I cooked up some lamb liver for the first time today for 6 month old Nelly today and not sure how much I can give her and on what time basis. I want to use it for training treats and to be used as something extra enticing for bringing her away from dead animals she find etc. How many treats can she have per day? I've heard that it's bad to give them too much?
It might just be trial and error. Some dogs can eat loads, others not so. I think Lilly didn't tolerate much, which is odd as she usually has a pretty cast-iron stomach.
I've read that you shouldn't give too many liver treats to a puppy as there's too much of a certain vitamin, not sure which one, might be B. I don't feed Hattie & Charlie too many and they are fully grown. x
Yes, I make liver cake and cut it into very small pieces and freeze them in bags. I always have some that way. Fred and Annie love it.
I do make my own liver cake and pilchard cake so there isn't so much liver intensity. Hattie loves either but Charlie is not so easily pleased! x
Liver is high in Vitamin A which is toxic to dogs, cats and us. Try to find out how much is deadly, if you can please let us know. I was never able to find out. I'm sure I did not use enough to hurt, much less kill my dog, but still, it was kind of scary when no one could tell me how much was too much.
I think vitamin A is only harmful (like a lot of things) if consumed to excess. It should specifically be limited in pregnant women, and this is one of the reasons in pregnancy we recommend a specific "Pre-natal" vitamins rather than just a standard multivitamin. There is a useful guide to Vitamin A in humans on the NHS website which I have faith in being correct! http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/vitamins-minerals/Pages/Vitamin-A.aspx#too-much I found this chart on a pet education website And the comment "Vitamin A is one of the two vitamins in which oversupplementation can have negative effects. However, we have never seen a case of oversupplementation causing toxicosis, and in dogs, toxicity has been demonstrated only under experimental conditions. Toxic doses of Vitamin A could produce muscle weakness and bone abnormalities. Realistically, oversupplementation or toxicity is virtually impossible unless mega-doses are given for long periods of time (months to years)." http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1659&aid=710 And regarding quantities of Vitamin A in foodstuffs (I have truncated the snip) https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminA-HealthProfessional/ I think that may be an awful lot of liver. jac
I didn't realise that sweet potato was up there for vitamin A, you live & learn. Thanks for posting and putting liver into perspective.
