# Meat left out on the counter a little too long



## JerzeyGSD

So yesterday my boyfriends roommate left a steak on the counter to thaw. Usually when I see this I put them into the fridge because, well, thawing on the counter just isn't a good idea. Yesterday, however, I didn't. Then, later that night, I saw the steak (still in wrapper) in the trash! I was wondering if the steak that might just be a little TOO thawed out for a human to eat still be good for the dog? Would I have been able to just throw half of it down for her MM and save the other half for the next nights meal and have it all be okay? Or should I just let the steak go in the trash?

If I remember correctly I saw it out on the counter that morning then, later than same night, in the trash. Is a day's worth of thawing just too much no matter what? If not, how can I tell when it's been sitting out just a little too long, even for Jerzey?


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## flyinghayden

I don't think I would feed it raw because of bacteria, but cooking should be fine. It would have sat for hours before it thawed enough to begin to breed bacs, it probably would have been fine for human consumption as well. Feel the surface of the meat. If it feel sticky or slimy, then it probably is too far gone, if not, cook it. And wash your hands well afterward.


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## ahlamarana

Feed it! Holy cow, I've fed some meat to the dogs that smelled bad enough to make me pick it up with tongs.







They like it that way!

I also regularly leave bags of frozen "dog food" on the counter to thaw all day while I'm at work (11 hours). It's not even slightly cold anymore by the time I get home. 

I have yet to see meat that is too bad to feed to the dogs. Maybe if it was left on the counter for like a week I would think twice.


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## flyinghayden

> Originally Posted By: ahlamaranaFeed it! Holy cow, I've fed some meat to the dogs that smelled bad enough to make me pick it up with tongs.
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> They like it that way!
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> I also regularly leave bags of frozen "dog food" on the counter to thaw all day while I'm at work (11 hours). It's not even slightly cold anymore by the time I get home.
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> I have yet to see meat that is too bad to feed to the dogs. Maybe if it was left on the counter for like a week I would think twice.





SSSHHHHH! Truthfully back in the day, I have myself eaten meat that smelled bad enough you had to wear a mask to handle it!!! Probably why my brain is all goofed up.


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## ahlamarana

> Quote:=flyinghayden
> SSSHHHHH! Truthfully back in the day, I have myself eaten meat that smelled bad enough you had to wear a mask to handle it!!! Probably why my brain is all goofed up.


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## ChancetheGSD

I say feed it! If it's only been a day I don't see any problem with it. It's how I get a lot of free meat for Chance.







Mom often forgets something she's thawing and leaves it out all night. Not good for people but Chance sure does enjoy it! If it's something big (like the 16 pieces of chicken she once laid out and forgot :whistles I even bag and refreeze it. So far I haven't had ANY problems with Chance getting sick off doing so.

Like Sarah said, if it was left out for a week I'd think twice about feeding it but tossing it out because it's only been a day is wasteful.


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## middleofnowhere

I would not feed my dog any meat I wouldn't eat. That includes stuff left on the counter too long to thaw. Ecolli is a nasty business - so is samonella & a host of other bacterial infections. The cost of a vet bill for a serious infection will dwarf the cost of the steak! NOT WORTH IT!


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## SunCzarina

> Originally Posted By: ahlamaranaFeed it! Holy cow, I've fed some meat to the dogs that smelled bad enough to make me pick it up with tongs.
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> They like it that way!










Mine get all mad at me when I throw out hamburger that slightly brown. Sometimes I wonder why I change the water dish when there's mud on the bottom - the dogs are always pleased to be drinking out of that dirty puddle on the driveway.


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## 3K9Mom

> Originally Posted By: middleofnowhereI would not feed my dog any meat I wouldn't eat. That includes stuff left on the counter too long to thaw. Ecolli is a nasty business - so is samonella & a host of other bacterial infections. The cost of a vet bill for a serious infection will dwarf the cost of the steak! NOT WORTH IT!


That's my feeling. Yesterday, I tossed a half of turkey breast that I forgot on the counter when we went to the dog park . I came home and it was that weird not quite hot/not quite cool room temperature. 

