Raw Green Tripe
What is Raw Green Tripe?
Well, I know what tripe is. It is the stomach lining of an ox, sheep, or other ruminant animals and comes in three parts. The first stomach’s lining is called blanket, the second, honeycomb, and the third, thick seam. Tripe for human consumption is always sold dressed, bleached, and parboiled, but requires further cooking for two hours before eating.
Once upon a time it was a nutritional staple in people’s diet. My English mum would occasionally cook a dish of tripe and onions. It tasted a little rubbery, like calamari. Not much flavor, so it was usually smothered in a tomato sauce.
Today, tripe is better known as pet food and is served to dogs and cats as Unwashed, or Raw Green Tripe.
Unlike tripe for human consumption, Raw Green Tripe is not bleached or pre-boiled and will include some of the stomach’s last contents. It’s actual color is grayish-brown with a green-tint from the undigested grass, herbs, or hay the animal ate just before slaughter. And, this also gives it a high chlorophyll content which is beneficial to aid gastrointestinal problems, promotes the formation hemoglobin and red blood cells, detoxifies toxins, and fights infections.
Be forewarned, when you open the package of Raw Green Tripe the first thing you’ll going to notice is, it stinks. As a matter of fact, it smells like a public toilet in a New York City subway station. However, as bad as it smells to us humans, it smells great to your cat or dog. They find it irresistible.
Raw Green Tripe is the most nutritionally complete all natural foods available for your dog and cat. It contains the essential fatty acids Omegas 3 & 6 (Linoleic and Linolenic), protein at 15.1, fat 11.7, and the ideal Calcium to Phosphorus ratio of 1:1. Also, the overall pH is on the acidic side which is better for digestion and includes Lactic Acid Bacteria, more commonly known as the probiotic ingredient Lactobacillus Acidophilus.
When Raw Green Tripe is fed whole or in large chunks, its tough rubbery texture is a great tooth cleaner, mental stimuli, and jaw strengthener.
Folks who believe dogs are omnivores usually argue the assumption that wolves eat the stomach content of prey animals. But, this is not true. Wild Life Biologist have observed that wolves will first rip open the stomach of their prey and then violently shake it in order to dump the contents. Any plant matter left behind usually doesn’t add up to more than a few grams, or less than a tablespoon. Biologist L. David Mech, who has studied wolves since 1958 and is considered one of the world’s leading expert on wolves and their diets, wrote in his book Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation the following excerpt:
“Wolves are not fed by meat alone; in fact, they require the less palatable or less accessible portions of their prey in order to maintain a balanced intake of nutrients. To grow and maintain their own bodies, wolves need to ingest all the major parts of their herbivorous prey, except the plants in the digestive system.” (page 124)
“If the stomach of a large prey animal freezes before wolves find the carcass (e.g., if it died from starvation, accident, or earlier wounding by wolves), the wolves commonly consume the entire stomach wall by laborious nibbling with their incisors. Mucous membranes, an important component of ungulate stomachs, intestines, and snouts, are a vital source of essential fatty acids.” (page 125)
Raw Green Tripe may bring the wolf out in your dog. A friend of mine who feeds his Rottweiler whole pieces of Green Tripe noticed that his dog will shake it around before eating it. So, just like the wolf in the wild, don’t be surprised if you see your dog trying to empty the stomach content of his “prey.”
And yes! Cats can eat raw green tripe too! Bon apetit!
