Dog Community

Pork brains!

Posted : 12/14/2006 4:06:13 PM

I found frozen pork brains in a little tub at a local grocery store. I know that brain is a superior source of DHA, and I really want to give them to my dogs. I'm a little iffy, though, because brain is not something people talk about feeding. I've never fed brain, outside of the head (yeah, my dogs like whole prey....). Is it considered a muscle meat or an organ? Could it give them a tummyache? Anything else I should know about feeding brains?

Also, my friend feeds raw and we've been puppy chow shopping together. She was SHOCKED that I feed pork. She thought pork was bad, and she won't even eat it. Any good sites about why pork is ok for dogs?

Stef w

Posted : 12/14/2006 4:11:01 PM

[font=verdana][size=2]I have a friend that feeds pork - but I was also told never to feed it. I wasn't sure and I still don't know - but I found this for you:
[link[/size][/font]>http://www.katberard.com/hol_bonesandfood.htm]http://www.katberard.com/hol_bonesandfood.htm[/link][/size][/font]

A Note About Feeding Pork to Dogs. Recently in my monthly newsletter I stated that Pork should never be fed raw to dogs. The United States is NOT free from a swine disease known as Aujeszky's Disease or pseudorabies. This disease is incurable in and fatal to dogs. If you feed pork, be sure it is well cooked. Well, Sharon, a reader of Kat#%92s Journal, was kind enough to provide me with additional information that should make feeders of raw pork rest easier.

“I run a raw feeding buying co-op and as we've seen tremendous price increases in beef and now in poultry, pork has become more popular among our members. The virus that causes pseudorabies is rather fragile and can be killed by freezing, which is not common for viruses. Typically they can only be killed by high heat. I freeze my pork for a minimum of three weeks and make sure my freezer temp is cold enough. I saved a bunch of my research information, some of which appears below. Just thought you might be interested.” Sharon

[linkhttp://www.aahc.com.au/ausvetplan/aujfinal.pdf]www.aahc.com.au/ausvetplan/aujfinal.pdf[/link] "Meat from abattoir-slaughtered pigs is very unlikely to present a risk of spread of infection to pigs or other susceptible animals, as infected pigs are viraemic for a short time, the amount of virus is reduced by the pH changes postmortem, and freezing inactivates AD virus."

[linkhttp://www.cdfa.ca.gov/ahfss/ah/pdfs/prv.pdf]http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/ahfss/ah/pdfs/prv.pdf[/link] "The virus is very susceptible to pH levels below 4 and above 9 and temperatures slightly below freezing."

From [linkhttp://www.vetsci.psu.edu/Ext/Resour/ces/circ/Pseudorabies.pdf]www.vetsci.psu.edu/Ext/Resour\ces/circ/Pseudorabies.pdf[/link] "In 1989 a national control and eradication program was instituted in the Untied States. As of May 2002, only five states had not reached Stage V (free status). The five remaining states are in eradication programs and it was anticipated that all states would be at Stage V within a matter of 1 to 2 years."

jennie_c_d

Posted : 12/14/2006 4:15:06 PM

I always freeze my meat before I feed it[

] I think I knew that about pork, but I couldn't remember the facts. Emma eats mostly cooked foods, because she's such a sensitive dog, but Teenie gets more raw. Dori's dogs only eat raw. I'll save those links, for her, and tell her that it has to be frozen. Thanks[

]

BTW, I'm NOT cooking brains, LOL. I don't cook livers or hearts, or anything smelly. I'm a vegetarian. Cooking muscle meat is enough of a stretch!

Stef w

Posted : 12/14/2006 4:21:21 PM

Ugh! I understand you on that one. Wes won't eat his liver raw ... so my mom cooks it for me. (I can't stand the smell...[:'(])

I also feel like a meat-idiot when I'm buying for my dogs. I'm gearing up for the Volhard diet and the information is great except for the meat ... I just wish they wrote it for people who don't eat the stuff....[&:]

jessies_mom

Posted : 12/14/2006 4:38:17 PM

I always freeze my meat before I feed it

   I do too; even the NV raw medallions because I want to make sure they're frozen at a low enough temperature to kill cysts like toxoplasmosis. Steve's real Food for Dogs won't sell raw pork, venison, or lamb because of it;  [linkhttp://www.stevesrealfood.com/products/Why%20not%20lamb%20pork%20venison.htm]http://www.stevesrealfood.com/products/Why%20not%20lamb%20pork%20venison.htm[/link]
   "Steve's Real Food does not sell formulas with lamb, pork or venison because they are at a higher risk for toxolplasmosis. Toxolplasmosis is a toxicity that can exist in raw meats and can be passed on to animals and cats especially. This toxicity can be of concern for pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems."

