If your dog is whining while you eat a breakfast containing Italian sausages, and you just want to feed him a bit because.
After all, it is meat and dogs eat meat, right?
It may not be the best idea and it would be for your dog’s own good not to do so.
Can your dog eat Italian sausages?
What Are Italian Sausages And How Do They Come?
There are standards to the meat-to-fat ratio content of sausages.
For Italian Sausages, they are at least 85% meat or a combination of meat and fat of at most 35% fat.
It has salt, pepper, fennel, and anise; spices and flavorings can be added like:
- Paprika
- Green peppers
- Onions
- Garlic
- Parsley
- Sugar
- Dextrose
- Corn syrup
It is the only uncooked sausage with seasoning but also the sausage with the most amount of meat content and the least amount of fat in its recipe.
The meat used can be cured or uncured: cured having chemical preservatives and additives; uncured relying on natural flavors and salts.
But spices and flavorings are still added and the sausages can be graded into mild or hot by how much spice and pepper is put into it.
Since it is raw and uncooked it is expected to be kept refrigerated until it is cooked thoroughly before consumption.
Should Dogs Eat Italian Sausages?
1. For the same reason they cannot eat raw meat, they should not eat this.
It could have E. coli and Salmonella (both bacteria) and can infect your dog if eaten raw.
2. The cured or uncured state of the meat will not matter because of the added ingredients of onions, garlic, and fennel which are toxic to dogs.
3. And this is also a different point from the amount of added salts or the spicy peppers that can each problematic on their own.
4. Mild and Hot are variations on the degree of spiciness and it would still be a “No”.
because dogs are more sensitive to the hotness of peppers than we are and it can do a lot of damage to their digestive tract in significant amounts.
5. Even though it may contain 35% fat, which is still less than other uncooked sausages, it can still be a significant amount of fat for a dog maintaining a diet and on weight control.
Even if the fat content is okay there are still other ingredients to consider before feeding your dog this sausage.
6. There is also a concern about the number of chemicals and additives present in the sausage in the first place.
It might be fresh and raw but it is no longer natural.
Dogs have delicate digestive systems much like babies, if we cannot feed them these sausages because of the contents, why would we give them to our dogs?
What About Cooked Italian Sausages?
Cooked sausages can get rid of the bacteria causing infections but the other ingredients present would still be a problem for your dog.
If Your Dog Eats An Italian Sausage
It cannot be helped if your dog might sneak off some sausage.
Either fed accidentally by friends or he gets some that spilled on the floor.
- Determine how much Italian sausage he got to eat and how spicy it was. The effects of all the ingredients your dog is allergic to usually manifest as stomach upset, that would be the mildest reaction. The most severe would be vomiting and diarrhea.
- It would be best to watch your dog see if he reacts poorly if he gets a mild reaction and if it gets worse.
- If it does get worse, you would need to call your veterinarian.
- Otherwise, you can treat the symptoms and give your dog some hydrogen peroxide to induce vomiting, some peptide to settle his stomach, and bland meat or plain rice as meals till his stomach settles.
- Your dog should be okay in some hours and if not you should contact your veterinarian.
How To Prevent An Incident?
1. Keep all sausages not just Italian sausages away from your dog.
The ingredients are mostly artificial and are of no benefit to your dog.
2. Keep your sausages secure in the freezer for storage or in the fridge defrosting.
Do not leave it unattended on a countertop where your dog might be tempted to get at it.
3. You can choose to make fresh sausages from whole fresh meat on your own. or with a local butcher where you know what is in it (no chemicals, additives, or spices).
And you can cook it bland for your dog.
4. You can also choose to buy dog-friendly sausage or hotdog alternatives made specifically for them without anything that could harm your dog.
Thoughts
Italian sausages contain way too many ingredients, uncooked, that can be harmful to your dogs.
So in any state, they should not be fed to them.
If you choose to give your dog sausages, make sure they are healthier options so your dog stays healthy for longer.
