Can Dogs Eat Sausage? Is It Safe?

We all know how much our furry companions love the taste of meat. The proteins and vitamins dogs acquire from eating various forms of meat hardly goes unnoticed, as it as been a prominent staple in their diets for quite some time.

With that being said, we also need to take into consideration the fact that not all forms of meat may be healthy for our dog. One of these, being sausage. Sausage, to us, tastes great, and to our dogs, but it is not necessarily the healthiest option for either of us, and it could possibly do your dog much more harm than it could potentially do them good.

What’s In Sausage, And Why Your Dog Should Avoid It

It is safe to say that a very small amount of tiny bits of sausage may possibly cause no side effects, as with a lot of human foods. But, anything more than this, and your dog may begin to experience uncomfortable issues. An excess of sausage is never recommended in your dog’s diet.

Possibly the most alarming substances contained in sausage, is the high amount of salts. An average sausage can contain around 500-1500 milligrams of sodium, which is certainly way more than the amount your dog should obtain in a day. Too much salt can lead to salt poisoning, a raise in blood pressure and possible kidney failure.

Many store-bought sausages have an abundance of preservatives in them, such as Sulfites, which can be sensitive to different people, and possibly your dog if they consume it.

Sausages have a lot of cooked-fats within them after preparing. Your dog should mostly be obtaining the essential fats they need from their commercial or home-cooked diets, not from many other sources, and sausages are far from the healthiest choice. A piece of regular store-bought sausage can contain around eight to twenty-four grams of fats, depending on what kind.

Various brands of sausages boughten in stores are pre-prepared with spices and seasonings. These two are never recommended in your dog’s diet, as they do not add any nutritional value and will likely only upset their digestive process. Spices and seasonings could possibly make them experience vomiting and diarrhea.

Sausages hardly contain any substantial amount of vitamins and minerals, so it almost a wasted snack at best.

Healthier Options

Over time, it’s been proven that our dogs are truly omnivores, being able to thrive off a diet on mixed meat with fruits and veggies. As sausage may not be the healthiest meat option, there are plenty of healthy meat alternatives out there for you to consider. These include, but are not limited to;

• Ground Beef
• Eggs
• Lean Chicken / Turkey
• Salmon
• Tuna
• Liver

All of these options can contain many of the healthy vitamins and minerals they need for their daily intake. Your dog is recommended a daily dosage of vitamins such as Vitamins A, B, C, E, and K, and minerals such as Potassium, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium and carbohydrates.

Leave Sausage Out

As shown, sausages are certainly far from one of the healthiest options of meat in your dog’s diet. They contain an unhealthy amount of fats, salts and preservatives, while lacking recommended vitamins and minerals that your dog needs for proper body function and livelihood. The meats listed above are certainly healthier options for your dog, containing more essential vitamins and nutrients, but as with all human foods, they need to be fed in moderation, pertaining to your dog’s size and weight. Sausages are tasty for us, but are best left out of our dog’s diets. There’s plenty of healthier options out there for them!