Tomorrow we’re celebrating Gunner the Great Dane’s third birthday. Since he is truly my best friend (as it should be) I always make a big deal out of his birthday, complete with cupcake and candle. Also every year he gets his very own steak, because what more could he possibly want on such an important day.
So, I was wondering does a dog prefer his steak cooked medium like I prefer or would he much rather eat it raw and bloody as in the wild? If the latter is true, is it safe to serve him his steak raw? For the record, I’m planning on cooking it, but depending on the responses here maybe I should skip the grill and let him enjoy his steak as nature intended.
I have no authoritative answer about raw meat and I rather suspect that “authorities” would probably be in disagreement. But for good quality steaks even us humans are fine with rare and even blue-rare.
What I did for my canine best friend was a compromise between plain natural raw steak and the way I would like it – namely, I would lightly season the steak (much more lightly than I would for people food) and grill it to what people would consider “rare”.
For a dog the size of a Great Dane, you may – as I did for my Bernese – also want to include other treats like a cheeseburger, cheese and crackers, and don’t forget vanilla ice cream for desert. Birthdays only come once a year, and for him, that’s a whole dog year!!
Not in my experience. My Bernese would eat only one brand of dog biscuits (Iams) and nothing else, except one specialty treat from the vet. He wouldn’t touch kibble unless there was real food mixed in with it. He loved burgers but not hot dogs. He loved steaks but only some kinds of sausage. And when I made him bacon-wrapped filets on his birthday he would practically inhale them.
YMMV. I have one dog who loves raw meat (even better with fur and bones) and another who will only eat it if there is no other option.
Generally, meat that is graded for human consumption is going to be safe for dogs to eat raw. Their digestive system has a far greater ability to deal with bacteria and other microbes than ours does.
Dogs have a shorter digestive tract, so they can eat meat without the same concerns about catching diseases from raw/undercooked food.
That said, he’d probably like almost anything you did. Too much spice is likely not good for him. Too much fat also not good (will give him the “trots”).
I give my dogs (one Bernese, one Newfoundland) large, uncooked beef femur bones to gnaw on. They usually have some meat on them. Keeps them busy and happy for a while, and it keeps their teeth clean (no dental visits/vet bills for tartar removal).
Watch cooked bones, even beef, they may splinter and can be dangerous. Depending on the size of the dog, small bones can be swallowed, so watch that too.
My wife’s dog won’t eat raw chicken hearts, they have to be panfried first. Even I will eat a raw chicken heart, if I find one rolling around that got lost on the counter while cooking, but the dog won’t.
I have 5 dogs, and one of them will not touch raw meat at all. The look on her face is priceless if I offer it to her. I swear she’s like a kid going EWWWWWWWWW! The other 4 don’t have any such problem. So I also think it is a matter of the individual dog’s preference.
I would say yes, do forget the ice cream. Most adult mammals are normally lactose intolerant and will fart a lot and maybe experience some internal discomfort from such treats. And the sugar, of course, will not do them any favors either.
