Can Dogs Eat Sausage?

*Can Dogs Eat Sausages?*

Just like humans, dogs require several classes of food to maintain good health. However, protein is of particular importance to a dog due to its canine nature.

Sausage is a delicious yet simple ingredient for a filling breakfast. Most people would love to share this with their dogs, but is it ideal?

Will it be helpful to feed your dog sausages or is it bad for their health? Let’s find out.

Can Dogs Eat Sausage?

While this is what you’re concerned about, it isn’t the right question. Sure, your dog can eat sausages, but should they?

Should dogs eat sausages?

While sausages might look like a good source of protein for your pup, it is detrimental to the health of your dog. Sausage contains a lot of those ingredients that should be taken in moderation.

Even for humans, sausage contains all those ingredients that doctors warn us about. Being a highly processed food, sausages have high-fat content, saturated fat, salt, etc.

Even as tasty as they are, sausages are not a good source of protein for humans and even dogs. They add to the risk of developing several health conditions.

Different companies add different ingredients to their sausages. Therefore, some sausages out there might contain ingredients that will be toxic to your dog.

As said earlier, your dog can eat sausage if you give it, however, you shouldn’t give your dog sausage as the main source of protein.

Benefits Of Dogs Eating Sausage

As a canine, dogs love meat and are happy whenever they’re treated to one. It is a good source of protein for dogs, and it also contains a good amount of nutrients and vitamins.

However, sausage is not the right path. You shouldn’t feed your dog sausage as a source of protein. It does more harm than good.

Certainly, the flavor and taste of sausage will be good, but its impact on your dog’s health would be devastating.

In addition to high-fat content and saturated fat, sausages contain a high amount of salt as well. Therefore, sausages will not benefit your dog in any way, asides from the good taste and flavor.

Risks Associated With Dogs Eating Sausages

Let’s do a bit of statistics first. There is an increase in the incidence of obesity in people living in the United States. Why is this?

It has been attributed to a change in lifestyle and diet. In this generation, there’s increased consumption of processed food. This has steadily increased the risk of obesity.

Now, back to dogs. Sausages are very high in fat and put your dog at an increased risk of coming down with obesity.

This is especially true for smaller dogs that require a smaller caloric intake. If fed sausages for a long time, your dog can become overweight and easily progress to obesity.

With the amount of fat and saturated fat in sausages, the risk of heart, pancreas, and kidney diseases in your dog becomes much higher. In the long term, they can suffer heart diseases that can cause sudden death.

Additionally, a lot of sausages are seasoned with several flavors. One or more of these can be toxic to your pup and lead to health problems. These flavors can be poisonous and cause severe damage to tissues.

As you can see, feeding sausages to your dog is not helpful. Rather it increases the risk for obesity, heart diseases, and others.

Is Sausage Bad For Your Dog?

At this point, it’s pretty clear where we stand about sausages for dogs. It’s not healthy for us humans, and the same goes for our pups.

While we might be able to get away with eating a certain amount of sausages, your dog cannot. Dogs are smaller, with smaller energy requirements per day. Therefore feeding them sausage already takes up a huge chunk of that daily calorie recommendation.

Let’s look at an example. Say you have a medium-sized dog that weighs about 13 – 15 kg, its calories needs per day would be around 600 – 800 calories per day. However, a single pork sausage contains about 110 – 180 calories. What this means is that giving your dog just one sausage as a snack, has taken up a chunk of your dog’s caloric need for that day.

Most of the health problems associated with sausages are due to their high fat and salt content. On average, each sausage contains about 8g of fat, 3g of saturated fat, and 0.9g of salt.

While dogs still need fat and salt in their diet, it is better gotten from a healthy source. Moreover, fat and salt are not required in such amount in a dog per day.

For a dog that weighs 15kg, a salt intake of about 200mg per day is alright. However, by looking at the content of each sausage, you’ll see that it’s already four times above the limit.

Due to improvements in veterinary care, many dogs now live with chronic conditions while being well managed. However, management of these chronic conditions usually involves diet adjustments.

For instance, dogs with heart or kidney problems would be required to stay off salt and consume a low sodium diet. Therefore giving sausages to such a dog is like sending it to an early grave.

Sausages, like other processed meat, are known to be carcinogenic. This means they can cause cancer. You might think cancer is just a human disease, however, it affects dogs at a similar rate.

Therefore the best you can do for your pooch is to take away those risk factors. And one of them includes sausages or other processed meat.

Most sausages contain ingredients that are toxic to dogs. One such ingredient is nutmeg. A little amount might not be enough to harm your dog, however, regular consumption of sausage will enhance this toxicity.

Others include onions and garlic licks. Eating a little amount of these might not show any signs of toxicity but regular ingestion will lead to damage of red blood cells and anemia.

To answer the question, it is evident that sausage is bad for dogs.

Can Dogs Eat Sausage Meat?

