On the subject of tripe...

[barkley21]

Is it necessary to feed fruits and veggies if you are feeding tripe on a regular basis? Basically, we feed very small amounts of a fruit/veggie mix along with Barkley's raw meals because our vet said that dogs need SOME carbs, but not a lot, so we only give it in small amounts. It's my understanding that dogs can't break down the cellulose in fruits/veggies so that's why they have to be very finely chopped or pureed. Having said that, tripe is basically the stomach contents of ruminating animals and contains fruits and veggies all nicely predigested by that animal which makes it easier for our dogs to digest, right? Well, if that's the case and we feed tripe on a regular basis, do we still need to feed a small amount of fruit and veggies?

[Scott_B]

Depends on who you ask. Some hard core raw feeders say no veggies required at all, and that dogs in the wild shake out the stomach contents of their prey. Some feed veggies just to be safe. Some feel they're required for a balanced diet.

Thats the thing with feeding your dog a raw diet. There really is no right or wrong way, as long as they get a good variety over time.

[technodoll]

Thats the thing with feeding your dog a raw diet. There really is no right or wrong way, as long as they get a good variety over time.

yes, that's the beauty & flexibility of a raw diet: you make it your own, and let your dogs tell you how well they are doing so you can tweak it to suit them.

I personally am not a "hard core" feeder of anything, I believe that keeping an open mind in life is key to balance and success, what works for one might not necessarily work for another... neither of my dogs will touch a fruit or a veggie with a 10-foot pole so giving them such treats serves no purpose... but if they *did* like the stuff, they would get some. tonight they are also getting meat spaghetti leftovers as dessert (yes grains and cooked meat!) and tomorrow morning, green tripe with their brekkie... so it all balances out in the end

[barkley21]

I know everybody does raw a little differently but I was more so just
wondering if tripe was basically the equivalent of serving fruits and veggies...the only difference being one is fresh and one is semi-digested by the ruminating animal. If they are essentially the same, I would like to stop giving Barkley the fruit/veggie mix and just give him the tripe.

[technodoll]

If they are essentially the same, I would like to stop giving Barkley the fruit/veggie mix and just give him the tripe.

i really don't think they're the same, since tripe is muscle tissue and fruits n'veggies are, well, fruits n'veggies, LOL! not all tripe is created equal either, the one i get from Urban Carnivores is pretty much "cleaned out" before being processed, but it's natures sublimely balanced food, in itself (calcium/phosphorus ratio). many raw feeders don't give any fruits & veggies at all so... it's totally your call