   20% of pork and lamb are infected with it; [linkhttp://www.crvetcenter.com/images/Newsletters/crvcnewsletterDec02p1.pdf]http://www.crvetcenter.com/images/Newsletters/crvcnewsletterDec02p1.pdf[/link] so it's a good idea to freeze the meat if you're going to feed it raw.

cakana

Posted : 12/14/2006 7:15:00 PM

I freeze my pork for a minimum of three weeks and make sure my freezer temp is cold enough.

But what is cold enough? I read somewhere (on this site) a while back that it had to be colder than what most typical freezers are. I can't remember what the temp was supposed to be though.

racuda

Posted : 12/14/2006 7:21:14 PM

Of course they were cooked, but when I was young, my Grandfather had pork brains mixed with eggs and scrambled for breakfast.

I tried it too. Tasty!

Eddie Haskle

Posted : 12/14/2006 7:26:37 PM

Aujeszky's Disease

My dog eats pork and is just fine. My research produced the same results as "silver_wlf". I as well freeze my pork a minimum of 21 days at below 0 degrees faranheit. As for pork brains I would feed it after freezing. Brain is high in fat and if they'll eat it it's good for them in my book. It's a natural meal and the way nature intended it to be. I'm sure in the wild they probably try and lick it out like a giant "kong". I'll try and research it and post my findings.

ottoluv

Posted : 12/14/2006 7:36:34 PM

The textbook answer is freeze it to 10F or cook it to 150F to kill the cysts. Many people recommend freezing for several weeks at this temp as others have already stated. Most people's freezers are not kept that cold

cakana

Posted : 12/14/2006 7:51:35 PM

The textbook answer is freeze it to 10F or cook it to 150F to kill the cysts. Many people recommend freezing for several weeks at this temp as others have already stated. Most people's freezers are not kept that cold

Okay - this may sound like a dumb question, but I thought my freezer temp was at 0 (it has a display in the door). Is that unlikely?

ottoluv

Posted : 12/14/2006 8:02:15 PM

not a stupid question at all, freezing point is 32F, so you can have things frozen in the freezer without it being cold enough to kill the toxo cysts

It just depends on your freezer temp, most have a gague inside or you can probably find it online. It could say 0 but mean celsius which is 32F. Just have to check if you want to freeze brains ha ha

cakana

Posted : 12/14/2006 9:18:08 PM

k...I'm home now and just checked. My freezer read -2 and it's farenheit. It says 0 degrees farenheit is recommended (on the freezer door). I'm guessing 32 degrees isn't cold enough to keep foods safely frozen. Still, I think it was recommended that pork be lower than 0 degrees to be considered safe.

jessies_mom

Posted : 12/14/2006 9:29:51 PM

I'm guessing 32 degrees isn't cold enough to keep foods safely frozen. Still, I think it was recommended that pork be lower than 0 degrees to be considered safe.

Cathy, according to Dr. Arthur Lang, Director of Food Safety at the Center for Disease Control, toxoplasma cysts are killed by -12 degress celsius, which is 10 degress farenheit.

cakana

Posted : 12/14/2006 9:48:30 PM

Thanks Janice and sorry for the confusion [

]

jessies_mom

Posted : 12/14/2006 10:05:07 PM

Thanks Janice and sorry for the confusion

You're welcome and no apology necessary [

]. I will not feed Jessie raw pork because of trichinosis even though freezing it for 20 days at 5 degrees farenheit is supposed to kill the worms. The CDC says that freezing wild game meats, even for longer periods, may not kill all worms; I also read on an FDA site that freezing does not kill all cysts in wild game meat, so as a precaution I'm not feeding the Nature's Variety venison medallions anymore; I contacted them about this and haven't gotten a response yet.