It’s still a no. There isn’t much difference between sausage and sausage meat.

Sausage meat just contains more pork. However, it still contains a high amount of fat and salt, therefore unhealthy to give your dog.

Additionally, microorganisms such as Salmonella or E. Coli can be present on raw sausage meat, increasing the risk of sickness for your pooch.

Therefore all the rules for sausage still apply for sausage meat.

Can Dogs Eat Sausage Rolls?

The same rule applies here too. Coating the sausage with flour won’t take away all the fat and salt in it. The pastries even add more calories, making it an unhealthy meal.

Although it isn’t harmful if tiny is given as a treat. But you absolutely shouldn’t give your dog a whole sausage roll as a meal.

Can Dogs Eat Flavored Sausage?

Flavored sausage definitely tastes better, but it still contains all those salt and fat like the regular sausage. If you love flavored or spiced sausages, keep that to yourself, don’t involve your pup.

This is because some of these flavor ingredients like nutmeg, onions, and garlic are known to be toxic to dogs. Therefore in addition to the health hazard of sausage, the flavor ingredients are toxic.

So it’s a no for flavored sausages.

Can Dogs Eat Any Type Of Sausage?

It is advised to steer clear of sausages when it comes to dogs. Its high fat and salt content isn’t ideal for such a small animal.

You can give your dog tiny bits of sausage as treat every now and then. However, it gets problematic when this becomes regular.

Therefore, for health purposes, it is not ideal to give your dog any type of sausage as a source of protein.

Can Dog Eat Sausage As Treat?

Yes, they can.

Sausages are unhealthy due to their fat and salt content, however, it isn’t toxic (except those containing flavor ingredients). Therefore you can give sausage to your dog as a treat.

However, sausage should be used as a regular or go-to training treat. It should be reserved for high-value treats. This way, your pup will only get to eat sausages on odd and rare occasions.

Even at that, never feed your dog a whole sausage as a treat. That’s too much fat and salt for one day.

And as said earlier, don’t use sausages for regular training treats. If you do so, your dog will end up eating a lot within a short period. And that’s not good.

Can My Dog Get Sick From Eating Sausage?

Yes, they can. This can be as a result of eating too much sausage or contaminated ones. Some of the symptoms your dog will present with include;

• Loss of appetite
• Dehydration
• Nausea
• Vomitting
• Lethargy
• Diarrhoea

Once your dog gets sick from eating sausages, give plenty of water. This is because the excess salt in sausages can cause dehydration.

For the next 24 hours, do not feed your dog at all. If you do, he’ll probably end up vomiting it out. Usually, the stomach settles after a day, then you can start feeding him again.

However, if the symptoms do not get better, it’s time to take your pup to the vet.

For health safety, it is best not to give your dog raw sausage as it may contain some microorganisms such as salmonella or E. Coli.

Alternatives To Sausages For Dogs

While we’d want to give your dogs any food we find tasty, it’s best to feed them healthy meals. Asides from being disease-free, good food can also make your furry friend more energetic and active.

Foods such as sausage that contains a high amount of fat and salt can easily lead to several diseases, and in addition make your dog less active.

So instead of sausages, what can you give your pup?

Well, let’s take a look at a few things you can replace sausages with.

Homemade chicken is the best meat alternative you can give your dog. Plain chicken prepared without adding any flavor. This can serve as a healthy source of protein for your pup.

Vegetables are important. Dogs are able to eat a lot of the same vegetables as humans. Vegetables contain many vitamins and minerals, therefore are important for growth and health maintenance. Vegetables such as carrot, kale, blueberries, are loved by dogs.

Milk and milk products can also serve as a source of protein and replacement for sausages. There are also formulated diets specially made for dogs that are rich in protein. They are bothering tasty and nutritious.

Conclusion

Can dogs eat sausages? Yes, they can.

However, because they can doesn’t mean you should give your pup sausages. Even though it tastes and smells great, it isn’t great for the health of your dog due to its high fat and salt content.

It is already evident that you should give sausages to your dog as a primary source of protein. Moreover, you shouldn’t allow your dog regularly eat sausages for any reason. If not, their risk for obesity, chronic diseases, and even cancer will increase.

In as much as we’re against sausages, it isn’t toxic (in most cases). You can still use them for high-value treats. This means you can offer them to your dog on rare occasions. That way it will cause no harm to your pup.

Many of us typically enjoy a breakfast that includes sausages. And it is only humane to want your furry friend to partake in the meal you’re enjoying. However, sausage should be avoided when it comes to dogs.

As listed above, there are several alternatives to sausages that are healthy and free of health risks.

There are meals made exclusively for dogs that are natural, tasty, and nutritionally balanced. This would be a better alternative than feeding your furry friend a fat-filled sausage.

For more info, check out;

• Can dogs eat scallops?
• Can dogs eat salami?