Can Dogs Eat Raw Ground Beef? Is It Good Or Bad For Your Dog?

When asking the question, can dogs eat raw ground beef? The simple answer is no. You shouldn’t feed your dog raw ground beef or any raw meat for that matter.

Raw beef, for example, even though it is a great source of healthy fats and protein for your dog, several risks come from a dog eating raw meat.

Raw ground beef can put your dog at a heightened risk of salmonella, which is bacterial contamination. Salmonella can lead to other more serious issues in your dog, for example, gastrointestinal illnesses.

Also, in most cases, it isn’t advised to give raw meat to puppies or dogs with certain health issues such as dogs with cancer, liver, or kidney failure.

Can Dogs Eat Raw Ground Beef?

As mentioned in the introduction, the main problem from serving your dog raw meat comes from potential bacterial infections.

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) have produced research and materials on the dangers of feeding dogs raw meat.

Raw meat doesn’t only pose a potential risk to your dog but also your family members, according to the FDA’s study titled Get the Facts! Raw Pet Food Diets can be Dangerous to You and Your Pet.

The main concern from the FDA’s study is the harmful bacteria found in raw meat, such as E. coli, Salmonella listeria, and more. When it comes to giving your dog meat, the simple and safe method would be to cook the meat.

When you cook the meat at the recommended temperature, it kills off all of those harmful bacteria. By choosing not to cook the meat for your dog, you increase your dog’s chance to develop a bacterial infection or a foodborne illness.

Potential Benefits Of The Raw Dog Food Diet

• Healthier skin
• Shinier coats
• Cleaner teeth
• Higher energy levels
• Smaller stools

Potential Risks Include

• A threat to both you and your dog from bacteria in raw meat
• A raw food diet can be an unbalanced diet that can damage your dog’s health if given for an extended period of time.
• There is a risk whole bones can choke your dog, break their teeth, or cause intestinal problems.

Raw Dog Food Diet

When looking at the question, can dogs eat raw ground beef? We need to look deeper into what a raw dog food diet actually is.

Raw dog food diets will usually consist of:

• Bones
• Raw eggs
• Muscle meat, which is often still on the bone
• Organ meats
• Vegetables such as bell peppers
• Fruit such as watermelon
• Certain dairy products

When it comes to feeding your dog raw ground beef, you should do it on a dog by dog bases in this example. Dogs are raw meat eaters and can generally handle raw bacteria better than humans. It should be avoided if your dog has a weakened immune system.

Why Don’t Dogs Get Sick From Eating Raw Meat?

If you haven’t already noticed, you will now, but dogs usually always poop right after eating. This helps when it comes to the build-up of bacteria in your dog or colonizing.

Dogs have a short digestive tract, which quickly allows them to push the food and bacteria through their system. This, in turn, stops any bacteria from having the time to colonize.

Another great aspect of dogs that allows them to eat raw meat is that they have highly acidic stomachs, preventing the bacteria from colonizing.

All of this is what usually happens when dogs eat raw meat. I can’t guarantee that your dog will or will not benefit from a raw food diet. If you have any concerns about your dog’s diet, I recommend you speak to your vet first.

How To Prevent Your Dog From Getting Sick From Eating Raw Meat

These tips won’t just apply to dogs eat raw ground beef but any raw meat you may be thinking of feeding to your dog.

These tips should help keep your dog safe whilst eating raw meat, but each dog is different, and as mentioned above, you should always check with your vet before making any serious changes to your dog’s diet.

Buy Raw Dog Food That Is Pre-prepared

It’s also advised to buy a product from a company specializing in that product regardless of what it is. In this case, I would advise you to buy from raw dog food companies.

I would advise this because they will make sure their food is safe for your dog to eat, and it will also have a lot fewer bacteria than the raw meat you buy from the supermarket.

Keep Your Dogs Bowls Clean

This is not just for raw meat. It should be something you do anyway as bacteria can grow in their food and water bowls.

If you feed your dog raw meat, it is important to clean the bowls and surface where you prepare the food thoroughly. I can’t remember where I once read this, but someone said treat raw dog food like you would treat raw chicken for yourself.

Immune System

A simple answer when it comes to can dogs eat raw ground beef or any other raw meat for that matter would be no if your dog has a weaker immune system.

If your dog has a weaker immune system or is an older dog, adding raw meat to their diet could potentially make them sick as they are not used to it. If your dog has a lowered immune system, it could already be fighting off another infection, and adding raw meat could be too much for your dog to handle.

If you are not sure how your dog’s immune system currently holds up, a visit to your vet can answer all of your questions and put you in a good place to make informed decisions for what’s best for your dog.

Don’t Buy More Raw Food Than You Need

When I say don’t buy more raw dog food than you need is because of storage. When storing your raw dog food, you should be keeping it in the fridge.

I won’t serve my dog food sitting in my fridge for more than six days. The main reason for this is the longer you leave large quantities of raw meat in your fridge, the more time bacteria have to grow.

Of course, you can store raw food and serve it from your fridge even if it’s been there for longer than 6 days, but I wouldn’t risk it personally.

Feed Your Dog Cooked Food Instead Of Raw

It is rare for most dogs to get sick from eating raw food from a good source and stored correctly. However, I know a lot of people have concerns about potential bacteria.

If you have worries or concerns about the bacteria being an issue for your dog, then maybe the best bet is to avoid a raw food diet for your dog.

There are many other options out there, including cooking your dog some good quality meat yourself. You could also feed your dog a good high-quality dry dog food.

If you are planning on making serious changes to your dog’s diet, it is recommended to introduce the new food to your dog slowly, and if your ever doubt, check with your vet first.

Originally published at https://doolallydogs.com.