How to prepare chicken liver for a dog

Author: Laura McKinney
Date Of Creation: 5 August 2021
Update Date: 20 September 2024
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Chicken livers your dog will love
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Content

Chicken or chicken liver is a ideal complement for our dog's diet, as it has protein, vitamins, minerals and more. However, there are many questions that surround us when we introduce it to the homemade diet for dogs, for example: "is it bad to eat chicken liver?", "what are the benefits of chicken liver?", "how to prepare dog liver ?" etc.

In this article by PeritoAnimal we will solve all these doubts and more, so read on and find out how to prepare chicken liver for dog.

Can a dog eat liver?

Yes, dogs can eat liver. And is it good to give liver to a dog? Yes, it is a very beneficial product for him. Organs in general are foods that offer dogs a high percentage of protein and are much more economical products. The only inconvenience is being able to find them, since in many butcher shops you have to order them in advance. Even so, we advise you to opt for those that are fresh, discarding packaged products that are usually full of preservatives, additives and other substances that are best avoided.


Although dogs can eat beef, pork, lamb and turkey liver, the chicken (or chicken) liver is the most recommended for containing a lower percentage of cholesterol than the others.

Benefits of Chicken Liver for the Dog

Now that we know that chicken liver for dogs is beneficial, let's go over the nutritional composition of 100 grams of the product according to the Brazilian Table of Food Composition (TBCA), of the University of São Paulo (USP)[1]:

  • Energy: 113 kcal
  • Protein: 17.4g
  • Carbohydrates: 1.61 g
  • Lipids: 4.13 g
  • dietary fiber: 0 g
  • Calcium: 5.86 mg
  • Iron: 9.54 mg
  • Sodium: 82.4 mg
  • Potassium: 280 mg
  • Magnesium: 23.2 mg
  • Phosphor: 343 mg
  • Copper: 0.26mg
  • Selenium: 44.0 mcg
  • Zinc: 3.33 mg
  • Vitamin C: 18.5 mg
  • Vitamin A: 3863 mcg
  • B12 vitamin: 17.2 mg
  • Alpha-tocopherol (Vitamin E): 0.5mg
  • Saturated fatty acids: 1.30 g
  • Cholesterol: 340 mg
  • Thiamine: 0.62mg
  • Riboflavin: 0.56mg
  • Niacin: 6.36mg
  • Sugar: 0g

The detailed nutritional composition translates into multiple benefits of chicken liver for dogs, the most prominent being the following:


Rich in vitamins and excellent source of protein

The richness of vitamins that the chicken liver has added to the high percentage of proteins make this food the perfect complement. Adding it to the diet allows to increase the consumption of these substances so necessary to preserve the dog's health.

Suitable for puppies

Precisely because of its amount of protein and vitamins, chicken liver is good for puppies, since favors the development of your muscles. However, as we will see in the following sections, it is necessary to control the amount and provide a good supply of calcium as well.

good for diabetic dogs

Chicken liver for dogs is a food that is fully compatible with a diet for diabetic dogs because does not contain sugars. In addition, it provides the animal with essential nutrients for its health. For more information, see the article on what puppies with diabetes can eat.


Recommended for treating anemia

thanks to your iron content, chicken liver is a good supplement to fight anemia in dogs. However, this does not mean that just offering the dog's liver will be enough for the animal to improve overnight, because it is necessary to follow the veterinarian's instructions regarding diet and treatment.

Raw dog liver or cooked?

If we know where chicken liver comes from and we know for sure that it is a product completely free of parasites, we can offer it raw. However, as it is usually difficult to know if the product is really clean, the most recommended is freeze chicken liver.

When we know that we are going to prepare the recipe, we will have to let it thaw and cook or semi-cook it to finish ensuring that the product is suitable for consumption. Therefore, offering raw liver to dogs depends mainly on the quality of the product and, if in doubt, it's better to cook it.

How to prepare dog liver?

A very simple way to cook chicken liver for dogs is in boiling water, once thawed.

  1. leave for 1 minute in boiling water if you want to cook it on the outside and leave it almost raw inside
  2. Allow about 3 minutes to cook it completely
  3. When cooked or semi-cooked, let it cool completely
  4. Cut into small pieces to prevent the animal from choking and facilitate the chewing process
  5. Add a light strand of extra virgin olive oil, as it is another very beneficial food for dogs.
  6. If the dog likes it, you can season it with options like rosemary, thyme or turmeric
  7. Optionally, you can add a chopped or medium clove of garlic, if the animal likes it, for its antiparasitic properties.

