# my dog just ate raw meat **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 25, 2010, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-just-ate-raw-meat/555044 "2010-09-25T21:59:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lillith\_Fair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@Lillith\_Fair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lillith_Fair)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-just-ate-raw-meat/555044/21 "2010-09-25T23:16:38Z")
Thanks everyone, especially for the laughs, WhyNot & Hamster King! Our former dog (now deceased from old age) once was so mad we left her home on Christmas Day she got into the Christmas stocking stuff. Turns out she did not like Mentos, which were spread out all over the floor. But she ate the entire bag of little foil-wrapped Santas, including the mesh bag. Found the foil and the mesh out in the back yard when I was cleaning up in the spring. Lily (JRT) doesn’t get into too much anymore (age 10) but does like to chew on plastic. She ends up ingesting quite a bit of it. I didn’t know that raw chicken bones were safe. Very interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-just-ate-raw-meat/555044/22 "2010-09-25T23:18:40Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Seriously, do people really worry about dogs eating meat contaminated with an animal’s poop tract? You are aware that in the wild they eat the _whole_ creature, which means also the poopy parts? Their recipe for trail mix is not very discerning. In the not-so-wild, they’ll also eat cat poop right out of the litter box, litter and all. Also, human poop is fair game. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-just-ate-raw-meat/555044/23 "2010-09-25T23:19:16Z")
Wait, so dogs have invincible digestive systems but a piece of chocolate will kill them? Is that like their kryptonite or something? ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-just-ate-raw-meat/555044/24 "2010-09-25T23:20:33Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > > [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > > > ]Of course, chocolate being one example. Point is a dog will be able to eat a lot of things a human can’t or won’t. To worry about a couple of human-fitness raw burgers just seems a bit dumb, that’s all. > > Unless you are concerned about pancreatitis. Two burgers. Pancreatitis. Got it. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-just-ate-raw-meat/555044/25 "2010-09-25T23:22:48Z")
I don’t know who Jack Russell was, but he sure had some ideas for odd dogs. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2010, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-just-ate-raw-meat/555044/26 "2010-09-25T23:28:56Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > I personally know of three dogs that developed pancreatitis after eating foods high in fat. correlation does not equal causation. > [@](#): > > In the cases where I was familiar with the vet she stated unequivocally that the fat ( chicken skin, liver mush) was the precipitating cause. And a shit ton of vets are on record as recommending Science Diet, IAMS, or other filth marketed as “Dog food.” > [@](#): > > So unless you share similar credentials I’ll consider her opinion over yours, if you don’t mind. I don’t mind at all, so long as you don’t mind feeding your pets garbage. Of course, most humans don’t mind eating garbage so why would we treat our pets any different? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Accident](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Mr.Accident](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Accident)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-just-ate-raw-meat/555044/27 "2010-09-25T23:55:02Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Wait, so dogs have invincible digestive systems but a piece of chocolate will kill them? Is that like their kryptonite or something? Sort of. Chocolate contains theobromine, which is toxic to dogs at elevated levels. Of course this varies from dog to dog. Also toxic to dogs are grapes, onions, and raisins. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-just-ate-raw-meat/555044/28 "2010-09-26T00:21:15Z")
This reminds me of the time when my wife, who had not been around dogs for a while (probably since she left home after college), was reacquainted with the nature of a dog. She had joined a cheese club that sent various cheeses directly from France via Fed Ex every month. Damned expensive, but the cheese was really good. And some of it stunk, the way a good cheese will. I don’t know what she was thinking at the time, but she had about a one pound half wheel of a particularly smelly cheese and she reached down and placed it about three inches in front of my Dalmatian’s nose (to “let the dog smell it”, she later said). She was genuinely surprised when the dog took about a nanosecond to chomp down on the cheese, almost taking her fingers with it. She yelled at me “Did you see what your dog did?” I was laughing pretty hard, but managed to reply “You put cheese in front of a dog. What the hell did you expect was going to happen?” I stopped laughing when I realized that was $40 worth of cheese I wasn’t going to enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-just-ate-raw-meat/555044/29 "2010-09-26T00:34:44Z")
> [@Mr.Accident](#): > > > [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > > > Wait, so dogs have invincible digestive systems but a piece of chocolate will kill them? Is that like their kryptonite or something? > > Sort of. Chocolate contains theobromine, which is toxic to dogs at elevated levels. Of course this varies from dog to dog. Also toxic to dogs are grapes, onions, and raisins. It just seems odd that a dachshund can eat a box of safety pins(!) but not a piece of chocolate. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-just-ate-raw-meat/555044/30 "2010-09-26T00:38:34Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > And a shit ton of vets are on record as recommending Science Diet, IAMS, or other filth marketed as “Dog food.” Do you have a cite that says Science Diet and IAMS are filth? I’m honestly curious about what information about canine nutrition you have and I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-just-ate-raw-meat/555044/31 "2010-09-26T00:41:54Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > > [@Mr.Accident](#): > > > > Sort of. Chocolate contains theobromine, which is toxic to dogs at elevated levels. Of course this varies from dog to dog. Also toxic to dogs are grapes, onions, and raisins. > > It just seems odd that a dachshund can eat a box of safety pins(!) but not a piece of chocolate. :smack: A piece of chocolate won’t kill a dog, but if a dog has a lot of chocolate it can be bad for the dog. Incidentally dogs aren’t special in this regard. Theobromine is toxic to humans as well but humans are a lot bigger than dogs and you have to eat a LOT of chocolate to get adverse effects from the theobromine. ---
