What Is Green Tripe, and Why Do Raw-Fed Dogs Love It?

The short answer

Green tripe is the raw, unbleached stomach lining of a grazing animal, beef, in our recipes. It is the one ingredient that reliably gets a fussy dog eating again, and it smells exactly as strong as you have been warned it does. Most dogs think that is the best thing about it!

If you have been circling the tripe section wondering whether it is worth the smell, let this be a sign that your dog's wagging tail is worth it.

Why dogs go for tripe when they will not touch anything else

Ask any raw feeder what they reach for when their dog has gone off their food, and tripe comes up again and again. We see it in our own range: our Natural Tripe & Turkey is a firm favourite precisely because, as we put it ourselves, the green tripe is too irresistible to miss. Our Natural Beef Tripe was built around the same idea; it is ideal for encouraging fussy eaters, and it is a simple, wholesome way to introduce your dog to raw tripe for the first time.

That makes tripe a raw feeder's go-to rather than just another protein on the shelf. A dog picking at their bowl is stressful. An ingredient that gets them eating properly again is worth it's weight in gold.

About that smell

We are not going to pretend otherwise. Our own description of Natural Beef Tripe calls it slightly smelly but incredibly tasty, and that is a fair summary.

A few things make it easier to live with. Serve it straight from the fridge rather than letting it sit out and warm up and feed it in a bowl you can put straight in the dishwasher.

Your dog, meanwhile, will be delighted with you.

Complete or complementary - the bit worth getting right

This is the single most common mix-up with tripe, and this is everything you need to know about our tripe recipes.

Complete recipes are balanced meals. You can feed them on their own, every day, and your dog gets what they need. Our Natural Beef Tripe, Natural Tripe & Turkey, Working Dog Chicken & Tripe and Puppy Chicken & Tripe are all complete.

Complementary recipes are not. Our Simply Green Tripe is 100% beef green tripe and nothing else - it is designed for owners who want to build their own meals and add their own toppers for balance. Fed on its own, day in and day out, it is not a balanced diet. Fed as part of a bowl you are putting together yourself, it is exactly what it says on the tub.

One is a meal. The other is an ingredient. Both are useful; they are just not interchangeable.

What is actually in each one

Every figure below is taken straight from the recipe's own listing.

Two details in that table are worth pausing on.

Natural Beef Tripe is bone-free, so we add extra calcium in the form of sea kelp to make up for it. That is why a 75% tripe recipe still stands up as a complete meal.

Working Dog Chicken & Tripe has added Vitamin C, which we include to help keep your dog's immune system, ligaments and joints healthy and supported - a sensible addition for a dog doing a proper day's work.

Tripe for puppies

Puppies can have tripe, and ours is built for them rather than scaled down from an adult recipe. Puppy Chicken & Tripe suits puppies from 8 weeks and carries a precise balance of calcium to phosphorus, which matters for growth and development. It is also an excellent source of digestive enzymes, and we think it makes a good choice for transitioning a puppy onto raw.

The tripe content is deliberately lower here - 15% rather than 75% - sitting alongside chicken, heart and liver.

Storing and serving

• All of these recipes are frozen - store them in the freezer and defrost them in the fridge.
• Available in 1kg tubs and 2x500g tubs, apart from Puppy Chicken & Tripe, which comes in 1kg
• Grain-free
• Made in Britain
• 100% recyclable packaging
• No artificial colours, additives or preservatives

Common questions

Is green tripe the same as the tripe sold for people?
No. The tripe sold at a butcher's counter for human food has been cleaned and bleached. Green tripe is unbleached, which is where the colour, the smell and the appeal to your dog all come from.

Can I feed Simply Green Tripe as my dog's only food?
No. It is 100% beef green tripe and is a complementary food, meant to be built into a meal with your own toppers. If you want tripe as a standalone meal, Natural Beef Tripe is the complete version.

My dog has gone off their food. Is tripe worth trying?
It is the first thing we would suggest. Both Natural Beef Tripe and Natural Tripe & Turkey were designed with fussy eaters in mind. If your dog is off their food for more than a day or two, or there is anything else going on, speak to your vet first.

Does the smell get better?
Not really. But it disappears as soon as the bowl is washed, and most owners decide fairly quickly that a clean bowl is a fair trade for a dog who actually eats.

Shop the tripe range

Natural Beef Tripe — from £5.29. The complete one. Beef green tripe (75%) with vegetables, fruits and sea kelp.

Simply Green Tripe — from £4.69. 100% beef green tripe, complementary, for building your own bowl.

Natural Tripe & Turkey — from £5.29. A customer favourite, and hard for a fussy dog to walk away from.

Working Dog Chicken & Tripe — from £4.69. For high-energy dogs, with added Vitamin C.

Puppy Chicken & Tripe — £4.59. For puppies from 8 weeks.

You can see everything tripe-based in one place in our tripe collection.

Still deciding?

If your dog has never had tripe, start with Natural Beef Tripe. It is a complete meal, so there is nothing to work out and nothing to add - you are only finding out whether your dog likes it. Most do.

If you already build your dog's bowl yourself, Simply Green Tripe is the one you want.

And if you are unsure what suits your particular dog, especially if they have something going on health-wise, have a word with your vet before you switch.