# Is ham poisonous to dogs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 21, 2007, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ham-poisonous-to-dogs/430872 "2007-12-21T21:56:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ham-poisonous-to-dogs/430872/21 "2007-12-22T21:41:21Z")
[QUOTE=Jackmannii] When I bought a ham bone the other day it had a Surgeon General sticker warning of this very hazard. [/QUOTE] Did the sticker read “Dogs can’t believe it’s not bacon!”? ---
**Author:** ![Pullet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Pullet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pullet)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ham-poisonous-to-dogs/430872/22 "2007-12-23T03:36:01Z")
[QUOTE=Revtim] When I was a kid we didn’t feed pork to the dog because we thought parasites were a problem (that we thought we were immune to I guess). This was \> 20 years ago, so was no doubt wrong or at least not applicable any more. [/QUOTE] You’re probably thinking of [Triconella](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichinella), a roundworm parasite that can infect pig muscle and causes a variety of problems in people. There were bigger problems with Triconella at the turn of the century, but disease control programs in pigs and teaching the public at large to cook their meat have helped drastically reduce the problem. Might be your parents were told not to feed raw pork to the dogs. Raw meat for any pet is not a good idea. But pork for the humans was ok because you, of course, would cook it first. ---
**Author:** ![Allie\_Nakamura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/839c29/32.png) [@Allie\_Nakamura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Allie_Nakamura)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ham-poisonous-to-dogs/430872/23 "2011-11-28T00:27:06Z")
Ham may cause excessive thirst and bloat in some breeds of chihuahuas, but not the cute black and white ones who can swallow a whole piece of toast in one gulp. So I say go ahead and let gramps share his ham with me, I mean them. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ham-poisonous-to-dogs/430872/24 "2011-11-28T01:34:57Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > It’s not poisonous but it is very fatty. High fat meals could lead to GI problems or pancreatitis. Pancreatitis could be very serious, even life-threatening. A tiny piece of ham as a treat probably wouldn’t be a big deal\* but you don’t want to serve them a big ole’ slab of ham. do wild dogs/wolves just eat around the fat of the animals they kill, or something? ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ham-poisonous-to-dogs/430872/25 "2011-11-28T02:06:25Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > do wild dogs/wolves just eat around the fat of the animals they kill, or something? yeah, that’s what they do. ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ham-poisonous-to-dogs/430872/26 "2011-11-28T02:38:56Z")
My black lab had a big ole meat bone yesterday, it wasn’t a hambone though. Nonetheless, she ripped one earlier that practically peeled paint. It had both the sound and fury components in full force. It actually startled her (the lab) and then absolutely laid waste to the living room. It was practically a neutron bomb. All the furniture was left standing, but all living things suffered and death would have been momentary if we hadn’t evacuated. Oh yeah, she loves HAM!! Honey Baked ham especially. ---
**Author:** ![Madame\_Joy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@Madame\_Joy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madame_Joy)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ham-poisonous-to-dogs/430872/27 "2011-11-28T02:43:29Z")
I wouldn’t give a dog a lot of ham, due to the nitrates/nitrites/sugar/salt in the curing, but a little piece as an indulgent snack ought to be all right. I gave my little dog a nice chunk (along with some turkey meat) a few hours ago, and he seems fine so far. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ham-poisonous-to-dogs/430872/28 "2011-11-28T02:45:32Z")
Ham bones, like chicken bones, chip and sliver easily, which is why you aren’t supposed to give them to dogs. They can cut and perforate the GI tract. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ham-poisonous-to-dogs/430872/29 "2011-11-28T02:59:24Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > do wild dogs/wolves just eat around the fat of the animals they kill, or something? Wolves and dogs like fat. It’s just that wild game is generally not very fatty, so they don’t get much except in unusual circumstances. > [@mangeorge](#): > > yeah, that’s what they do. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ham-poisonous-to-dogs/430872/30 "2011-11-28T03:44:43Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > Funny you should mention schnauzers. Our miniature schnauzer loved eating pork products — ham, bacon, pork chops — but they all made him vomit within minutes of eating them. And always on our living room carpet. I have a terrier/mini-schnauzer mix and he also loves ham. It gives him horrendous gas so we don’t ever give him more than a bite or two. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ham-poisonous-to-dogs/430872/31 "2011-11-28T03:49:48Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Wolves and dogs like fat. It’s just that wild game is generally not very fatty, so they don’t get much except in unusual circumstances. > > Cite? I asumed **jz78817** was being silly. I was simply playing along. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ham-poisonous-to-dogs/430872/32 "2011-11-28T03:51:39Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Wolves and dogs like fat. It’s just that wild game is generally not very fatty, so they don’t get much except in unusual circumstances. I’m not buying it. given that much mass-market dog food is way too loaded with grains, I’m of the mind that fat normally wouldn’t be a problem _if we didn’t force our (carnivorous) pets to eat the same shitty diet that we do._ ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ham-poisonous-to-dogs/430872/33 "2011-11-28T03:58:05Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > I’m not buying it. given that much mass-market dog food is way too loaded with grains, I’m of the mind that fat normally wouldn’t be a problem _if we didn’t force our (carnivorous) pets to eat the same shitty diet that we do._ I wasn’t commenting on whether or not fat might be a problem, only that wild canids do not avoid fat. > [@mangeorge](#): > > I asumed **jz78817** was being silly. I was simply playing along. I thought he was being sarcastic. But there was nothing about your post to indicate you weren’t being serious. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ham-poisonous-to-dogs/430872/34 "2011-11-28T03:58:43Z")
My experience is that dogs do not digest ham & pork very well - you have to be prepared to let them outside immediately upon request for a few hours after feeding it to them. But, hey, it’s Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ham-poisonous-to-dogs/430872/35 "2011-11-28T04:10:03Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I thought he was being sarcastic. But there was nothing about your post to indicate you weren’t being serious. If you had posted my post instead of me, I would surely have thought you were being sarcastic. Especially if it followed jz78817’s “question”. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ham-poisonous-to-dogs/430872/36 "2011-11-28T04:16:57Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > If you had posted my post instead of me, I would surely have thought you were being sarcastic. Especially if it followed jz78817’s “question”. You would have been wrong. I wouldn’t have posted a remark like that unless I was being serious. ---
**Author:** ![auRa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@auRa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auRa)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ham-poisonous-to-dogs/430872/37 "2011-11-28T08:40:16Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > It’s not poisonous but it is very fatty. High fat meals could lead to GI problems or pancreatitis. Pancreatitis could be very serious, even life-threatening. A tiny piece of ham as a treat probably wouldn’t be a big deal\* but you don’t want to serve them a big ole’ slab of ham. > \*unless you have a schnauzer, those dogs are just pancreatitis waiting to happen. Seriously, don’t even let them look at a high fat meal. Hear hear. Our Schnauzer went through[a bad case of pancreatitis](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=354383) in 200…6, if I recall correctly. It was then that we found out that they are predisposed to have more lipids in their blood than other breeds, which apparently means that their pancreas is already working a bit harder and the tipping point for pancreatitis is lower than with other breeds. In Finland, it’s really common to get a huge spike of pancreatitis diagnoses during Christmastime because we traditionally eat ham for Christmas and dogs often get into the leftovers or the trimmings which have been thrown away. Ours had apparently gotten into the olive oil. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ham-poisonous-to-dogs/430872/38 "2011-11-28T12:12:56Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > I’m not buying it. given that much mass-market dog food is way too loaded with grains, I’m of the mind that fat normally wouldn’t be a problem _if we didn’t force our (carnivorous) pets to eat the same shitty diet that we do._ No, **Colibri** is right. Wildlife in general (herbivores in particular) is/are lean (bordering on emaciation, sometimes), with fewer opportunities to overindulge and become fat. The predators will eat everything they can, but it is low fat to begin with, and the whole carcass is being shared by more than one animal. I also don’t understand your comment to him. Eating too much fatty food in one sitting HAS been found to be problematic and a risk factor for pancreatitis in dogs. Eating too much to end up bloating HAS been found to be a risk factor for gastric volvulus in dogs. Both of these are emergencies that vets see around holidays. ---
**Author:** ![GiantRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@GiantRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GiantRat)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ham-poisonous-to-dogs/430872/39 "2011-11-28T15:21:53Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > My black lab had a big ole meat bone yesterday, it wasn’t a hambone though. Nonetheless, she ripped one earlier that practically peeled paint. It had both the sound and fury components in full force. It actually startled her (the lab) and then absolutely laid waste to the living room. It was practically a neutron bomb. All the furniture was left standing, but all living things suffered and death would have been momentary if we hadn’t evacuated. > > Oh yeah, she loves HAM!! Honey Baked ham especially. And then, being a Lab, she naturally turned around to smell it (at least every Lab I’ve ever had has done that). They remind me of… me. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ham-poisonous-to-dogs/430872/40 "2011-11-28T15:39:59Z")
> [@j666](#): > > My experience is that dogs do not digest ham & pork very well - you have to be prepared to let them outside immediately upon request for a few hours after feeding it to them. > > But, hey, it’s Christmas. Nu, so what about latkes? Sour cream or apple sauce? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ham-poisonous-to-dogs/430872.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ham-poisonous-to-dogs/430872.md?page=3)