My 14 year old Golden Retriever has been dropping weight. We have had to turn to canned food to get him eating. To try and conserve money I've been looking at recipes to make homemade "Toppers" for his dog food. I have a bunch of Beef in the freezer and am going to start using some of the cube steaks or lesser cuts to make some homemade "stews" to mix with his dry food and hopefully it will put some weight back on him. It has also given me the idea of why not do the same for our new puppy. While reading different sites and articles online I thought. What if anything can I use from the Deer I shoot that would usually go to waste. From reading it sounds like heart, liver, kidneys, lungs can all be used either in food or as treats. Do any of you make your own dog food from your harvests? Do you have recipes to share if you do?
I have a bunch of saved scraps frozen and have always wanted to look into it. With two 12 lb poodle mixes it wouldn't take much food lol Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
I've also looked into feeding Raw. I've done it some and the dog loves it. He doesn't eat as much because he's getting more of what he needs and not just filler. When I harvest a critter. I save Everything I can, even the rib bones. Any non wight bearing bones for the dog. Poop turns to chalky dust and I've never seen a dog with cleaner, whiter teeth. Breath doesn't stink either.
I give my Lab scraps as I process my deer. He loves it and gets excited any time I cut open a vacuum bag of venison. He also has protein allergies so the only meat he is able to consume is venison. He is on venison-based food, though it is commercially made.
My plan this season is to keep all the organs I can and strip cut them up for the dehydrator. As I clean and process this year, I am going to pay extra attention to what gets thrown away normally to see if there is anything I can use in the dehydrator or just freeze for the dog.
Guy I know has some breed can't remember but has always fed it raw chicken cause that's what the breeder suggested. Started out with just a leg or thigh when he was a pup now gets a whole leg quarter for breakfast and dinner.
Any raw venison is good for dogs and raw is the best way to feed it to them. As long as the meat wasn't taken from the spinal cord it is edible. All Non-weight bearing bones can also be given to dogs.
My Hound is on a raw diet. Expensive if you buy from the store, cheap if you're a year round hunter. Rabbit, Squirrel, pheasant, deer off-cuts and organs, sawed bones for marrow, he'll take the lot. I usually grind up a mixture, throw in some carrots or whatever vegetables/fruit I have available and he's a happy camper.
Why not use road kills for your dog food? No limit as to the number you can get here in Iowa. Damaged meat can be cooked right away and froze, rest can but packaged to size you want and froze. Just a little work for free dog food.
Haven't had a chance to get a fresh road kill in many many years. I will gladly take them if I get a chance. I'm not taking something if I don't know how long it has been since it was hit.
Contact your local Fish & Game Officer and let them know you will take the road kills. Our local officer has left several salvage tags at the Law Center. When we got a call, or some one stopped in that had hit a deer we would grab a tag and head out, tag the deer and the new owner would take off with it. Fresh and simple.
Not sure that would work here in WI. Local DNR doesn't get called, there is a statewide number to call to get permission to take a deer when hit by car. Police get called if there is enough damage where the driver wants a report for insurance.
Your right, it probably would not work up there. Down here a lot of times if a deer is killed and laying near the roadway it will be called in to dispatch. DOT or an officer will check it to be sure it is not a safety issue. DOT used to pick them up but not sure how it is handled any more. Been out of that picture for about 18 year or more. Years ago DNR would haul them to a pick up point and National By Products would take them. I remember one time we about wore a deer out dragging it back and forth across a interstate bridge. Bridge was the county line. Neighboring DNR officer drug it across the bridge about 100 yds and left it on the shoulder. Then we got the call, seen what the situation was and drug it back. Did this 3 or 4 times before it started to come apart so had to load it in a pickup and haul it off. This was real late at night with not much traffic. Sure couldn't get by with that today.
road kill you can possibly still feed raw but any wild game needs to be frozen for three weeks i think i read. I actually joined so i can find processing centers near me that i can contact to see what organs they have that they are willing to sell/get rid of for my dog. I raw feed and it's led to some interesting conversations. Esp the neighbor that was like go away bunny the dogs wouldn't know what to do with ya if they got ya...I was like speak for your own dog mine would be like "caught dinner"
I have an Australian shepherd that has lived pretty much exclusively on raw venison since November. he loves it.
