If a certain cough medicine carries the slogan “it tastes awful, and it works”, then green tripe’s slogan should be “it smells awful, and it works”!  However, if there were ever such a thing as catnip for dogs, then folks, believe me, this is it.  Dogs simply go crazy for this natural dish, and it’s benefits are many.

Unlike the tripe most are familar  to seeing at the supermarket or their local butcher, “green” (or “dirty”) tripe is tripe in an unprocessed raw natural state.  Grocery store bland white tripe, which is usually only the honeycomb type, has been bleached, scalded, and sterilized prior to ever making the store shelf.  Unfortunately for our canine friends, this processing kills off all the goodness they get from it along with the natural smells which drive them bonkers (remember the catnip reference?).

So what is it exactly? Tripe is the stomach organ found in ruminant animals – basically those that graze on vegetation and require multiple stomachs to break down and digest their food.  Sheep, cattle, venison, bison, would be considered ruminants.  In a cow, the most readily available type of tripe here in Ontario, there are four separate stomach compartments or chambers (the rumen, reticulum, omasum, and the abomasum) each of which play a particular role in their digestion of foods.  Not to worry, there isn’t a test at the end of the article.  A solitary cow tripe can weigh up to 100 pounds alone, but for for the most part the ones we get are between 30-40 lbs each.

Green tripe is considered relatively “new” in North America, however has long been a staple for dogs in other parts of the world, especially Europe and Eurasia.   Breeders and owners in Europe have had a long history with green tripe, and the product is considered an important part of each meal – when combined with a balanced raw food diet of meats, bone, and organ.

So now that we know what just what green tripe is, and where it comes from, what are the benefits to this stinky substance?

From some of the reports, you’d think that tripe was over exaggerated as the wonder-food-cure-all-miracle-substance, however, there is an overwhelming consensus from breeders and owners that some of tripe’s benefits include:  general over-all health improvement, reduced skin problems, shinier coats, better teeth, stronger muscles, better digestion (including reduction of digestive disorders), older dogs invigorated, younger dogs with exceptional development, and many other overall improvements.  Green tripe definitely helps with the fussiest of eaters, including pregnant bitches who may be “off” their normal foods.

What makes green tripe so good?  Well, there are a few notable items.  First, tripe has a calcium-phosphorus ratio of 1:1, which is great for dogs.  It has a relatively low fat content, along with good amounts of essential fatty acids.    Potassium, vitamins, magnesium, are all components to tripe and beneficial to our furry friends.  And beyond the chemical compositions of tripe, the food contains good amounts of lactobacillus acidophilus which we’re likely all aware of thanks to yogurt commercials as being a pro-biotic and aides in digestion.

Bold Raw produces, in house, frozen ground and solid tripe in convenient packaging.   We pickup our whole tripe fresh, the day of processing at the farm, and wash, prepare, trim, grind, and package ourselves.  Our pack of six Shiloh Shepherds eat it daily and absolutely love it.

Since producing green tripe in-house, Bold Raw customers have been coming back for more and more as they too discover the benefits to this great addition to any meal – whether raw or kibble fed.