# How long do you freeze?



## Dejavu

Hi again, I've been gone from these forums for quite some time. To be honest I felt a bit scared to come back, this weird feeling in my stomach.

But... as I said before, my dogs need your advice and experience, you all great GSD people!

ok, so now my question is, how long do you freeze your MM or RMBs before feeding them?

I usually freeze for 5 days, but lately for some reason or another I end up having to give beef steaks of chicken quarters that have been there for only 1-3 days.

Do you think that's enough? Or is one day too soon? Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance!


----------



## doggiedad

Dejavu, you're here again!!!!


----------



## Kevin W

I'm confused on what you are asking here. Are you asking how long you HAVE to freeze the food before feeding?


----------



## Verivus

There's no need to freeze unless it's wild caught. I would freeze wild caught for 2-4 weeks.


----------



## Mac's Mom

I understand what you're asking and in IMO 1-3 days is plenty


----------



## oyalhi

The question is, how long the raw food should be frozen before fed to the dogs. 

I would also very much like to know about this, if at all necessary. The reason why I am interested is that (maybe Dejavu also) my vet said that dogs should not be fed raw. The reason is that the worms/bacteria/etc live in the raw meat. And after they eat it, and get the worms/bacteria/etc and we accidentally swallow the dogs hair, we may get the worm also. That is the reason we give dogs parasite/worm pills, so that we do not get them. The parasite/worm pills are not for the dog, but for ourselves actually.

That is what the vet told me. I am *guessing* that Dejavu is asking how long we should freeze the raw food before giving to the dogs so that all the parasite/worm/whatever is dead and safer to them and us. No matter the reason, this is a good topic/question and I am interested.


----------



## Lin

Infection from pathogenic bacteria is very rare. The dogs digestive system is made to eat meat, if what the vet said was true we wouldn't have domestic dogs right now. Kibble hasn't been around that long yet. 

Dogs have a very acidic stomach pH, as well as a shortened digestive tract. This results in most of the bad bacteria being killed in the stomach, and then expelled before having a chance to multiple and infect. 

There is no need to freeze human grade meat before feeding. But as been pointed out, you do want to freeze any wild game to kill off parasites.


----------



## Elaine

Human grade meat that's been inspected is not going to have worms in it. You pretty much only have to worry about parasites with uninspected meat or wild meat. As I don't feed either of those, freezing is something I don't care how long or if I freeze meat before I feed it.


----------



## Lin

oyalhi said:


> The reason is that the worms/bacteria/etc live in the raw meat. And after they eat it, and get the worms/bacteria/etc and we accidentally swallow the dogs hair, we may get the worm also. That is the reason we give dogs parasite/worm pills, so that we do not get them. The parasite/worm pills are not for the dog, but for ourselves actually.


Also, you can't get those things from swallowing hair. They're passed in specific ways such as handling the feces and then eating without washing your hands. 

And most of the diseases we trea the pets for are not zoonotic (cannot be passed to humans)


----------



## onyx'girl

Dejavu is in Mexico,so the food safety standards are different than in the US. 
I would think a few days is sufficient. I would probably rinse the meat well before freezing.
Glad to see you back Dejavu!!


----------



## Liesje

Elaine said:


> Human grade meat that's been inspected is not going to have worms in it. You pretty much only have to worry about parasites with uninspected meat or wild meat.


This. I sometimes do feed venison and if so, I freeze for at least two weeks, but usually the venison I get is because my family is unloading their old stuff and it's already been frozen. Human grade stuff, doesn't matter to me how long.


----------



## Lauri & The Gang

onyx'girl said:


> Dejavu is in Mexico,so the food safety standards are different than in the US.


This is why it's good to have your general location in your profile.

Outside of the USA I would recommend freezing for at least 3 days for a dog NEW to raw feeding.

If the dog has been fed raw for over 6 months (and they are healthy) their system should be able to handle more things that could occur in the meats - so only 24-48 hours should be fine.


----------



## Dejavu

Thank you for your replies! 
Yes, that's what I was asking, as I tend to freeze them a bit longer just to be on the safe side, but I've been giving them MM and RMBs that have been frozen 1-2 days and they seem to be doing fine.

Thank you all once again!


----------



## oyalhi

I also thank you all for the replies. Short but enlightening topic.


----------

