Beef Kidney for Dogs: The Organ Treats We Carry Instead

No maker on this site sells beef kidney treats as this is written, so this page sets kidney beside the organ treats the makers on this site do carry, such as heart and tripe. Beef kidney is an organ meat with a lobed shape and a strong smell, and dogs get it in small pieces. It is a food on this page and nothing more: nothing here speaks to any dog's kidneys, which is a question for a licensed professional who cares for your dog. How much to feed and how to start are covered in the guide to beef kidney for dogs on sniffandshift.com.

Kidney as an organ meat

A beef kidney is a dense, dark, lobed organ, with a surface that looks like a cluster of small knuckles rather than a smooth slab. Butchers sell it with the fat still around it, and cooks trim that away before anything else. The meat inside is closer to muscle in texture than to tripe or to the softest organs, and it is firm when cooked.

USDA FoodData Central lists raw beef kidney at close to four fifths water, which is why it shrinks as it cooks and why a dried piece is a fraction of the weight of a raw one. The same water figure does the work in the next section.

Kidney is not a cut most households cook, which is part of why a dog treat is a gentler way to meet it than a pan of simmering kidney in a small kitchen.

Sniff and Shift does not make kidney treats. Its freeze dried beef heart, a single ingredient from Pennsylvania beef, freeze dried in small batches in Malvern, is the nearest organ in the house line. The wider shelf is organ dog treats.

What kidney treats look and smell like

The smell is the first thing. Cooks know kidney for a sharp, metallic smell that gets stronger as it is cooked, and a dog that likes strong flavors tends to notice it from across the room. Kidney that has been dried smells much less than a wet piece, but it is still stronger than muscle meat in the same bag.

Dried kidney looks dark, almost brown, and breaks in uneven, slightly fibrous pieces with a rough face where the interior shows. The lobed shape is gone by then, since the pieces are cut. Hold one up and you can see the grain of a firm meat, not the open texture of tripe.

That strength is the trade off. A strong smell is an advantage for a dog that is hard to interest, and the reason small portions go a long way. A piece the size of a thumbnail covers a medium dog's turn.

Raw, cooked and freeze dried kidney

Raw kidney is wet and cold and needs the handling any raw meat needs. Our raw feeding notice explains that raw and uncooked animal products can carry bacteria such as Salmonella and Listeria, and that hands and surfaces need washing afterward.

Cooks often soak raw kidney in cold water for a while before cooking, and the water turns pink. It is a kitchen habit, not a rule. Cooked kidney firms up, loses water and smells strongly in a closed kitchen, so open a window.

Freeze dried kidney is the same meat with most of the water drawn out. It keeps in a pantry rather than a fridge, and it travels in a pouch without leaving a mark. Break it small before you head out, because the pieces do not tear neatly. Store it sealed, because a strong smelling food in a loose bag will find the rest of the cupboard.

How kidney compares with the organ treats here

The organ shelf here holds heart from beef, chicken, duck, lamb and turkey, most of it freeze dried and some dehydrated, and tripe, freeze dried or braided into a chew. Liver fills much of the rest and has a site of its own, livertreats.net.

Kidney, heart and tripe are three different foods. Heart is muscle, dense and firm, and it breaks along the grain; the poultry version is in chicken hearts for dogs. Tripe is stomach lining, soft and open textured, with a smell of its own, and green tripe for dogs covers it. Kidney sits between them in texture and well ahead of both on smell.

If you are building a pouch, use kidney as the strong flavored reward and keep it to a piece or two a session. A new organ meat is best introduced alone, so you can tell which one the dog took to and which it ignored. Write the date and the piece size on a sticky note on the jar, and you will have the answer the next time you wonder how it went.

Common questions

Does kidney smell stronger than other organ meats?

Cooks know kidney for a sharp smell that gets stronger as it cooks. A freeze dried piece gives off far less than a wet one. It is still stronger than muscle meat in the same bag.

Why do cooks soak raw kidney before cooking?

Many cooks soak it in cold water first to draw out some of the smell. It is a kitchen habit, not a rule, and nothing about a dog's treat depends on it.

How small should kidney pieces be for a dog?

Small: about the size of a thumbnail for a medium dog, and smaller for a small dog. The smell is strong enough that a little goes a long way.

Is kidney the same food as tripe?

No. Kidney is a lobed organ with a firm texture, and tripe is the lining of the stomach, soft and open. They differ in shape, texture and smell.