We were bummed. I hate wasting food -- not to mention the cost. (I planned to make him dinner out of that too). But even if your dog doesn't get sick enough to go to the vet, a few days of liquid poop isn't worth it.


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## Qyn

Dogs will bury meaty bones and dig them up days (weeks) later and have no negative effect. As long as it was for human consumption in the first place and as long as I don't find it at all repugnant I will feed it to the dogs. In fact, if it is too fresh they look at me as if to say "no smell .... are you feeding me plastic!!"


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## JerzeyGSD

> Originally Posted By: Qyn In fact, if it is too fresh they look at me as if to say "no smell .... are you feeding me plastic!!"


Haha! Thanks for all the responses... next time I'll have to grab it before it makes its way into the trash!


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## Lauri & The Gang

Dogs eat poop. 'nuf said.


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## Lauri & The Gang

True story (althought I'm almost too ashamed to admit it) ...

Last year, in the early winter, I had an order of stuff from my supplier. I processed everything but one last 60 box of beef hearts. I was tired (lazy) and decided to wait on it. It was cold enough outside that I wasn't worried.

Then I forgot about it. It thawed, I remember, put it off and it froze again. Thawed again, I put it off, ir got rained on, the top got blown off and then some crows started picking at it.

I'm not sure how many times after that it thawed and refroze but I did *eventually* get it inside, thawed and packaged.

And yes, I fed it to the dogs.


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## Castlemaid

LOL Laurie! If it didn't stink too bad, I would have fed it too! 

Falkor was only 10 wks old and he was sniffing all over the yard for dead birds or mice left behind by the cats. The riper the better!


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## Brightelf

Richard, LOL!!!!!









Lauri, okay, you win.







I was gonna tell my "frozen-turkey-hearts-left-out-overnight" story, but.. you win! LOL!!


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## Lauri & The Gang

Yep - I'm bad!!!


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## Lauri & The Gang

Oh, forgot the BEST one!!

BAck when we had chickens I used to call them Pez Dispensers.

The dogs would follow them around and wait for the chickens to poop and then slurp it right up!! UGH.


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## Brightelf

Hurrrrrrrrrk!!







I shouldn't have checked this thread again!!























Hey, Dr Ian Billinghurst mentions fecal matter as having lotsa enzymes and good stuff. GAAARRCCKK!!!


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## Little Red

Thanks for sharing those stories. I didn't think that this thread was going to be so funny. There's just no topping Lauri and her "yuck!" factor! Sure gave me a good laugh.


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## AniasGSDs

Guilty of leaving the dog food thawing over night on the kitchen counter (forgot it to put it back in the frige) AGAIN last night! ;-) Fed the dogs - they loved it more then their fresh-right-out-of-the-frige kind!


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## 3K9Mom

> Originally Posted By: Lauri & The Gang I remember, put it off and it froze again. Thawed again, I put it off, ir got rained on, the top got blown off and <u>* then some crows started picking at it. *</u>
> I'm not sure how many times after that it thawed and refroze but I did *eventually* get it inside, thawed and packaged.
> 
> And yes, I fed it to the dogs.










Crows? Really? Auck! 

Clearly, none of you have kids with GI issues, like SIBO, that's all I'm saying. I'd be dealing with the fallout (ahem) of bad meat for weeks.


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## Traveltmrn

nothing I can add to this! hahahha. Yes, they like it a bit on the ripe side. I have to hold my breath though. ugh


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## minniesmom

So glad I found this thread! I hate throwing out another container of food I left out took long. Hard to fathom e coli being an issue for dogs… they lick the ground and worse…


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## wolfy dog

I take meat out of the freezer after I feed them so it is out for about 24 hrs. Never had an issue. I catch them in the forest snacking on left overs from a predator sometimes and never had a problem.


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## Sunsilver

I once took some steak bits home for my dogs after a meal at my brother's house, and left them in the back of the fridge until I was starting to wonder what the smell was. I put them in the trash, and left the trash bag by the door, intending to take it outside to the garbage can ASAP.

I forgot about it. My trash hound (Star) got into it and ate the steak bits.

As far as I could tell, there were no repercussions at all! 

But it does depend somewhat on the dog. I watch Dr. Pol on TV a lot, and he often has dogs come in suffering from what vets call 'garbage gut' - severe digestive upset from eating garbage, dead deer carcasses, etc. 

Fortunately, Star had a cast-iron gut!


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## WNGD

SunCzarina said:


> Mine get all mad at me when I throw out hamburger that slightly brown. Sometimes I wonder why I change the water dish when there's mud on the bottom - the dogs are always pleased to be drinking out of that dirty puddle on the driveway.


I laughed at this, so true


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## Galathiel

I will say, it's different if it's a hunk of meat and a grind. I found that out the hard way. I would buy 40 lbs of grind (chicken meat, bones, 'organs' <not really .. they thought they were, but they were muscle meat>). They came frozen in 5 lb bags and I would thaw and transfer to 2 lb containers for storage. Well, the delivery people changed the delivery date to a day sooner. I put it in the bathtub to thaw ... and didn't check it until my normal day ... forgetting it was an additional day now. Needless to say, I hesitantly went ahead and did it, even though it was a bit smelly. Fed the first container okay ... the second, he would only eat some of it (he has never left his food in his bowl in 8 years unless something was wrong) ... Being dumb I thought .. huh .. weird and went to work. Came home to a dog that had had diarrhea all over the bedroom (outside he only poops against a fence line if he can help it ... so ... he pooped along the walls making it that much harder to clean. On carpet.>


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## David Winners

I would regularly leave deer carcass in the back yard when we had acreage in the country. Never had issues.


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## WNGD

**** for get the dogs, every Thanksgiving we have a huge turkey that too big to thaw in the fridge as recommended and it won't under water in the sink as option number two. It has to sit out for a day and half not to be frozen in the middle and I've done that every year (Christmas too) for 30 years. No one has died that I know of....

For dogs, generally if it's not slimy, I'd feed it. Steak after a day? If the dog doesn't have a super sensitive stomach, I'd feed it.


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## NadDog24

If you think about I though, wild canines will scavenge off of carcasses that have been sitting in the elements for who knows how long and they do just fine, so why would it be different for dogs.


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## wolfy dog

WD showed up once with an old chicken back that he had buried probably a week earlier as I know that he had hidden it somewhere. On top of that it was summer! He ate it ( I let him) without any issues later on. I think if they are allowed to eat "stuff" from day one, they build up a tolerance for it. Sometimes you wonder why they are able to digest certain brands of kibble.


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## Sunsilver

David Winners said:


> I would regularly leave deer carcass in the back yard when we had acreage in the country. Never had issues.


One of the funniest things I've ever read about dogs: Dog In Elk
And yes, it's a true story!



https://web.mit.edu/munch/Public/humor/elk


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## Cigar

So, I guess I won't worry about all those turkey patties in the freezer while my power was out for more than 24 hours this week. 
I boiled one with rice & fed it to Maggie. She liked it & no GI problems. Yay!! 

?? Maybe I should start a new thread, but I've been wondering?? - has anyone had problems feeding food that's still frozen? 
Asking for a friend


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## Sunsilver

Heard of a dog choking to death on a frozen turkey neck. 😥 

I'm sure wolves have no trouble eating frozen meat, but not so sure about our delicate hot-house flowers..
If your dog has a sensitive stomach, I'd be cautious with feeding it.


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## David Winners

Sunsilver said:


> One of the funniest things I've ever read about dogs: Dog In Elk
> And yes, it's a true story!
> 
> 
> 
> https://web.mit.edu/munch/Public/humor/elk


That's hilarious 😂

Thanks for sharing!


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## cagal

Sunsilver said:


> One of the funniest things I've ever read about dogs: Dog In Elk
> And yes, it's a true story!
> 
> 
> 
> https://web.mit.edu/munch/Public/humor/elk


I could not stop laughing!


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## Sunsilver

As you can see from the date, (1999) this story has been around a looog time, but it's so funny, I still see it popping up here and there on a regular basis. Definitely a classic!

Heck, I didn't even have internet access in 1999!


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