Can Dogs Eat Raw Bacon? Potential Risks To Watch Out For

Quick Summary

• Although raw bacon is not toxic to dogs, it is not advisable to feed it to canines because it contains too much fat that can lead to several health conditions especially when ingested in high amounts.
• There are also risks of parasitic infection and digestive disorders from eating raw bacon as they are prone to contamination.
• If your dog ate raw bacon, figure out how much was ingested and monitor your pet for any abnormal symptoms. Visit the vet right away for signs like vomiting, diarrhea, pains, and stiffness of the muscles.

Cooked bacon is safe to give to dogs as a rare treat, but, can dogs eat raw bacon? The thing is, this invites too much risk. Dogs should not be fed raw bacon.

I’ll discuss below the many reasons why I will never let my dog eat raw bacon even with those puppy dog eyes.

Why Bacon Can Be Harmful to Dogs

In general, bacon is not the best meat to give to your dog. Pork products are usually great because they’re filling and packed with beneficial protein. But bacon is one of the fattiest parts of the animal, and are full of salt to boot.

Excessive salt

The average sodium content of a single strip of bacon is 150 mg. The recommended amount of sodium concentration in the food dogs consume is 100 miligrams per 100 calories. A strip of bacon is 50 calories on average.

Too much salt is the main reason why dog owners are advised against feeding pets processed food such as bacon or imitation crab meat for dogs.

Too much fat

Fat is essential to a dog’s diet, but just like with us humans, too much fat is going to put a strain on a dog’s health.

Fat is what makes food smell and taste good to dogs, and it also helps in the absorption of certain vitamins such as vitamins A and K.

But if a dog consumes too much fat, this can lead to obesity or damage to the liver and pancreas—not ideal when you want to help a dog lose weight. Most of the processed meats made for human consumption, such as pepperoni for dogs, have fat content that is not ideal for a dog’s stomach and overall health.

Bacon fat comprises 81 percent of the caloric composition of one strip of bacon. That’s over 40 calories from fat. The daily recommended caloric intake for a 10-pound dog with a somewhat active lifestyle is 350-400 calories. Depending on your dog’s diet, a single strip of bacon can give them a surplus of fat that can wear down their livers and pancreases if eaten regularly. Like with humans, it’s just not healthy when dogs eat bacon fat in high amounts.

Potential Consequences of Eating Raw Bacon

It’s common knowledge at this point that eating raw meat opens up the door to parasites. But there are still some who believe that feeding a dog raw meats is completely okay because that’s how they eat meat “in the wild”.

There are a number of flaws in this argument, chief among them being the fact that raw meat is different from a fresh kill. A dog or a wolf in the wild would eat a kill immediately or shortly after they catch it. This is what I always remind raw feeders.

Raw meat on the other hand has been dead for a while, which means that the harmful microorganisms living in it have been reproducing uncontrollably for all that time. Even if you freeze the meat immediately after slaughtering, there’s still enough time for the bacteria to become active and reproduce as you thaw it out.

The second reason this argument is invalid is because dogs have adapted to domestic diets, which means they have much fewer biological protections against the risks of eating raw bacon and other meat.

Parasitic infection

There is a significant number of parasites [1] that can be transmitted to dogs via eating undercooked or raw meat.

One serious condition that your dog can get if you let it eat raw pork or bacon is trichinosis. This infection comes from the parasitic worm trichinella spiralis, which is even known to be present in cooked pork. That means that, raw or cooked bacon, the risk of trichinosis is ever-present, and not just for dogs. 

Trichinosis causes persistent vomiting or diarrhea, as well as painful inflammation and stiffness of the muscles [2]. If you’ve accidentally given your dog raw bacon, watch for these signs. If they appear, consult a vet immediately.

Digestive disorders

Parasites aren’t the only health risks when dogs eat raw bacon. Raw meat in general poses its own risks to your dog’s health.

For one thing, raw meat has more fat; raw bacon especially. An excess of fat can lead to stomach upset, which in turn can evolve into worse things such as vomiting and diarrhea. If your dog continues to consume a high-fat diet, it can face severe health consequences such as pancreatitis, fatty liver, and other digestive disorders.

You can trim the extra fat to mitigate this, but the meat of the bacon itself is still going to be fatty. Plus, you can still contract food poisoning, abscessed tooth, and other digestive problems that bacteria causes when eaten.

What to Do When Your Dog Eats Raw Bacon

Remove any leftovers

If you catch them in the act of eating, take away whatever’s left by the time you arrive. Since fat is what makes meat taste good to dogs, most dogs love the taste of processed meats. They may react violently to you taking away their food while they’re eating, so practice caution.

Remember how much they’ve eaten so far

This will inform the next steps you’ve taken. If they’ve eaten anything else that’s particularly fatty before they ate raw bacon, then you must enforce a fast for at least 12 hours to allow them to focus on processing the fat in the bacon. Give them water, but not food.

Probiotics can also help digest and lower the absorption of fat. It may help to give them a more bland diet for the next few days.

But even if they haven’t eaten anything else that’s particularly fatty for the day, they could still be at risk of parasitic infection.

Call your vet and continue to monitor them

Call your vet and tell them your dog ate raw bacon, what steps you’ve taken to manage the situation, and ask for instructions on what to do next. Follow their instructions while monitoring your dog for any signs of digestive upset or parasites.

As soon as your dog experiences things such as abdominal pain or muscle pain, notify your veterinarian right away.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will raw bacon make my dog sick?

Raw bacon is highly likely to contain parasites, which will make your dog sick. If your dog contracts a particularly serious parasite infection, intervention from a vet may be needed to save its life.

Is bacon bad for dogs?

Yes. While bacon isn’t immediately harmful to your dog, bacon is too high in salt or fat to be fed to dogs consistently. It’s okay to give them bacon as a very occassional treat, but any more often than that will lead to some serious health repercussions.

Can dogs eat bacon grease?

It’s very inadvisable for dogs to consume bacon grease, as this retains much of the salt and fat content of the bacon after frying.