Are you a dog owner? Then you are all too familiar with the feeling when your dog stares at you with those puppy eyes pleading for a scrap of food you are eating.
For most dog parents, that leading stare evokes guilt. That’s one of the reasons why most of us share bits of human food as a treat to our dogs without knowing if it’s safe or not.
Humans and dogs react to varied food items differently. So, the items that are good for humans might not be best for your dog’s health. It is always better to make sure that the human food you are sharing with your dog is safe for it. In this article, we will only concentrate on chorizo and will try to explain whether you should share this food item with your dog or not.
Dogs should not eat chorizo because it has too much salt and fat. It also has toxic seasonings like paprika and garlic. Chorizo is very unhealthy for your dog.
We now know that chorizo is harmful to your dog. Also, If the chorizo is undercooked or contaminated, it can cause a parasitic infection in your dog, known as Trichinosis. Studies have shown that onion and garlic powder is toxic for your dogs. That is why you should avoid sharing any food items that have been seasoned with onion and garlic powder.
To understand why chorizo is harmful to your dog, you must find out how the chorizo sausage is made first.
How is chorizo made?
Chorizo is a high protein food that mainly contains pork meat and pork fat. The meat is often seasoned with onion, garlic, and paprika powder. The manufacturers first ground the pork meat and fat and then stuff it inside the pork guts.
To understand the answer to the question of can a dog eat chorizo, you have to understand the impact of the seasoning on your dog’s health. Here are the main seasoning ingredients for chorizo. Check it out to know how these ingredients affect the health of your dog.
Salt
To make it taste better, the manufacturers dip chorizo into salt while seasoning it. While the salt helps extend the shelf life of chorizo, it is not at all the better for your dog’s health.
Salt contains sodium, which is an essential mineral for every living being. It balances body fluids and regulates blood pressure. Both for dogs and humans, the average amount of sodium is good for health. However, the daily salt consumption limits of humans and dogs are different.
So, while the salt in chorizo would not harm you in any way, it can create significant health issues for your dog. Salt can raise the blood pressure of your canine companion, which, in turn, can affect the heart and kidney functions of your dog.
In aged dogs, consumption of excessive salt can worsen the symptoms of some other diseases. In the worst-case scenario, excessive consumption of salt can even kill your dog.
Onion
While salt is harmful to the dogs, it is the onion seasoning that makes us emphatically say no to chorizo for dogs. Onion contains thiosulphate, which can cause a medical condition known as the Heinz body anaemia in dogs. This disease can destroy the blood cells of your dog and make him sick.
Paprika
It is another main seasoning ingredient that is used for making chorizo. Even though paprika makes chorizo flavorful, it can cause skin irritation in dogs. So, it is better to treat your dogs with food items that don’t contain paprika. Other than that, paprika and other such spices can cause gastrointestinal irritation, stomach problems and even diarrhoea in dogs.
Garlic
Along with onion powder, the manufacturers use garlic powder while making chorizo to make it taste good. Like onions, garlic also contains thiosulphate and can harm dogs in the same manner. The only catch is that, unlike the onions, your dog has to consume a ridiculous amount of garlic to get sick.
Why is Chorizo so bad
So, you have understood why we said no to your question, Can dogs eat chorizo. Now, it is time for you to understand the harm that this food item can cause to your dog if you keep feeding it.
Other than the seasonings, the main and perhaps the only ingredient that most chorizo contains is pork. While pork in itself is not bad for your dog’s health, the high-fat content can cause problems like pancreatitis in dogs.
The seasonings are also responsible for health issues. All of these can cause abdominal pain in your dog and force it to intake too much water.
As we have already pointed out earlier, paprika is one of the main seasonings of chorizo, which can cause eye and skin irritations in dogs. Other than that, it can cause severe stomach issues in dogs as well.
Onions and garlic contain thiosulphate, a component responsible for a disease in dogs known as the Heinz body anaemia. It is a disease that can destroy the blood cells of dogs. However, if you offer small bites of chorizo to your dog occasionally, it would not create many problems for it. But, if you keep feeding chorizo to your dog, it can cause serious health issues.
What happens if your dog eats chorizo?
Eating chorizo always will generate bad reactions in dogs, there will be plenty of indication that something is wrong with your dog. Vomiting, swelling and diarrhoea are some of the nasty responses that will appear if your dog has overeaten chorizo.
If, after eating chorizo, your dog starts to be sick, you should offer him water. If the symptoms continue, you can try to clean up the stomach of your dog by providing skin and boneless boiled chicken and white rice. Make sure not to add any seasoning to the rice or chicken. Keep feeding this meal to your dog for around three days.
Once the symptoms settle down, please bring back the regular diet that they have daily. If the symptom persists even after offering rice and boiled chicken food for consecutive three days, get in touch with your vet immediately.
When to see the vet?
Besides eating the regular well-cooked chorizo, the undercooked or contaminated ones can also create health issues in your dogs. If your dog has eaten contaminated, undercooked or spoiled chorizo, you will notice;
- Stomach Upset
- Vomiting
- Diarrhoea
- Lethargy
- Nausea
You must have heard that bagels and popcorns are bad for your dog’s health if they are seasoned. The same things happen in the case of chorizo. The excessive salt content of the food item can cause sodium iron poisoning in dogs. At the very least, it would cause excessive urination and thirst. Other than this, swelling, vomiting, high body temperature, diarrhoea, and cramps are also quite common.
If you accidentally dropped a small bit of chorizo on the floor and your dog consumes it, it will not create any major issue. It all depends on the amount consumed and the size and age of your dog.
However, if you see any changes in the behaviour of your dog, you should offer water. As the salt concentration in this food item is pretty high, it can cause dehydration in your canine companion. But, as chorizos are high in salt and oil content, you should try not to offer them to your dog.
All in all, food items with a high concentration of salty and fatty ingredients are harmful to your dog. Chorizo is one of the food items that taste delicious yet is very harmful to the health of your canine. We hope that we have satisfactorily answered your question.
Alternative
If you want to treat your dog to a sausage treat, these are 100% natural, have no added toxic ingredients like chorizo had and are made for dogs.
Conclusion
No dog parent does not love their furry friends to stay happy and healthy. If you are one of such dog parents who want the best for your beloved pet, then stop feeding them chorizo.
Even if your dog eats chorizo accidentally, be very observant to find out if there is anything amiss in their behaviour. Try to feed your dog the food items that are good for their health.
I strongly advise you to research the food items before sharing them with your dog.
Most dogs love to eat whatever you feed them. So, make sure that you don’t give them something that will hurt them immediately or in the long run. Please think and research before sharing your food with a dog.