Is feeding pork bad for my dog
There is so much information out there about raw feeding and what you can and can't feed your dog.
It is confusing to say the least
And at Healthy Active Pet our goal is to educate and inform and be a place of trusted information you the health of your dog is the number one priority
And although there are lots of myths around raw feeding (you can see 5 common myths here) one of the myths that we see posted about quite regularly is that dogs shouldn't be fed raw pork and it is often cited as a high fat (and even containing a different type of fat), creating issues with the pancreas and is a food that should be avoided.
And this myth is also perpetuated by some animal professionals too - but it is just a case of some people having the incorrect information and today we are going to bust that myth!
Is pork meat bad for dogs and high in fat?
This is just a myth; there is no difference between pork fat and other fat.
Pork is just a common culprit because it does have very fatty cuts and people are inclined to feed fatty pork scraps like bacon and Christmas ham.
It’s not inherently more inflammatory to the pancreas than any other fat.
This article is from a veterinary nutritionist/university and confirms as much and confirms it is a myth: You can see the vet article here
"Some websites claim that the fat in pork increases the risk of pancreatitis in dogs. There is NO EVIDENCE to support this assertion, however, and any association is likely because dogs tend to get into the higher fat pork cuts that are left over after a meal or thrown away."
Pork is also a very lean meat and actually can have less calories and fat than chicken if you choose the lean cuts
Just to reiterate we you only recommend lean pork, which is not any more inflammatory than other lean meats.
With respect to it not being fed raw, this is probably due to the risk of trichinella parasites in raw pork, but there has never been a recorded case of trichinosis in Australia, or even an incident of the parasites being detected.
It’s simply not an issue with Australian pork. The reference is here
And if you are looking for balanced and healthy raw food dog recipes - see our pet nutritionist created recipe books here
