# I have some beef liver, what should I do with it?



## battyjac (Dec 20, 2011)

We buy our beef as half a grass-fed steer. So we get a lot of cuts I don't normally use. I won't eat liver and neither will my DH so it has just been sitting in the freezer. I may as well make treats out of it, right? And if I have to have my oven going all day in Texas, it needs to be in the winter. I googled and see that I should boil it first, or not boil it. Cut it first, or not. I'm so confused!

I'm not feeding raw or hand-cooking, although I may in the future. With 4 kids, including a toddler, plus the boxer and the chi, I don't have the energy to cook for the dogs too! She's on the Science Diet puppy the shelter gave us now but she'll probably be switched to Costco's puppy food this week. I was looking at other kibble brands but Costco is better than most and costs half as much. The vet raves about my boxer's health and coat and she has only gotten Costco food for years (she gets the weight management one, which the puppy seems to love although I try hard to keep her from getting it, she can get the pieces that get under stuff).


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## susan davis (Mar 25, 2011)

If you use the liver, make sure that you don't just give them pure liver for a meal. You have to mix in a little bit to the kibble. Otherwise their bowels are gonna be a mess! Good luck. Sue


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## battyjac (Dec 20, 2011)

I was thinking about using it as a reward treat. I've been really nervous to use treats with the chi since she's so small, I don't want the treat to be a meal. All I have given her so far is a tiny bit of the boxer's pill pockets when the boxer gets her meds. I just pinch a little off the pocket so they both get something.


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## RavenclawPrefect (Oct 19, 2011)

You can dehydrate it to use as a treat as well. 

My guys, who are raw fed, turn up noses at raw liver. I usually sear it with a bit of garlic and then they will eat it. A lot of raw feeding people I know give liver a light cooking.

I would lightly cook it, chop it and then freeze it so I could easily pop out a piece now and again for a treat.

Liver is very rich and can cause explosive poop if introduced quickly and a large amount.


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## LostLakeLua (Sep 6, 2009)

Yeah, I'd be cautious giving too much of it. Even with us raw feeders, we try giving it close to a Boney meal as the organ meats can loosen stool up quite a bit. That said, if you have a way of dehydrating them that might make them easier on the tummies. We have freeze dried liver treats as my one chi Kahlua won't touch any liver regardless of preparation, but they don't seem to upset their stomachs at all.

I'm not familiar with Costco brand, I would just check to make sure it's grain free before settling on it. Some dogs will even do excellent on Alpo or Ol Roy (eeewww) for years but long-term, as they age the poor diet takes a toll on them. So better to start early. Check out dogfoodanalysis.com or dogfoodadvisor.com for reviews.


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## 23083 (Sep 22, 2011)

Check out DogAware.com: Diet & Health Info for Man's Best Friend look under the diet tab for Liver Treat Recipes
She has lots of ideas for liver treats. Your kids can help you make a batch then freeze it


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## doginthedesert (Oct 10, 2011)

I know a lot of people make "liver brownies" and freeze it to use as treats. You can google "Liver Brownies for dogs" and there are lots of different ways to make them depending on what you do or do not want to put in them, and they are easy to crumble into small treats for training. I personally thought it was disgusting to make my whole house smell like liver while it was baking, so I only did it once, but it is an idea.


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