You may have noticed that tripe is growing increasingly popular among pet parents.
But what exactly is tripe? Does it offer all the benefits people claim, and do dogs even love tripe?
In this post, we define tripe, its origin, and how you can feed it to your canine, and we also look at the benefits and potential drawbacks, if there are any.
Let's begin...
What is tripe
Tripe is muscle tissue from the belly of ruminant animals such as sheep, cows, goats, deer, buffalo, and pigs. Cow (beef) tripe is the most popular.
The stomachs of ruminant animals are divided into four chambers.
These four chambers systematically break down the grass an animal eats using digestive enzymes, amino acids, and gastric juices.
Therefore, each of the four chambers in a cow's stomach produces a particular type of tripe.
Of these four, people mostly use tripe from the
- Reticulum (second stomach), which has a honeycomb texture
- Rumen (first stomach) it's also called smooth tripe due to its delicate texture.
Like the other organ meats, people consider tripe a byproduct as its what remains after the killing of a farm animal for its muscle meat.
Typically, it's assumed that byproducts or remnants are inferior. However, studies have proven that tripe has more nutrients than muscle meat.
Manufacturers produce different types of tripe. For instance, human tripe is white due to the bleaching from hydrogen peroxide, cleaning, and packing.
Experts don't recommend white tripe for dogs since it has minimal nutritional benefits.
The best tripe for dogs is green tripe, which is brown though sometimes it may have green patches if the animal had eaten grass recently.
Must it be green?
The word green doesn't refer to the color of the tripe, which we learned earlier that it's brown.
Green means it's unprocessed and raw, straight from the animal and still dripping with pre-digested plant matter that's healthy for your mutt.
In addition, the green tripe shouldn't be cooked. Cooking kills essential digestive enzymes present in the tripe.
Therefore, you should avoid processed or canned products with fewer nutrients and preservatives.
Is tripe good for dogs?
Dogs love eating green tripe; it's one of those foods you don't have to coax your pup into eating.
Numerous dog owners also use green tripe to get their dogs to eat other foods like vegetables.
Additionally, tripe provides your dog with plenty of benefits that include
Benefits tripe provides to dogs.
Improves digestion
Tripe significantly improves your canine's digestion. If your pup regularly eats processed or cooked foods, he may develop enzyme deficiency.
Green tripe has juices that constitute a lot of beneficial bacteria and healthy enzymes.
These enzymes and bacteria usually aid the ruminant animals in digesting and absorbing nutrients from food. Hence, they will also benefit your dog's digestion process.
In addition, the pancreas is tasked with the production of digestive enzymes.
Hence by including foods that introduce such enzymes, you reduce the pressure on your dog's pancreas, thereby avoiding diseases resulting from pancreas failure.
The digestive enzymes in tripe not only help in digestion but also.
- Cleanse and purify your dog's blood
- Get rid of fungus and parasites
- Improve metabolism
- Boost hormonal function
- Improve your dog's immune system
Has a lot of nutrients
Tripe contains many nutrients: amino acids, essential fatty acids, and minerals.
Dogs that have nutrient deficiencies tend to suffer from
- Inflammation
- Bacterial and viral infections
- Gingivitis
- Chronic diarrhea
- Yeast overgrowth
You can improve the health condition of such dogs by putting them on a tripe diet, for it will provide them with essential nutrients such a
- Amino acids
- Manganese
- Iron
- Potassium
- Phosphorous
- An ideal 1:1 ratio of phosphorus and calcium
- Complex B vitamins
- Omega 3 fatty acids
- Omega 6 fatty acids
- linoleic fatty acids
- Zinc
- Selenium
- Copper
Boosts immunity and gut health
Green tripe benefits your dog's stomach and the healthy bacteria that live in his gut.
Your dog's gut contains hundreds of various types of microflora and bacteria.
These bacteria are in two categories; the "bad bacteria" and the "good bacteria." Harmful bacteria like salmonella, licorice, E. coli, listeria, and campylobacter cause health issues.