**Author:** ![JFLuvly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ac91a4/32.png) [@JFLuvly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JFLuvly)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-just-ate-raw-meat/555044/32 "2010-09-26T00:45:35Z")
> [@](#): > > My dog ate a 1kg bar of milk chocolate! > It was touch and go whether he’d survive, but the experience did not put him off chocolate I think if I ate 2 pounds of chocolate in one sitting I would be pretty sick too. Up until recently I have only really had two dogs in my life because they both lived between 16-17 years. They both ate what we ate for the most part with no problems. My 4 year 0old Shi’Tzu and my 5 month old chocolate lab are the same so we will see what happens. Just for the record dark chocolate has 8-10 times the amount of theobromine as milk chocolate. A dog would have to consume about a pound of milk chocolate to show symptoms of theobromine poisoning. Does anyone know when canned dog food was introduced to the market? ---
**Author:** ![JFLuvly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ac91a4/32.png) [@JFLuvly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JFLuvly)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-just-ate-raw-meat/555044/33 "2010-09-26T00:50:22Z")
> [@](#): > > A piece of chocolate won’t kill a dog, but if a dog has a lot of chocolate it can be bad for the dog. Incidentally dogs aren’t special in this regard. Theobromine is toxic to humans as well but humans are a lot bigger than dogs and you have to eat a LOT of chocolate to get adverse effects from the theobromine. Actually the problem is that dogs and some other domesticated animals don’t metabolize the theobromine as efficiently as humans. Cats are even more susceptible. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-just-ate-raw-meat/555044/34 "2010-09-26T00:51:16Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Wait, so dogs have invincible digestive systems but a piece of chocolate will kill them? Is that like their kryptonite or something? That and ibuprofin, according to Cecil: [Is chocolate toxic to dogs?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1153/is-chocolate-toxic-to-dogs) ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-just-ate-raw-meat/555044/35 "2010-09-26T00:55:22Z")
> [@JFLuvly](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > A piece of chocolate won’t kill a dog, but if a dog has a lot of chocolate it can be bad for the dog. Incidentally dogs aren’t special in this regard. Theobromine is toxic to humans as well but humans are a lot bigger than dogs and you have to eat a LOT of chocolate to get adverse effects from the theobromine. > > Actually the problem is that dogs and some other domesticated animals don’t metabolize the theobromine as efficiently as humans. Cats are even more susceptible. Yes true it’s more the metabolism than the size that makes the difference. The point was just that theobromine is bad in general if you have enough of it, not just for dogs. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-just-ate-raw-meat/555044/36 "2010-09-26T00:59:47Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > > [@Mr.Accident](#): > > > > Sort of. Chocolate contains theobromine, which is toxic to dogs at elevated levels. Of course this varies from dog to dog. Also toxic to dogs are grapes, onions, and raisins. > > It just seems odd that a dachshund can eat a box of safety pins(!) but not a piece of chocolate. :smack: They were _ **safety** _ pins! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-just-ate-raw-meat/555044/37 "2010-09-26T01:15:41Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > > [@jz78817](#): > > > > And a shit ton of vets are on record as recommending Science Diet, IAMS, or other filth marketed as “Dog food.” > > Do you have a cite that says Science Diet and IAMS are filth? I’m honestly curious about what information about canine nutrition you have and I don’t. I can’t speak for dog food, but can tell you that the common varieties of dry cat food contain a lot of grain fillers which are not good for cats. We had to switch to a rather expensive dry food. Also (cats again), salmon and whitefish are both problems for older cats, as they aggravate the thyroid. I now return you to your regular canine-oriented discussion. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-just-ate-raw-meat/555044/38 "2010-09-26T01:29:16Z")
Raw horsemeat plus dry chow was the only thing my family ever fed our dogs. Plus whatever table scraps they could beg or steal. I doubt if dog-grade horsemeat is processed with any more sanitary procedures than people food. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-just-ate-raw-meat/555044/39 "2010-09-26T01:43:20Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > she had about a one pound half wheel of a particularly smelly cheese and she reached down and placed it about three inches in front of my Dalmatian’s nose (to “let the dog smell it”, she later said). She was genuinely surprised when the dog took about a nanosecond to chomp down on the cheese… For some reason, this little story has made my night; I can’t figure out why it amuses me so much, but thanks for sharing!!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-just-ate-raw-meat/555044/40 "2010-09-26T01:59:03Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > I personally know of three dogs that developed pancreatitis after eating foods high in fat. In the cases where I was familiar with the vet she stated unequivocally that the fat ( chicken skin, liver mush) was the precipitating cause. So unless you share similar credentials I’ll consider her opinion over yours, if you don’t mind. One problem with dogs who eat table scraps is that it might not be just “high in fat” it might be almost ALL fat. What is the bit of a steak that is least likely to get eaten by a human? The fat. What bits of any meat are most likely to be left on the plate for the dog? The stringy, gluggy, fatty bits. There’s a big difference between a dog who might get a strip of fat once in a while and one whose night time meal consists of fat offcuts from what ever meat every human in the house had for dinner. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-just-ate-raw-meat/555044.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-just-ate-raw-meat/555044.md?page=3)