Tripe dog food: what it is and why owners feed it
Tripe is stomach lining from a ruminant animal, most commonly beef, and it is one of the more distinctive things stocked on the raw and natural chew shelves — genuinely one of the strongest-smelling products in the shop, which is exactly why a lot of dogs find it so appealing.
Green tripe versus white tripe
Green tripe is unwashed and unbleached, which sounds unpleasant but is precisely what gives it its nutritional value and its famously strong smell — it still carries the digestive enzymes and bacteria from the animal's stomach, which raw feeders rate highly. White tripe, the bleached version sold for human consumption, has been through a cleaning process that strips out most of that same value.
The products stocked here, frozen raw tripe like Benyfit Natural's Chicken Tripe recipe and dried chews like Hollings Tripe Sticks, are made from the unbleached, nutrient-carrying version rather than the human-food kind, which is the whole reason they are worth seeking out over a supermarket alternative.
Why dogs tend to love it
The smell that puts most owners off is exactly what draws dogs to it. Tripe carries a strong scent that most dogs find highly palatable, which makes it a genuinely useful option for a fussy eater who turns their nose up at more conventional foods.
Beyond palatability, tripe has a naturally balanced calcium-to-phosphorus ratio, which is a genuinely useful trait in a raw diet built around whole foods rather than a single formulated recipe.
How to store and handle it
Frozen raw tripe needs proper freezer space and needs handling the way any raw meat would — thawed in a fridge rather than at room temperature, and any surfaces or bowls it touches cleaned thoroughly afterwards. It genuinely is the strongest-smelling thing kept in a chest freezer alongside other raw stock.
Dried tripe sticks and chews are far easier to store and handle, needing no freezer space at all, and make a reasonable middle ground for an owner curious about tripe but not ready to commit to a full raw diet.
Introducing tripe to your dog's diet
Introduce tripe gradually alongside your dog's usual food rather than switching over in one go, particularly if your dog has never had a raw or strongly scented food before. A small amount mixed in lets you judge how they tolerate it before making it a bigger part of their diet.
A dried tripe stick makes a simpler starting point than a full raw meal, giving your dog a taste for it without committing to raw feeding, storage and handling all at once.
What we stock
Everything below is in stock with us, priced with delivery worked out, and packed and posted by hand in the UK.
Chicken-Wrapped Milk Stick Dog Treats
Chewy dog treats of soft milk sticks wrapped in real chicken for tasty, protein-rich rewarding.
From£12.99
Dried Catnip & Cat Grass Leaf Treats
A tub of dried catnip and cat grass leaves to sprinkle over toys, scratchers and bedding.
From£8.99
Whiskas 1+ Lamb Adult Dry Cat Food
Complete lamb dry food for adult cats in a practical 1.9KG bag
£12.39
Whiskas 1 Tuna Adult Dry Cat Food
Complete tuna dry food for adult cats, offered in several bag sizes
From£3.19
Whiskas Kitten Chicken Dry Cat Food
Complete chicken dry food for kittens, available in several bag sizes
From£3.19
Whiskas 7+ Senior Cat Complete Dry with Chicken
Complete chicken dry food for senior cats aged 7+ in a 1.9KG bag
£12.39
Catit Nibbly Jerky Chicken & Fish Treats
Soft chicken and fish jerky treats for cats, two named meats high on the list, grain free
£1.89
Catit Creamy Tuna Treats 4 Pk
Lickable 26% tuna purée tubes for cats, 4 x 10g, up to 3 a day in place of main meal
£1.89
Dreamies Meaty Sticks Adult Cat Treats with Scrumptious Salmon
Soft meaty stick treats for adult cats with salmon, individually wrapped, not for kittens
£1.59
Dreamies Creamy Adult Cat & Kitten Treats with Scrumptious Salmon
Creamy lickable salmon treats for cats and kittens, in a 40g pack with taurine
£1.59
Stop Bloody Scratching Treats Chicken Flavour 90 Tablets
Chicken-flavoured tablets from Pets Calm Down, made in the UK, ninety to a pack, given daily as a treat to support skin and coat condition in itchy dogs.
£22.99
Dreamies Shakeups Seafood Celebrations Cat Treats
Complementary Dreamies Shakeups tuna, salmon and shrimp treats, 55G
£2.05
Common questions
- Why does tripe smell so bad?
- The strong smell comes from digestive enzymes and bacteria still present in unbleached, green tripe, which is exactly what makes it nutritionally valuable and highly palatable to dogs. It is one of the strongest-smelling things a shop like ours stocks, but that smell is a sign of quality, not spoilage.
- What is the difference between green and white tripe?
- Green tripe is unwashed and unbleached, retaining the nutrients and enzymes that make it valuable as a dog food. White tripe, sold for human consumption, has been cleaned and bleached, which removes most of that nutritional value along with the smell.
- Is tripe a complete diet on its own?
- No, tripe is a strongly palatable, nutrient-rich food but not a nutritionally complete diet by itself. It works best as part of a varied raw diet or alongside a complete food, rather than being fed as the only thing your dog eats.
- How should I store raw tripe?
- Keep it frozen until you are ready to use it, then thaw it in the fridge rather than at room temperature, the same as you would any raw meat. Clean any bowls or surfaces it touches thoroughly afterwards to avoid cross-contamination.
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Written by Matt Garnett, who runs Giddy Pets and is a lifelong pet owner — not a vet. This is general information, not veterinary advice, and it cannot replace an examination by the vet who knows your animal. How we write these guides.