Venison for dogs experiences.

Sure.
Caribou, Moose, Seal, pieces, bones and scraps, along with Salmon, Whitefish are what my dogs live off , year round, as does almost every dog in my village.
Eskimo' have been feeding Husky's this stuff since people arrived in North America, and the Malamuit (local) Huskys are not only large and strong, they were bread to be incredibly ''nice'' , for lack of a better word.

Any Husky here that bites a person, Dies. That attitude has made a very person friendly breed.

Avoid cooked bird bones. Old timers made needles out of cooked and broken bird bones before steel needles were introduced, the dogs chewing can effect that.

Frozen meats are fine, but we give out dogs a boost fats, oils and blubber when its below Zero out

Raw meat can contain parasite eggs and larvae, as well as bacteria. Feeding raw meat can result in parasite infections and vomiting and diarrhea from bacteria in pets just like it does in humans. Perhaps not a problem for dogs that live all their lives outside, but it can be problematic for housepets. A diet limited to raw meat probably will not contain all the nutrients a dog needs. Wild carnivores will consume some of their prey's intestinal contents and bones as well as the skeletal muscle tissue, and get some mineral and veggie matter that way.

I'm not sure why you are attracted to "feeding raw", but it does have some potential downsides to consider. Good luck with whatever you decide.

To clarify, its best to dry Salmon, and other fish, in summer and freeze fish in winter, as both kill parasitic worms and such. Raw, fresh Salmon will always get barfed up.

Caribou carry only a liver fluke, and when cooked, thats not a problem, but feeding them raw muscles, fats and bones is no problem, any time of year.
In winter , we cook for the dogs, and they eat ''soup'' which is basically ice thawed and fish/meats added to thaw them more than cook them, and it a great way to fed and water the dogs, every morning.

On the trail, dogs get dried fish, seal oil/blubber and eat snow as they go.

Once frozen, I toss fish/chunks for the dogs to snack on ,frozen, in winter.

In Winter and Summer they get organs, and such and thats exactly what balances their diets, as noted in the post above, and that's just like people, you have to eat most all the animal not to be vitamin deficient.

I would ease any new type diet change on a dog and see what happens.
These dogs have known nothing else for 10,000 years around here, and there's 99% fewer dogs now that dogteam days are over. A working dog in the Arctic eats as much as a man.

beeb173 said:

Thanks for your response.

My reasons for wanting to feed my dog venison is to use the whole deer and my dog has allergies inherent in the breed that I’ve heard eating raw could address. At this point I’m just researching.
Would a butcher mix parts of the deer together that a dog would need? Brain, liver, muscle etc.

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The rational approach to allergy treatment is to identify the specific allergens that the individual is sensitive to, and then devise a diet/treatment that avoids the triggering allergens. Testing for allergens can be performed at some veterinary clinics and most veterinary colleges. It may not be cheap and can frequently be frustrating, but allergy testing gives a better chance for success than recommendations based on anecdotal experiences. What works for one individual (human or animal) may not work for another.

I admire folks who make extra effort for their pets. Good luck and give us updates on your progress.

(DVM University of Missouri 1978, 24 years private small animal practice experience)

My neighbor is a butcher, my yard looks like a horror film at times, my dogs are very happy healthy critters, biggest problem is sometimes they sneak some pretty nasty treats inside

J-Bar said:

Raw meat can contain parasite eggs and larvae, as well as bacteria. Feeding raw meat can result in parasite infections and vomiting and diarrhea from bacteria in pets just like it does in humans. Perhaps not a problem for dogs that live all their lives outside, but it can be problematic for housepets. .

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Raw meat can be a source of parasites, but most dogs get worms from sniffing somebodies else's poo at the dog park. Regular worming is the only way to keep parasites at bay. Most dogs will get diarrhea not from the bacteria in meat, but because they eat too much at one time and their innards cannot process it correctly......thus they get the fast-trots. Biggest problem I see here is someone looking to get "rid" of their venison because they themselves don't like or want to eat it. I doubt it has anything to do with giving the dog a healthier diet.

Only venison my dogs get is the scraps after I am finished butchering. The meat gets ground and then cooked. I store it in the freezer and use it as supplement in the regular dry food. They love the blood shot meat along with heart and liver all ground and cooked. I do know one family that gave there dogs chicken thighs. When they asked me to watch them for a month while on vacation I didn't bother cooking and removing the meat from the bones. I cooked them one package at a time and then run them whole through my grinder. Used the fine grind plate. Bones just added extra minerals for them.

I buy top quality dry food for my dogs and it keeps them very healthy. It is also convenient. I don't have to buy a tag for it, hunt for it, gut it, skin it, drag it, butcher it, package it, buy another freezer for it, freeze it, pack it in a cooler when I travel, remember to thaw it and then unwrap it before I feed it. Aside from all that, even a medium size dog would eat at least a pound per day, maybe two. That's a lot of deer in a years time.

My dogs get all my random animal bits. Goats, deer, sheep, pigs....stuff.
Mostly bone and I cook it all first.
I mostly leave the ankles on legs and don't usually take ribs so they get some meat with the bones.

Before I had kids I probably killed 3-4 animals a month, so they had a decent supply.

Now it's a treat lol.

Venison makes the feist in my avatar fart horribly! But she craves it. She blood tracks deer. I let her “track” the one in the avatar for practice. Like a heat seeking missile.

I butcher my own, and I give my critters about 3-5 pounds a day. They get a lot of the fat, and the tougher cuts. If it’s a buck they get the neck too. Something about rutting and fighting makes the neck more gamey, I’m not sure if there are glands there or what. I have always just put the dog meat in a trash bag in the garage fridge, inside of a small plastic box that won’t leak. They get handfuls til it’s gone. They know to sit about 10 feet away and be patient... kinda like when I’m grilling, or eating outside on the deck.

Had the opportunity to discuss this with a local warden just this week who was monitoring a CWD collection site. He claims that since CWD was found in the local herd, that donations to the local food pantry and the idea of "feeding one's dog raw" was on the increase. While according to him it is legal to feed legally harvested deer to one's dog, he thinks it's poor ethics and suggests one give the deer to the local food pantry instead, if the hunter themselves do not like to eat venison. He stated that he himself contacts several different folks about car killed/poached and/or un-retrieved legally shot deer for feeding dogs raw, but that is only when the deer itself is not fit for human consumption and will go to waste otherwise. He still suggests tho, in areas like ours where CWD is present, to have the animal tested before feeding it to one's dogs, as the prions found in the bones/glands/organs can survive in/on the ground where the meat was eaten for decades(One principle idea behind the "raw" feeding of dogs is the inclusion of bones, glands and organs). It's also very difficult to sanitize any utensils used for processing a deer infected with CWD, especially those used to cut thru bone/spine/connective tissue. I truly doubt if there is any secret to feeding dogs "raw meat" other than moderation and making sure to include other foods to round out the diet such as raw veggies. I am under the impression that eggs should also be fed raw under such a diet. I am also under the impression that the premise of a "raw" diet is to exclude chemicals and toxins found in some commercial dog food. Supporters of this diet tout that animals are healthier and have more energy. Many mainstream veterinarians disagree, as does the FDA. In their opinion and mine, good quality commercial dog food is just as good as any "raw" diet, if not better. But everyone is entitled to their opinion and how they feed their dog. I have no problem with feeding venison to one's dog, but feel the same way as the warden I talked to, that it should be from animals not fit for human consumption and not just an easy way for a sport hunter to empty their freezer of unwanted venison.