Killing surface germs on meat

[taxlady]

This is a bit unusual, because I'm not talking about food for humans, but food for cats & dogs. There are a lot of people advocating a raw diet for dogs and cats. There are other peopled who are very concerned about micro-organisms.

I was wondering, if one were to dip raw meat in boiling water, how long would it take to kill the germs on the surface of the meat? Would killing surface micro-organisms give me fairly sterile meat?

Does anyone have any suggestions or links to where I would find that kind of info?

 

[no mayonnaise]

I use bleach.

 

[GotGarlic]

I would ask the vet.

 

[pacanis]

If the food is not spoiled, and probably even if it slightly were, just feed it to them raw and don't worry about it.
Your vet will not know the answer as he probably sells expensive prescription diets that would better be "the answer"... for him $$$
Any type of cooking will make the food harder for he pet to digest and lose nutritional value (just like for us), but it's the digestion part that bothers me. You are defeating one of the main reasons for feeding a raw diet to do any type of cooking.

 

[CraigC]

Dogs and cats (pets) probably don't have the same gut flora and fauna as their wild relatives. Meat that may be on the down side of "fresh", which wild relatives can handle, could be a problem. I would never feed raw meat to the pugs.

 

[GotGarlic]

If the food is not spoiled, and probably even if it slightly were, just feed it to them raw and don't worry about it.
Your vet will not know the answer as he probably sells expensive prescription diets that would better be "the answer"... for him $$$
Any type of cooking will make the food harder for he pet to digest and lose nutritional value (just like for us), but it's the digestion part that bothers me. You are defeating one of the main reasons for feeding a raw diet to do any type of cooking.

In many cases, cooking makes foods safer, easier for people to digest, and sometimes changes the chemical form of nutrients to make them easier for the body to absorb. That's why we do it

 

[jennyema]

My dogs ate poop.

I wouldn't worry about meat sourced from a reputable seller.

 

[pacanis]

In many cases, cooking makes foods safer, easier for people to digest, and sometimes changes the chemical form of nutrients to make them easier for the body to absorb. That's why we do it

My response was in reference to Taxy's post.
Cooking food makes it harder to digest for animals.
IMO if you dip meat into boiling water long enough to affect any surface bacteria, you are probably keeping it there long enough to "par-cook" the outside. Therefore, that "skin" is going to be harder for them to digest.

So many people have no clue of what they are doing feeding raw. If you are cooking any of the food at all, you are not feeding raw. You are losing part of the benefits of feeding raw.

Craig, Dogs and cats who are pets have exactly the same digestive system as their wild cousins. It's why they can go back to being feral, cats more quickly, if they are abandoned.

The reason these pet food companies recall food because of salmonella isn't for the pets' safety, it's for the people pulling that chicken jerky treat out of the bag and not washing their hands afterwards. Pets' stomach acids are too strong for them to get many of the things that affect us.

 

[GotGarlic]

My response was in reference to Taxy's post.
Cooking food makes it harder to digest for animals...

I realize that part of it was; I was talking about the part where you said "just like for us":

"Any type of cooking will make the food harder for he pet to digest and lose nutritional value (just like for us)"

 

[pacanis]

I realize that part of it was; I was talking about the part where you said "just like for us":

"Any type of cooking will make the food harder for he pet to digest and lose nutritional value (just like for us)"

Ahhh, I was not clear.
The "(just like us)" was in reference to losing nutritional value.
But in comparing us to pets, what we lack in stomach acids we make up for in the length of our digestive tract compared to theirs. That's why we can digest veggies and get nutrition from them and they cannot unless they are pulped first or already partially digested.

 

[GotGarlic]

Ahhh, I was not clear.
The "(just like us)" was in reference to losing nutritional value.
But in comparing us to pets, what we lack in stomach acids we make up for in the length of our digestive tract compared to theirs. That's why we can digest veggies and get nutrition from them and they cannot unless they are pulped first or already partially digested.

