.png?width=200&height=66&name=logo%20(1).png "HomesAlive Pets Canada")
Tripe is a common ethnic food in many parts of the UK and Asia and is not new at all. However, it's quickly becoming a popular natural health choice for pets. Tripe for dogs not only satisfies the canine's need to chew but is also highly nutritious. The smelly substance (often referred to as edible offal) is ideal for picky eaters and favored over raw meat by pet owners.
What is Green Tripe for Dogs?
Tripe is the inner lining of a grazing animal's stomach, but most commonly cattle, pigs, sheep or lamb, and goats. Beef tripe is especially popular. It is usually classified as meat even though many consider it an organ and, depending on the type of tripe, can be a delicacy for humans or a highly nutritious dog food ingredient.
Tripe refers to “a type of edible offal from the sensitive stomachs of various farm animals” or stomach lining to put it simply (Wikipedia).
What's the Best Kind of Tripe for Dogs?
Ruminant animals have four-chambered sensitive stomachs, each with a different role in your dog's digestion. Green tripe is the stomach lining of a ruminant animal, which means that depending on which stomach the tripe comes from, it will offer different nutrients.
Bleached tripe is more commonly found in supermarkets for human consumption and has had all of its ruminant animal digest removed to make it more appealing for people but less so for dogs. It also lacks many of the health benefits and nutritional value found in green tripe.
If you are adding tripe to your dog's meal then remember that tripe refers to edible offal and that is the appeal for your furry friend. Give it as a meal or an occasional treat. Some people even use tripe to help their dog lose weight, rid their stomachs of bad bacteria. improve poor skin and boost the animal's immune system. It is so much more than a chew for your pup's chewing pleasure.
Tripe for people is typically obtained from the first two chambers (cows have four chambers) of the ruminant animal’s stomach, referred to as the reticulum and rumen. It is usually classified as meat, even though many consider it an organ.
Some of the common types of tripe for people include blanket tripe and honeycomb tripe, which is frequently used in the popular dish tripe soup. Beef tripe for dogs is a popular food in many countries all over the world (France, Indonesia, China, Ecuador, India, and Greece, to name a few).
Tripe or stomach lining that has been treated for human consumption is bleached and boiled, offering little nutritional benefit to your pet.
Green Beef Tripe
The type of tripe that is healthy for your pets is a little different than the kind that people eat. Tripe for people is typically obtained from the first two chambers (cows have four chambers) of the ruminant animal's stomach, referred to as the reticulum and rumen.
Green beef tripe for canines comes from the fourth stomach of ruminant animals, called the abomasum, which is the stomach that releases enzymes and bacteria to break down hard-to-digest food and plant materials.
Green tripe is called green not because of its colour but because it is untouched, unbleached, and untreated, though it is usually lightly rinsed. While green tripe can be tinted green due to grass or hay eaten by the host animal, it's predominantly brown.
Like many products, green tripe comes in many different qualities. For your pet's best health and nutrition, make sure the green tripe you feed is:
-
From grass-fed or free-range ruminant animals, not feedlot animals.
Frozen Tripe
Using frozen green beef tripe as a regular part of your dog's raw diet, or just as a meal topper or treat is a great way to reap the benefits of raw tripe. One of our favourite Canadian brands is Naturawls Green Beef Tripe
Other great Canadian brands:
Learn more about the benefits of feeding raw dog food in Raw Dog Food for Beginners
Freeze-Dried Tripe
Frozen tripe might seem like a stinky and messy option for all of our non-raw feeders out there. Don't worry, you can still get many of the benefits of green tripe in a convenient and easier-to-feed option.
Freeze-dried green tripe, like the K9 Naturals Lamb Green Tripe Booster, is still raw, but the freeze-drying process leaves a soft, crumbly pellet of tripe that can be sprinkled over your pet's meals. You can also rehydrate the pellets for a wet food texture that will boost the moisture content of your pet's meal.
Another easy way to offer your dog tripe is to feed a dehydrated dog food that contains fresh tripe, like ZiwiPeak Air-Dried Tripe & Lamb Dog Food. This diet is air-dried, giving it a chewy jerky texture that can be fed as is.
Canned Tripe
A popular option for pet parents who like to use tripe as a meal topper and flavour additive is canned tripe. This style is ideal for adding additional nutrients, but more commonly, to entice picky dogs to eat their regular meals. It helps promote your pet's health and even assisted with weight gain due to concentrated calories.
