# Feeding dogs squirrel meat



## 3boyswoodsNwater

Anybody ever give their dog squirrel meat? I give my dog some foods when I’m cooking like scrambled eggs so I was thinking of giving her squirrel, but somebody told me it would be better if I gave her raw squirrel instead of cooking it. Thoughts?


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## eye-sore

Interested myself. Thinking if bones are carefully removed its fine


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## Waif

I'd give a sample of what you eat after cooking..
A raw food diet has merit , and more work involved. The enzymes in meat are good for keeping teeth clean , and the high moisture of raw helps digestibility. And more...

A raw sample is not bad , but be aware some critters have parasites killed by cooking.
Squirrels and rabbits ect. sure can host fleas , and fleas can host parasites. Like tapeworms.

A rapid change in diet (a small sample is not a rapid change) should be instead a gradual one.
Rapid change is not good...
Dogs can swallow larger chicken bones in meat. I'm not overly comfortable with it, but have fed leg quarters. And given meaty raw bones with supervision.
In the wild bones are mixed with fur or feathers. That matters. As does experience with what can be gulped , and what needs gnawing on first.


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## 6Speed

3boyswoodsNwater said:


> Anybody ever give their dog squirrel meat? I give my dog some foods when I’m cooking like scrambled eggs so I was thinking of giving her squirrel, but somebody told me it would be better if I gave her raw squirrel instead of cooking it. Thoughts?


I usually make squirrel pot pie (Scottish Shepard's Pie spin off). Toby always gets a spoon or two or leftovers. He smacks it down and wants more. Hasn't killed him in ten years and he has food allergies too.

Give em a little cooked squirrel rat and it will be fine.


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## rugbym10sflyu

unless switching to a completely raw diet I don't see why a little raw squirrel would be better than cooked. We tried a completely raw diet for our dogs with venison and it was way to much work to provide all the supplemental vitamins etc. so we just mix some with their dry food...sometimes raw sometimes cooked. They love it both ways


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## FREEPOP

Only raw parts I gave gave the beagles were the heart and lungs, man they loved that treat. When I was headed to the barn, I had to be careful not to trip over them.
We'd give them badly shot up rabbits, just parboil, peel the meat off the bone and leave it in the broth. A little on the food in the bowl daily made for some happily spoiled boys.


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## Martin Looker

You have to be careful giving dogs chicken leg and wing bones. My vet says they splinter and can get stuck on the way down or poke holes in their guts.


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## 6Speed

Martin Looker said:


> You have to be careful giving dogs chicken leg and wing bones. My vet says they splinter and can get stuck on the way down or poke holes in their guts.


Same with squirrel bones. I clean the meat off of mine by hand and cook them down in a pressure cooker before making the pie. It's dog safe!


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## reddog1

I feed my beagles raw meat occasionally
chicken legs and thighs, and venison and every now and then they catch a rabbit and eat the whole thing. Scheduled wormings and Ivermec take care of parasites that might be ingested. When on Drummond Island running hare we give each dog 2 raw eggs with their food at the end of each day. The added protein helps with their stamina and recovery from hard running.


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## rob0311

I have a squirrel dog and even though I eat a few every year she gets most of them. I almost always give her the heart and lungs after skinning. Then they go into the smoker for a couple hours, remove the bones and that’s her treats. She seems fine and will sit by that smoker for hours waiting.


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## jd4223

Martin Looker said:


> You have to be careful giving dogs chicken leg and wing bones. My vet says they splinter and can get stuck on the way down or poke holes in their guts.


More common than bones splintering is that chicken bone when digested turns the dogs stool hard as a rock and can cause the dogs rectum to tear when he/she attempts have a bowel movement. You will be able to tell when a dog has gotten ahold of chicken bones by their yelping when trying to have a bowel movement. In some cases it causes a bowel obstruction requiring surgery.


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## FREEPOP

When I fleshed beavers I'd give the dogs a few pieces of the meat, I tired to stray away from too much greasy fat stuff. They also loved that!


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## dougdad

My beagle only gets raw kidney from rabbits and squirrels, I on occasion will boil hearts, and livers as a treat but avoid feeding those raw do to worms. I feed him cooked game all the time as long as it is not spiced, especially boiled liver. I also pour all the cooking water from game over his food. Yep he is spoiled rotten...LOL
I would bone that tree rat before feeding it to her, as mentioned their bones are very much like chicken bones and will splinter badly..


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## FishHog

Why would you feed your dog the best meat ever made ?


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## 3boyswoodsNwater

Because I like her better than people.


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