Thanks. Out of necessity, I've learned a lot about the human digestive system, but not so much about animals.

 

[Addie]

Spike and I both put raw meat down for Teddy. Some days he eats it as it is and right away. Other times he leaves it there for a couple of days until it become dry and hard. That he wolfs down. When he is out on his walks with Spike, he runs to dead pigeons and anything else just lying around on the street. Spike has to pull him back. Street fare is not allowed on his diet. The animal may have died from poisoning.

I am a fanatic about making sure the water in his bowl here, is always fresh. This I do for a dog that drinks from puddles of muddy water. A few nights ago I had a small piece of raw brisket I was preparing. I tossed him a small piece. That disappeared in a hurry. After he left, I put the trimmings in the bowl for him, for the next night. When I put it down for him the next day, he turned his nose up and let it sit there until the following day. Dry hard meat. Go figure! We both let Teddy decide if he wants to eat what we put down for him. He is a spoiled little dog. Neither one of us are concerned with surface germs. Teddy knows instinctively if it is not good for him.

 

[bakechef]

My dogs ate poop.

I wouldn't worry about meat sourced from a reputable seller.

I was about to say the same thing, some of the things that dogs will eat , raw meat would probably be sterile in comparison!

 

[Addie]

Grant you, the wild dogs of Africa and other places have a stronger constitution than our pets, but they will bury their cache and dig it up days later, covered with dirt and still eat it. BLEH! If it was our pet doing that, we would be rushing it to the vet's office.

 

[Oldvine]

If my critters get any raw meat, it's the tiniest dab of hamburger (smaller than a dime), never chicken. My future pet care does not include boiling water for a dinner dip. Our last three dogs, all large, lived to be more than 15 years of age with non-boiling water/bleach dip meals.

 

[cave76]

What do dogs eat in the wild? Their digestive tract and their teeth were developed for a reason. Since that took place over millenia I am inclined to think that the few short years that they've been domesticated would not change that.

But there may be a few genetically engineered dogs (ones that have been miniaturized or ?) and can't eat the normal diet of a dog. I don't know because I've never owned one. But I bred (large) dogs for a while and have owned more than just a couple (grin) and was around dog shows for years. One breeder of champion borzois (Russian Wolfhound) fed her dogs nothing but raw meat.

 

[pacanis]

What do dogs eat in the wild? Their digestive tract and their teeth were developed for a reason. Since that took place over millenia I am inclined to think that the few short years that they've been domesticated would not change that.

But there may be a few genetically engineered dogs (ones that have been miniaturized or ?) and can't eat the normal diet of a dog. I don't know because I've never owned one. But I bred (large) dogs for a while and have owned more than just a couple (grin) and was around dog shows for years. One breeder of champion borzois (Russian Wolfhound) fed her dogs nothing but raw meat.

There isn't.
But that's not saying their owners... err, I mean "people", don't humanize them and have their misguided belief they won't eat anything but people food because they have created finicky eaters.

 

[GotGarlic]

What do dogs eat in the wild? Their digestive tract and their teeth were developed for a reason. Since that took place over millenia I am inclined to think that the few short years that they've been domesticated would not change that.

Dogs have been domesticated for over 12,000 years.

 

[cave76]

"Domesticated" over 12,000 years----- yes, for sure. And according to some experts maybe even longer. But I bet they didn't have doggy cushions to lie on.

I probably mis-spoke when I said 'domesticated'. I meant domesticated in the sense of what we think of as domesticated---- those that performed a job (sled dogs), lived in the sleeves of Chinese princesses (Pekingese), chased down quarry for us (Norwegian Elk Hound). Then later became our house dog and pet with all privileges attendant.

But I bet those early dogs (or 'domesticated' wolves) ate raw meat and bones.

 

[cave76]

Here is a picture of an Afghan Hound, a very ancient breed. I had several that looked almost the same.