Importantly, garlic cannot be offered very often since, according to the Center for Animal Poison Control Pet Poison Helpline[2], this food presents a level of intoxication from mild to moderate depending on the dose and each individual.

amount of liver for dog

For every 10 kg you weigh, you can offer between 120 and 150 grams of dog liver daily, according to canine nutritionist Gemma Knowles in her book healthy cooking for dogs[3]. To chicken liver you should add other foods such as vegetables or cereals, depending on the animal's diet. Thus, it is necessary to know the dog's weight to establish the proper amount of liver.

like a chicken liver doesn't usually weigh more than 30 grams, we would need several to reach the mentioned total weight. Therefore, a good option is to mix two or three pieces of organ with other pieces of meat, such as heart, lungs, breast... Anyway, chicken liver should not be given as a single food, but yes offered as an add-on, an addition to the dog's diet.

How to give liver to the dog

We can offer chicken liver pieces as a reward, since, as we said above, it is an organ that weighs no more than 30 grams. Even so, we can mix it with other meats that we already recommend, with cooked rice and/or vegetables or prepare delicious biscuits.

Remember that this is a food that it must be a complement to the diet, so it is not advisable to offer liver to the dog every day.

Internationally renowned veterinarians specializing in animal nutrition, such as Karen Shaw Becker, veterinary nutrition specialist, or Carlos Alberto Gutierrez, veterinarian specializing in canine nutrition[4], inform about the consequences of offering dogs food with a high percentage of phosphorus and low calcium content and emphasize the importance of maintaining an adequate balance between the intake of both minerals, which is the main reason for not recommending chicken liver to puppies every day as the only food.

Not maintaining the aforementioned balance can cause the body to extract calcium from its own bones, causing serious health problems.

So if we've already given our dog a high amount of chicken liver, we shouldn't be alarmed because there are so many calcium-rich foods we can offer to balance the scales, like plain yogurt or bones.

Contraindications of dog liver

Mainly, it is not recommended to give chicken liver to puppies with liver problems or with high levels of cholesterol.

Chicken liver recipe with rice for dogs

Chicken liver with rice is especially suitable for dogs with stomach problems mild or moderate, such as gastroenteritis. In severe cases, one needs to take the vet to find the underlying causes and treat it.

Ingredients

  • Brown rice (preferably)
  • chicken liver
  • 1 potato
  • 1 carrot

The amount of ingredients will depend on the dog's weight and whether it suffers from any stomach problems or is totally healthy. If it's healthy, we can add other meats like chicken breast or turkey and offer less rice than meat. If the animal has diarrhea, for example, it should consume more fiber, so in this case it needs to have more rice.

How to prepare chicken liver with dog rice

  1. Put water in a pot and warm up. The ideal ratio for brown rice is three cups of water for every cup of rice.
  2. Meanwhile, peel the potato and cut it in equal pieces, but very small. Do the same with the carrots.
  3. When it starts to boil, add the rice, the potato and the carrot. You can add a bay leaf if you want, but it will have to be removed before offering the dish so that it is not eaten.
  4. Cook until ingredients are ready, for approximately 15-20 minutes.
  5. With 5 minutes left to finish cooking the ingredients, put the chicken liver.
  6. Before serving it is important to cut the meat if you have not done this before.

dog liver biscuit

You homemade cookies they are perfect for rewarding puppies or simply giving them a whim they will enjoy a lot. And if, in addition, it contains meat as beneficial as chicken liver, so much the better!

Ingredients

  • 3 chicken livers
  • 1 cup of wholemeal flour
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon of plain yogurt (unsweetened)
  • 1 spoon of olive oil

How to prepare dog liver biscuits

  • Cooking the livers, drain, cool and grind
  • To bring together the egg, oil and yogurt and we mix.
  • add flour and mix into a dog liver biscuit dough.
  • Preheat the oven to 200 ºC.
  • Roll out the cookie dough and cut it into the shape you like best.
  • Place the dog liver biscuits on a tray lined with baking paper and bake at 180°C for 10-15 minutes.
  • Let them cool and we can let them devour them.

Now that you know how to prepare dog liver and have seen that chicken liver for dog is the best choice among the livers we can offer him, maybe you might be interested in this other article by PeritoAnimal on natural dog food - quantity, recipes and tips.

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