Your dog gets these harmful bacteria from food and its environment; if not for the healthy bacteria, it would develop severe health conditions.
The beneficial bacteria outnumber the harmful bacteria, enhancing your dog's immunity and maintaining ideal microflora balance.
Green tripe contains plenty of lactobacillus acidophilus, one of the good bacteria.
Many health issues that affect dogs arise from an imbalance of good and bad bacteria. Especially older dogs tend to have minimal beneficial bacteria in their system.
Thereby adding green tripe to your pup's diet ensures he has a healthy microflora balance, which prevents the development of health disorders.
Other benefits of acidophilus:
- Aids digestion
- Reduces chances of pollen allergies
- Cures irritable Powell bowel symptoms
- Cures Gi infections and diarrhea
- Strengthens immunity function
Aids dogs with kidney disease
Raw and unprocessed green tripe is beneficial to dogs with kidney disease as it has tiny amounts of phosphorus that won't stress your dog's kidney.
Moreover, dogs love the smell and taste of tripe; thus, it will encourage a sickly dog to eat. Green tripe also has a lot of moisture that aids your dog with hydration.
Unlike other foods, unprocessed raw tripe doesn't have any synthetic additives. Thus it's easier for dogs to break down and absorb nutrients which fastens healing.
Dogs with food allergies can eat tripe
Tripe has a minimal allergic reaction; hence, dogs with sensitive stomachs or food allergies can eat it without hassle.
The reason is that tripe has low amounts of myoglobin, the protein that gives red meat its red color.
If your dog is allergic to beef or chicken, you can feed it tripe from lambs or sheep.
Aids your canine's dental health.
Studies have shown that dogs that regularly chew on tripe tend to have stronger teeth. That's because tripe exercises your dog's jaw, scrapes teeth, and massages your pup's gums.
In addition, tripe is easily digested. Hence your furry friend won't develop stomach problems.
Assists in weight maintenance and weight loss.
Your dog is more likely to become obese when you put him on a regular carbohydrate-heavy kibble diet.
Carbohydrates provide quick energy but won't satisfy your dog or provide lasting strength.
Tripe contains condensed calories full of nutrients which makes your dog feel full. Therefore, it will help obese dogs shed extra pounds and skinny dogs gain muscle.
Your pet won't also lack the required nutrients, a risk that many restrictive weight loss diets pose.
Where you can find green tripe
You can find tripe in different forms: ground, raw, frozen, canned, freeze-dried, and raw.
Nowadays, tripe is available in pet stores or large store chains.
You must find a local supplier if you prefer the raw green tripe. However, you need to confirm how the animals were raised and what they ate. A local farm or butchery is the best option.
It's also worth noting that tripe also has bacteria; hence you should be careful while handling it as the bacteria could make you sick. Ensure you thoroughly wash your hand after handling.
How to prepare tripe
Cutting tripe can be challenging, but some steps can help you out.
- Use a well-sharpened knife and have another one on standby
- You can partially freeze it to make it easier while cutting
- If you have a grinder, you can use it instead of cutting.
Note that tripe spoils fast, so you need to keep it in a fridge; even so, it won't last past a few days.
How to feed green tripe
Using raw green tripe, you can add it directly to your dog's meal.
For ground tripe, start with two tablespoons or more, depending on the age and size of your dog.
You can then increase the amount as your dog become accustomed to it. Doing so prevents your dog from having diarrhea.
Other ways to feed tripe:
Dehydrated tripe
Cut the green tripe into bites or pieces and lay them on a tray. After which, you dehydrate them for 7 to 8 hours at 140 degrees. Keep on draining till it's crunchy and store in a refrigerator.
Tripe snacks
Combine ground kidney, liver, or heart with ground tripe, dehydrate for a few hours and then break apart the pieces.
You can use these treats during training or as snacks.
Final word
Without a doubt, tripe is highly beneficial to your dog. However, the smell and process of acquiring it may seem cumbersome to some people.
Thankfully, you can use supplements like Safe Guard Probiotics, which improve your dog's digestion, detoxify the liver and enhance the immunity you can use.