Hi Bri,
It’s good to see you feeding raw twice a week. For most dogs this is a big improvement over ANY kibble!
Heart – I notice the meal you added the liver to was Beef Heart. Even though heart is a muscle, it is a different kind of muscle than the breast or leg or thigh, etc. The heart is a non-striated muscle, while the muscles everyone usually thinks about are all striated muscles.
I like to say that nutrient-wise, heart is about halfway between regular muscle meat (breast thigh, etc) and the much richer organ meats (liver, kidneys, etc). Now that is just an estimate. The point is that heart is richer than breast but not as rich as liver, so it should still be used in moderation (up to 20% of meal).
As others have said, the calcium in the Dinner Mixes is calculated based on meat without bone. So the extra calcium that would come from you adding bones is not needed, and could actually be detrimental!
This is what Steve Brown had to say about adding organs to his Dinner Mixes:
“Thanks for the note.
Yes, it’s okay to add muscle meat and some organ meat, but please don’t
add a lot of liver. Keep the liver to less than 10% of the total meat.
Adding up to 20% hearts is fine.
Steve Brown”
On a side note (cause I’m a dog man), constipation can be pretty common in raw diets ESPECIALLY if they contain bone! Your cat probably could use some fiber added to the Darwins to ease any constipation issues. I use a couple of different types. Psyllium husks are very fiber rich and I add no more than 1 teaspoon per pound of food. Flax, Chia and Hemp seeds are not as rich in fiber as Psyllium, but they are also good for the skin. I add about 1 tablespoon per pound of meat.
Keep up the Good Work!
