Pork is a great source of amino acids and is rich in thiamine and vitamin B12. In moderation, and assuming it is cooked correctly, it is perfectly safe to feed your dog with pork. However, pork needs to be simple and should not be overfed. Most importantly, you must ensure that you are not rare. Poorly passed pork is as dangerous for dogs as it is for humans.
Below, we emphasise some of the other guidelines you should follow when feeding your dog with this meat.
The benefits of dogs eating pork
Ordinary pork is considered a source of healthy food for your dog, in moderation. In fact, it is a good source of animal protein, rich in amino acids and mainly thiamine.
Animal protein will help your dog build and maintain muscles. It is beneficial for dogs that are still growing, but it is also an important part of the daily diet of dogs of any age.
Thiamine also converts into energy, ensuring that your dog has enough energy to run and do its daily exercises. Dogs cannot produce thiamine naturally, which means they must obtain all their needs from the food they eat.
Pork is also known to be a good source of vitamin B12. Dogs do not naturally form B12 or cobalamin. This is another vitamin that dogs cannot produce naturally, so it needs to be incorporated into the diet.
It is also worth mentioning that pork has a strong and attractive smell. Your dog will probably find it very palatable. It’s not only great to feed your dog with a bit of something he drools, but foods like this can be highly beneficial when used as a positive booster treatment. Or if you need to swallow a pill.
Feeding Pork Safely
So pork can be healthy for dogs of any age, but that doesn’t mean you can just feed them a strip of bacon. It should be fed sparingly, and there are certain cuts that need to be avoided, also ensuring that there are no harmful or unnecessary additives in the food.
Pork Must Be Cooked
Raw pork contains trichinella spiralis larvae. Consumption of this parasite can cause trichinosis, which can lead to severe gastrointestinal diseases. Although this is less common in dogs than in people, it remains a concern. The best way to ensure that your dog does not suffer from this harmful disease is to ensure that all the pork you feed is fully cooked before serving.
Start small
The introduction of a new ingredient into your dog’s diet can lead to gastrointestinal problems, and your dog may even be allergic to pork. It’s also quite high in fat. As such, it is better to introduce meat gradually and only sparingly. Make sure the meat is cut into small pieces, cook it well to kill any bacteria and parasites and start with a few pieces mixed in the food or some small cubes as a treat. Pork is rich, so your dog may have some gas. If they can handle some small pieces, you should make sure to feed them this amount a few times a week.
Avoid additives
Avoid feeding your dog pork sausage or other pork-based foods containing other additives. This is especially true because these types of foods tend to contain garlic powder and onions powder. These ingredients are not only dangerous in large quantities, but can be dangerous even in very small doses, as they are toxic to dogs. Other ingredients that can be included in sausages and other meats are also potentially dangerous. Be sure to feed only pork without seasoning and that does not contain any other ingredients or any kind of friction.
Do not feed processed foods
You should avoid feeding your dog any processed food. It usually has an extremely high salt content, which can lead to serious complications. Too much sodium will make your dog very thirsty and can lead to problems, including sodium ion poisoning. Symptoms include vomiting and diarrhoea. Eventually, it can also cause seizures and can lead to death if not controlled. Processed foods may include other ingredients such as xylitol, the sweetener, which is also bad for your dog’s health.
Avoid Feeding Bones
Feeding dogs with meat bones is an emotional area. Some people spend their entire lives feeding their dogs regularly with cooked bones, without problems. However, there are also many reports of broken and fragmented bones, causing serious damage to the oesophagus and intestines. Slinter can also cause asphyxia.
Raw bones reduce this risk, but there is still some potential danger when feeding the bones. If your dog likes to gnaw a bone, you can consider a healthy dental bone as a safe and beneficial alternative.
Try to get rid of fat
Pork contains approximately 80% protein and 20% fat, which means that it has a higher fat content than most alternatives. The type of fat in pork is also especially difficult for dogs to digest, which is one of the reasons why dogs should not eat bacon or processed ham. In addition to being very rich, they have difficulty digesting fat, which can lead to gastrointestinal problems and cause swelling and pancreatitis.
Whenever possible, choose a less greasy pork cut and remove the excess fat you see before cooking and serving the meat. Even after removing any visible fat, there will still be some fat dripping through the meat cut, which is a good reason to avoid feeding your dog too much fat at once.
What if your dog ate pork?
If your dog stole a piece of pork from your plate or you unknowingly fed them, it is unlikely to have caused major problems if it were an isolated case. Even if pork was raw, it is unlikely that good quality meat from reliable farms contains parasites. You may notice that they are thirstier than usual and may need an extra walk or an extra trip to the yard. Unless they are showing signs of anguish, start vomiting or showing other important symptoms, there is probably no need to worry. You can call a vet to check if your dog is well.
On the other hand, if they ate processed meat that contains ingredients such as onions or garlic, this can be a serious cause for concern because these ingredients are toxic and potentially dangerous even in small quantities. Talk to a veterinarian as soon as possible.
Alternative Foods
Dogs benefit from having animal protein in their diet, and there is no doubt that pork is a good source of this protein. However, it can be savoury and is very rich. As such, many owners prefer to avoid this specific food product. If you want to increase the amount of protein in your dog’s diet, but do not want to feed them pork, consider alternatives such as chicken. Chicken is easy to digest and contains a number of vitamins and nutrients, as well as animal protein.
Final thoughts
In moderation, it is safe for dogs to eat unprocessed and properly cooked pork. However, it is high in fat and can be high in sodium, so you should avoid feeding too much of this meat. Store it as a treat, use it to help swallow the tablets or add some cubes to the meal occasionally. Always avoid feeding processed foods and absolutely avoid pork with additional ingredients, especially toxic ingredients such as onions or garlic powder. If you are concerned about feeding pork, but want to add more protein to your dog’s diet, you can always cook and add chicken to meals.