Guide
Raw, cooked or freeze-dried beef heart for dogs
Three ways people serve beef heart, what each asks of you, and what named sources say about handling.
Updated
You can serve beef heart for dogs raw, cooked or freeze dried, and the real difference is the work and the handling that come with each one. We sell the freeze-dried form, so we will say plainly what we know about that one, and for raw and cooked we will stay with what the FDA and veterinary sources say rather than invent a recipe. Ask your vet before changing what your dog eats, and especially if your dog has a health condition.
The three forms side by side
| Raw | Cooked at home | Freeze-dried | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prep | Trim and cut it yourself | Trim, cut and cook it yourself | None, it comes ready |
| Storage | Freeze until use, per the FDA tips below | Cover and refrigerate leftovers (FDA tip) | Seal the bag, cool and dry, no fridge (our feeding notes) |
| Handling | Raw pet food handling rules apply | Cook thoroughly, per the FDA | Ours is listed as freeze dried raw, so raw handling habits apply |
| Portioning | Weigh it; our label has no figure for fresh heart | Weigh it; same gap | 75.3 kcal per ounce on our label |
| Best for | People who already prepare raw meals | People who like to cook for their dog | Rewards, topping, travel |
Raw: what the FDA says to do
In an FDA screening of over 1,000 pet food samples, raw products turned up disease-causing bacteria more often than the other kinds tested, and the agency notes that the people handling raw food can get sick as well (FDA, Get the Facts! Raw Pet Food Diets can be Dangerous to You and Your Pet, content current as of 2018-02-22, opened 2026-10-16). If you feed raw anyway, the FDA's handling tips come down to this:
- Hands. A full soap and water wash, 20 seconds or more, after touching the food or anything it touched.
- Surfaces and bowls. Wash with hot soapy water first, then disinfect.
- Cold chain. Keep it frozen until needed and thaw it in the fridge or microwave, never on the counter or in the sink.
- No rinsing. Do not rinse raw meat before you serve it.
- Separation. Keep raw food away from everything else you eat or store.
- Leftovers. Cover and chill what the dog leaves right away, or bin it.
Cooked: the FDA's one rule
For home-cooked pet food made from raw ingredients, the FDA's instruction is to bring the food to a proper internal temperature and check it with a food thermometer; the same page notes that cooking it through kills Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes and other harmful bacteria. We are not giving you a time or a temperature, because we do not have a named source for one for heart.
Freeze-dried: what is different, and what is not
Freeze-dried heart needs no cooking and no refrigerator. Our bag holds one ingredient, beef heart, freeze dried in small batches in Malvern, Pennsylvania. Our feeding notes ask you to seal the bag between uses, keep it cool and dry, and wash your hands after handling. The label lists moisture at 17 percent maximum.
What freeze drying does not change is the raw handling question. Our Beef Trio listing describes its bags, the heart included, as freeze dried raw, so treat our heart as a raw product. Here is the part we want you to hear from a vet source, not from us: VCA Animal Hospitals tell owners to "be wary of freeze-dried or dehydrated raw treats", because bacteria on them can reach the dog, other pets and people (VCA, Dog Treats, last updated September 26, 2024, opened 2026-10-16). The sensible habits are the FDA's above: wash your hands, clean what the treats touched, and ask your doctor or vet first if anyone in your home has a reason to be extra careful.
Portioning any of them
Every form counts as a treat. VCA keeps treats and snacks to about a tenth of daily calories and leaves the rest to a complete and balanced food. Our calculator turns a daily calorie figure into grams and ounces using the label's 75.3 kcal per ounce. For fresh or cooked heart you would need a figure for that form, and we do not have one, so weigh it and ask your vet.
More about the product itself is on the freeze-dried beef heart page, and the general question is in is beef heart good for dogs.
Questions
How do you cook beef heart for dogs?
The one rule we can source is the FDA's: cook it to a proper internal temperature measured with a food thermometer. We do not give times or temperatures, so ask your vet if you want specifics.
Is raw beef heart okay for dogs?
The FDA warns that raw pet food carries bacteria risks for the dog and for the people who handle it, and lists handling steps for anyone who feeds it. Whether raw fits your dog is a question for your vet.
Do I have to refrigerate freeze-dried beef heart?
No, ours keeps at room temperature. Seal the bag between uses, keep it cool and dry, and handle it with the raw habits above.
Is freeze-dried the same as dehydrated?
We only describe our own treat, which is freeze dried with a label maximum moisture of 17 percent. We do not compare drying methods here.