By Dial A Vet Veterinary Team
Chicken hearts, lamb hearts and slices of beef heart are popular with Australian dog owners, partly because they are cheap and partly because dogs love them. Heart is a good-quality protein and most dogs digest it well. The questions worth asking are how much of the diet it should make up, whether to feed it raw or cooked, and where it came from. In Australia, those last two points carry real weight because of hydatid tapeworm and preserved pet meat.
Key takeaways
- Heart is a nutritious muscle meat that most dogs can eat in moderation.
- It is not a complete food. Too much heart without the rest of a balanced diet can leave gaps in calcium and other nutrients.
- Cooked heart is the safer choice for most households. Raw meat carries bacterial risks.
- Never feed raw offal from sheep, cattle, goats or kangaroos in rural areas, because of hydatid tapeworm.
- Avoid pet meat preserved with sulphites, which destroy thiamine (vitamin B1).
- Related: liver for dogs, kidney for dogs, raw food diets.
Heart is closer to muscle than to liver
People often group heart with liver and kidney as "organ meat". Nutritionally, heart behaves much more like regular muscle meat. It is high in protein and is a good source of iron, zinc, B vitamins and taurine. Liver, by contrast, is very high in vitamin A, which is why liver needs to stay a small part of a diet. Heart does not carry that vitamin A risk, but it does share a weakness with all muscle meat: it is low in calcium and relatively high in phosphorus. A diet built heavily on meat without a calcium source becomes unbalanced over time, which is a particular problem for growing puppies.
Taurine sometimes comes up in discussions about canine heart disease. Heart is rich in taurine, but feeding heart is not a treatment for heart disease. Dogs with heart concerns need a vet assessment and a diet plan from their vet.
How much heart is sensible
For most dogs eating a complete and balanced commercial food, heart works best as a treat or topper. Think a few chicken hearts, or a small cube of beef heart, a few times a week. Treats and extras of all kinds are best kept to around one tenth of daily food. If you feed a home-prepared diet, ask your vet or a board-certified veterinary nutritionist to help balance it, because getting the ratios right by guesswork is hard.
Introduce heart slowly. Rich new foods can cause loose stools for a day or two.
Raw or cooked?
Raw meat can carry Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listeria and E. coli. Dogs often carry these without looking sick, but they can shed them around the house, which matters if you have young children, older relatives or anyone with a weakened immune system. Lightly cooking heart, by simmering or pan-searing without oil or seasoning, reduces those risks. Let it cool and slice it to a size that suits your dog.
Hydatid tapeworm
Hydatid disease is a serious parasite of dogs and people in Australia. Dogs pick it up by eating raw offal containing cysts, usually from sheep, cattle, goats or macropods such as kangaroos and wallabies. Infected dogs then pass eggs that can infect people. Cysts are most common in liver and lungs but can occur in other organs. On farms and in rural areas, never feed raw offal, keep dogs away from carcasses, and follow your vet's worming advice, which in high-risk areas includes regular treatment for tapeworm.
Sulphite preservatives in pet meat
Some pet meat sold in Australia, particularly fresh "pet mince" and "pet rolls", has been preserved with sulphur dioxide or sulphite. These preservatives destroy thiamine. Dogs fed such meat for weeks can develop thiamine deficiency, which causes neurological signs like wobbliness, head tilt, seizures and collapse. Buy heart from a butcher or supermarket as human-grade meat, or choose pet meat clearly labelled preservative-free.
Choosing and preparing heart
- Chicken hearts are small and can be fed whole to medium and large dogs. Halve them for small dogs.
- Lamb hearts often have a cap of firm fat. Trim most of it off to reduce the fat load.
- Beef heart is large and dense. Slice it into strips or cubes.
- Dried heart treats are convenient. Check they are single-ingredient and from a reputable supplier.
When to call a vet
Contact your vet if your dog has vomiting or diarrhoea lasting more than a day after a new food, blood in stools, or a sore belly. Seek urgent care for repeated vomiting, collapse, wobbliness or seizures, or a swollen, painful belly. If your dog has been on preserved pet meat and shows any neurological signs, mention the diet to your vet straight away.
FAQ
Can puppies eat heart?
Puppies can have small pieces of cooked heart as treats, but their growth diet should provide almost all their nutrition. Calcium balance matters most at this age.
Is chicken heart safe for small dogs?
Yes, if cut in half to reduce choking risk and offered in small amounts.
Can heart cause pancreatitis?
Heart is fairly lean, but fatty cuts or lamb hearts with the fat cap left on can contribute to stomach upset in sensitive dogs.
Talk with a vet
Thinking about adding organ meats or moving to a home-prepared diet? A Dial A Vet veterinarian can talk through balance, safety and your dog's health with you. Book a Dial A Vet consult.
References
- Singh M, Thompson M, Sullivan N, Child G. Thiamine deficiency in dogs due to the feeding of sulphite preserved meat. Australian Veterinary Journal. 2005;83(7):412-417.
- Freeman LM, Chandler ML, Hamper BA, Weeth LP. Current knowledge about the risks and benefits of raw meat-based diets for dogs and cats. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. 2013;243(11):1549-1558.
- Jenkins DJ. Hydatid control in Australia: where it began, what we have achieved and where to from here. International Journal for Parasitology. 2005;35(7):733-740.
- National Research Council. Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats. Washington DC: National Academies Press; 2006.
Disclaimer: Educational only. This page does not replace an examination or advice from your own veterinarian. If you are worried about your pet right now, contact your local vet or nearest emergency animal hospital.
