsticks, wings,crabs,bananas,mangoes,boiled potatoes. I even give her the COOKED ....YES......COOKED..... left over chicken carcass' from roasts.


----------



## VaBeachFamily (Apr 12, 2005)

Laurie, how old is Mauser?

Cullen is a year old, and Gizmo is 10 years old.. both completely different activity levels of course, one very active all the time, the other more in her Golden Years nd lazy  but Cullen weighs around 95-100 pounds, and when he was younger, they said 5 percent of estimated adult weight ( it seemed a bit much) and at his age they say high activity, 4-5percent? And for the less active, 2-3 percent?

Been thinking about this for a while...


----------



## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

4-5 percent is pretty high, you may see runny poo with that amount. Depends on the dogs metabolism/activity levels, though. If it works, stick with it.


----------



## Catu (Sep 6, 2007)

JKlatsky said:


> I won't even pretend that I didn't do a double take when I read this...:crazy:


I thought it was only me :wild:


----------



## counter (Feb 20, 2009)

I meant human grade meat. Sorry. We have small children and we're teaching them that there's "dog food" and "human food" and I forgot I was typing to adults. Haha.


----------



## counter (Feb 20, 2009)

Lauri & The Gang said:


> WOW!! I'm not sure what you are buying or how much you are feeding them but that is WAAAAY high!!!
> 
> My boy Mauser gets about 2 pounds of food per day. That's roughly 60 pounds per month. The stuff I buy (in bulk) runs between $.40 - .90 per pound so I'm spending around $45 per month for his food.


If I could find a way to feed raw that is cheaper than kibble, I would switch back instantly! Yes, they're all very active dogs and are eating 2 lbs a day. The cheapest pre-packaged raw chubs around here are 2-2.5 lbs for $3 cheapest, $4 average, depending on what meat source it comes from. The chicken is $3, turkey is $3.50, beef is like $5, and the more expensive meats are $6-$8 like rabbit, venison, buffalo, etc.

What do you get for them and where do you get it? Also, we don't have a large freezer to buy bulk meat. We'd have to invest in one I guess. How many lbs do you buy at once?


----------