The downside, of course, is that the tripe is cooked. Therefore, it does not offer the same digestion-boosting properties as fresh or frozen tripe. The strong smell and flavour still make it a popular feeding option for dogs and cats, though.
Is your dog a kibble addict? Don't worry, you can still offer your dog the valuable nutrients and flavour of tripe in his dry dog food. Check out PetKind Green Beef Tripe Dry Formula for Dogs. Petkind offers several tripe-based kibble diets to accommodate your dog's favourite flavours. They even have single protein formulas for dogs with food allergies and digestive issues.
As a cooked kibble, the tripe will not contain live bacteria or active enzymes to support digestive health as fresh tripe would, but it still provides plenty of essential vitamins, minerals, and a great flavour that your dog will love.
Tripe Dog Treats
For an extra fun way to include tripe in your dog's routine, look for dog treats that contain tripe. The quantities will be much smaller but will still offer your pooch some nutritional and flavour benefits. These are great for training, too, because your dog will be attracted to the strong smell and taste.
Freeze-dried tripe treats have the same digestive enzyme benefits as raw, fresh tripe. The soft texture is also great for puppies and seniors who need an easy-chew option.
Here are our top picks:
Natural Tripe Chews
When it comes to treats, sometimes dogs need a satisfying chew that is also highly nutritious. Dried green tripe is a safe and crunchy natural chew that can help improve your dog's dental health and offer your dog a fun and tasty activity.
Our top pick, Eldon's Tripe Twist Sticks, acts like floss and helps remove food debris and bacteria that contribute to your dog's bad breath. Here is a few other tripe chews that your dog will love:
Green Tripe Nutrition Information
What's in tripe that makes it so nutritious anyway? Like most animal proteins, tripe can be a useful ingredient to boost your dog's overall nutrition. Tripe is great for your furry friend's digestive system.
If your pup is picky, then you can use the tripe to help your dog try new things. The linolenic fatty acids found in the prey's stomach are passed to your dog upon consumption for a rapid energy boost.
Take a look at what your dog will get from including tripe in their diet:
Protein
Green tripe is lower in protein than most common meat sources, but the quality of tripe makes it a highly sought-after addition to dog and cat food.
Healthy Fats
Green tripe is high in heart-healthy unsaturated fats, nearly 50% of the total fat in tripe is unsaturated. These fats provide quality, long-term energy and increase healthy HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol.
Tripe promotes healthy digestion by ensuring there are sufficient digestive enzymes in your pet's digestive system with a balance of good bacteria and essential fatty acids. It can even helps your dog's digestion and improve leaky gut syndrome.
Natural Vitamins and Minerals
Green tripe also contains partially-digested greens, unlocking nutrients that may have been unavailable if your dog or cat ate the grass that the cow (or other grazing animals) did. The pre digested green matter is brimming with nutrients. Adding green tripe to your furry friend's diet can definitely improve the dog's gut health.
Calcium and Phosphorus
Green Tripe has a nearly perfect calcium-to-phosphorus ratio and an optimal ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 fatty acids, making it nutritionally balanced. Tripe is also acidic in pH, making it easy for your pet to digest – perfect for sensitive stomachs (though the dogs love the smell might turn yours).
Manganese
All dogs require manganese, but if you feed a raw diet then it is even more crucial because manganese is typically found in fur and feathers and as an additive of commercial dog foods. Commercially prepared green raw tripes blends are well known for their manganese levels.
Probiotics for Dogs
Green tripe contains high amounts of lactobacillus acidophilus, a healthy probiotic. The beneficial bacteria in your pet's body, probiotics compete with harmful bacteria – like E. coli, listeria, and salmonella – for the same resources.
Digestive Enzymes for Dogs
Raw green tripe contains digestive enzymes. Why does this matter? Natural enzymes aid the digestive process by facilitating the breakdown of food into nutrients. The more digestive enzymes available, the more vitamins, minerals, and usable energy your pet will be able to receive from food.
Digestive enzymes are produced by your dog's pancreas, so including foods containing digestive enzymes helps reduce the load on the pancreas and support overall digestion. Tripe also helps with amino acids and removing harmful bacteria during the digestion.
Benefits of Tripe
Tripe can do a lot of good for your dog's health. There are many different types, from book tripe to honeycomb tripe, but raw green tripe is the most beneficial.
Many pet owners even say giving tripe can help your dog stop eating poop from a cat litter box.
Find out how your dog can benefit from raw green tripe in their diet:
