# Organ Meat Woes



## CUTiger (Feb 24, 2010)

Short intro...long time follower, first time poster. My wife and I adopted a 5 year old rescue GSD named Macy a couple of months ago and went straight to feeding her a raw diet. She has been doing great with it so far and loves it.

...Except for organ meats! I've tried several species of liver and kidney and no matter what she will spit them out next to her plate. If I mince them REALLY well and mix it in with whatever ground MM I'm feeding she'll eat it but if there's a piece big enough for her to notice she spits it out. It's like a child with onion. After thanksgiving I tried turkey gizzards which she actually liked but I found out later that those aren't considered OM. Darn.

Long story short I found a post from 2012 that had a couple of recommendations one of which I already knew to do which was mince and hide. The other was freezing but Macy is picky about eating things that are too cold as well. Does anyone have any other suggestions so that I can stop having to mince liver all of the time? Thanks!


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Will she eat liver if you cook it? You can get her used to eating it cooked, then gradually cook it less and less until it is practically raw. If that doesn't work, cooked liver is still better than no liver at all. 

Have you tried different type of livers? Pork, chicken, turkey? My guy loves liver, but not duck or turkey liver - weird!


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## CUTiger (Feb 24, 2010)

Castlemaid said:


> Will she eat liver if you cook it? You can get her used to eating it cooked, then gradually cook it less and less until it is practically raw. If that doesn't work, cooked liver is still better than no liver at all.
> 
> Have you tried different type of livers? Pork, chicken, turkey? My guy loves liver, but not duck or turkey liver - weird!


I will try cooking it tomorrow, thanks for the idea! As for types, I've tried turkey and chicken liver. I believe liver flavor varies depending on the animal it's from and what that animals diet is so being picky about type makes sense. Any concerns for using deer liver? I have a couple of friends who hunt that get me ground venison when they have extra so I'm sure i could get that as well.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

I haven't heard of any issues with Deer liver - you might want to do some research on that yourself first though, just to be sure. Lots of info on raw feeding on the internet, though a lot of it is quite contradictory. In some areas, Deer can be infected with different diseases, so again, do you research about the health of your local deer population.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

mine is weird. He will eat ground and mixed liver, kidney, spleen. But will pick whole liver out and spit it out of the bowl.


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## Springbrz (Aug 13, 2013)

Mine is the same way about organ meats. All of them, not just liver. I used to have to cook it. Over time she has learned to eat it raw but I do have to cut it into very small pieces or whiz it the food processor or it gets left on the dish.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

I struggle with my oldest. She eats around organs, takes them out of the bowl and just refuses them. Mincing works most of the time. I have found a couple pre made raw whole prey items that she will eat with no problems, it has to be completely unnoticeable. Sometimes I think she knows what is coming based on how long it takes be to get the food ready. If I move really fast and hide it, we are good.


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

CUTiger said:


> Any concerns for using deer liver? I have a couple of friends who hunt that get me ground venison when they have extra so I'm sure i could get that as well.


We have a neighbor who gives us his deer left-overs but he always has them tested first.

Per Center For Disease Control: " Hunters must consider many factors when determining whether to eat meat from deer and elk harvested from areas with CWD, including the level of risk they are willing to accept. Hunters harvesting wild deer and elk from areas with reported CWD should check state wildlife and public health guidance to see whether testing of animals is recommended or required in a given state or region. In areas where CWD is known to be present, CDC recommends that hunters strongly consider having those animals tested before eating the meat." https://www.cdc.gov/prions/cwd/prevention.html


Cooking should do the trick! Then puree it. You can even add a little garlic powder for more flavor!

Moms


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## Heartandsoul (Jan 5, 2012)

I also had to cook liver at first. I always got the impression that it was the consistency. He will eat anything now but toppings also helped. If your girl does ok with a little bit of cheese, you can try grating some really good parmesean or romano over the meal or mix some tripe in with it.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Or give the liver first when she is hungry and wait her out before you offer the main dish. Tough love often works. Same with the kids; you don't like your broccoli? Well, then you are not hungry and are free to go play.
You could check out Home. They have an organ mixture that may help you.


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## CUTiger (Feb 24, 2010)

Sounds like I'll be mincing liver and hiding it for a while since that seems to be what works. She does like cheese and does well with it so I'll try that. Of course she may like it too much and start to only eat her meal with cheese. Also I've decided that I disliked cooking it more than I dislike mincing it. Haha. 

As for the deer it's good to know that I have another option if/when chicken and turkey liver is not readily available. Luckily there have been no cases of CWD in South Carolina, I believe that's still mostly a Midwest issue as well. 

Thanks for all of the great information so far!


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