butcher scraps

[rude]

ok...I need a quick answer here...my friend just called she is coming here straight from a grocerie butcher with a box of scraps...the only thing is she doesn't know what's in it..and says the butcher does not sort meats just throws everthing in a box and throws in out so she is bringing one over...anybody do this before?

[SARAH]

If it's relatively lean, no problem. Since you don't know if there is pork in it, cook it. If you cook it with the rice (not too much) and veggies in it, you have a doggie-stew all ready. Freeze portion packs if there is enough.

[luckypenny]

I'd recommend you take a good sniff of each piece as you remove them from the box . Especially as you get to the bottom of it since you don't know when the butcher began to fill it. If the meat is coated with a cloudy looking slime and smells off, chuck it in the garbage. Feel through the meat really carefully with your fingers to make sure there aren't little sharp pieces of bone. If all seems fine, as SARAH said, freeze portion packs. But I've never had a problem with feeding raw pork , our dogs love it and have never gotten ill. It's chicken we have to be careful with and make sure that it's as fresh as possible. If there's a lot of fat, only feed small quantities at a time until your pup's digestive system gets used to it.

[SARAH]

Well, if the meat has a smell and looks off, yoiu wouldn't eat it yourself so why would you feed it to your animal (cat or dog) ? You wouldn't, of course.

[erykah1310]

Dont worry about feeding mystery meats from the butchers, we got many a free boxes from a local butcher, we fed it all to the dogs, (except for the stuff that was just fat or skin)
I wouldnt worry about the pork either, we feed alot of raw pork to our dogs.

As for the stuff that smells off, well obviously if its really bad definately dont feed it, but remember dogs love their meats "ripe"
We actually pay for the meats that are discounted because they have been on the shelf "long enough" since its being frozen immediately it wont get any "worse" this is our norm for all meats other than chicken, chicken scares me.

[rude]

oooofffff...thanks guys...it's all frozen...and it comes from a grocery store ..there is one box mixed bones...another box looks like sawed beef ...another looks like sawed porc....I'm so so happy ..thank you guys for responding so quickly....I was feeding my mixed 15pd dog BARF but couldn't afford for my SaintBernard and Lab Newf mix....now I can thanks to my friend who took the time ...apparently the butcher throws the boxes in the back and people pick some up so I musn't be alone around here just feel it...

[luckypenny]

That's great that the butcher freezes it. Just be sure when you begin to feed it, especially to the larger dogs, that they are chewing the bones properly. Discard any sharp or splintered bones.

Most butchers would rather give it away than throw it out. I'm not sure about New Brunswick, but it's illegal for businesses to throw meat scraps, bones, grease, etc into the trash and risk hefty fines from the city here in Montreal. We have these re-cycling companies that come around once per week to pick up 'scrap' from stores and restaurants but they do charge a fee. Many butchers and related businesses are only too happy to give it away for free than pay the fees.