How to Skin a Deer for Raw Dog Food
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In this article, my husband and I will show you how to skin a deer for dog food. The particular deer featured here was found dead and, with the game warden's blessing, was given to us for our German Shepherd stud dog, K-10. He is raw fed. This deer was not suitable for human consumption, and, had he not been used for dog food, would have been wasted. He was somewhat bloated, as he had been shot several hours earlier, and was not discovered right away. (He was poached, and was shot in the wee hours of the morning.)
We will show the nitty gritty of how to prepare the deer for gutting. Our method of skinning dog food deer is less thorough than the skinning method used for deer which wind up on our table, and is designed only for getting at the guts easily.
The photos below are graphic. If dead animals turn your stomach, please go read something else.
Step One - Splitting the Hide Down the Belly
Step Two - Removing Hide from Legs
Step Three - Removing the Head
That's It!
Now the hide is removed enough to allow you to gut the deer for your dog. (You don't have to gut the deer, if you feed outside - but you won't want your dog coming into the house for quite some while. He will enjoy smelling "wild", but you won't.)
If you wish to skin the deer entirely, just roll it over and continue on the other side, until you can strip it clear off.
In upcoming articles, we will explain how to gut a deer for dog food, and cut the meat into usable portions.
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Looks like a nice hide. Are you doing something with it? Or do you dispose of it?
Paul, [from the wife] thanks for taking a look-see. A few years ago, I would have thought that going to this much work for dog food was insane. But after seeing firsthand the benefits of raw feeding, I am a believer!
Ivorwen, I kept this hide. It was really rather nice. In fact, I just posted about fleshing it, on my blog:
http://joilene.wordpress.com/2009/12/22/another-de
The one from the deer which Hubby later shot wound up not being near so nice, so I was glad to have this one. The second one got scrapped.
What are the benefits of raw food for your dog?
Paul, this can be an extremely complicated and controversial subject. Here is a forum designed around the topic:
http://www.dogster.com/forums/Raw_Food_Diet
Also, here is a page explaining some of the truths about raw fed dog diets:
These two links are good starting places.
Great pictures.
Paul, I have a few hubs on BARF diet. It's actually quite beneficial.
Whitney, thanks so much for your support. It looks like you have one happy pooch. :-)
It isa better for the dogs to eat what a dog would eat naturally. Read the first three ingredients of commercial dog food. Then go to the most expensive in the grocery store and you wil find that you are paying for more corn then the cheaper brands. It is pathetic. Just give your dog a raw steak and he willbe very happy.
Very clear pictures. Thanks.
I can testify somewhat to the good effects of feeding a dog a raw diet. There is one which is often a guest in my porch, and I find that he does not produce the same allergic reaction that most animals produce. The owner mentioned to me that it might be the lack of corn in the diet, and I think he must be right.
LiftedUp, you are welcome.
I am glad to hear that you have had such good experiences with raw feeding. It takes much dedication, and a different mindset to feed raw than to feed kibble, but I, too, can testify to the lack of allergy in raw fed dogs. Our previous dog was not raw fed, and if he so much as licked my hand, I got an allergic reaction within seconds. K-10 at first had a "wet dog" smell all the time, and horrible ear infections. These disappeared - as well as the smell - within weeks of switching him to a whole foods diet. The diet at that time was not entirely raw, but it was based on whole foods - meats, vegetables, fruits, very little grains. He almost never appears to feel poorly now that he is on a cleaner diet.
wow this is something new, I know of people who raw feed thier dogs but this is different... what love for pets can do to their owners...anyway I am not a raw feeder but I am not a dog food patronizer too...I fed my dog boiled meet with no spices...
Maria,
We fed K-10 cooked meat and other things (pumpkin, yogurt, etc.) initially, during the switchover period from dog food to raw, and this seemed to make the transition easier for his system. Now he eats almost exclusively meat and some goat dairy products...doesn't care for the vegetables much anymore, though he continues to like certain grain products - pancakes and whole grain cookies. Mostly, he likes anything we tell him is "people food".
I'm glad to hear your dog is fed well. :-)
Paul Edmondson Level 4 Commenter 2 years ago
Wow. This is an amazing hub. We have a german shepherd at home that we use to feed raw meat paddies, but we never prepared the raw meat. I actually wasn't aware that people did this for their animals. Love the pictures and the details.