Can Dogs Eat Hamburgers? Vet Reviewed Facts & Tips
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If you’re planning a cookout soon, you might be wondering if you can share a hamburger with your dog—you think they’re tasty, so surely your dog will too. Human food can be tricky; some of it can make up a surprisingly healthy snack, while other options are not the best for a pup’s health. However, some can be toxic, so it’s always a good idea to check before sharing.
When it comes to hamburgers, there isn’t an easy answer because it depends on how it’s prepared. Lean ground beef, cooked without seasoning or added salt, is healthy for dogs. However, restaurant burgers and fast-food meals may contain ingredients that disrupt your canine’s digestion. So, let’s take a look at hamburgers in more detail.
Can Hamburgers Be Good for Dogs?
Plain ground beef or a turkey burger is perfectly fine for your dog to eat. Plain, unseasoned ground beef is high in essential fatty acids and protein, which are good for your dog. Ground turkey also has similar beneficial qualities to beef. The problem occurs when you serve either of these proteins when they aren’t plain.
So, the best way to share burger meat with your dog is to thoroughly cook plain ground beef or a turkey by sautéing them in a pan without oil or boiling them until they’re not pink anymore. Then, when it comes time to serve, make sure you cut the meat into bite-size pieces to avoid a choking hazard.
How Can Hamburgers Be Bad for Dogs?
We tend to like burgers bursting with flavor, which means adding spices, salt, and toppings such as onions or garlic which are toxic to dogs. Buns also tend to be sugary and won’t be healthy for your dog. Raw patties or steak should also be avoided as these can contain bacteria like E. coli or salmonella, which are harmful to dogs and humans.
It’s important to note that a cooked burger should be seen as a treat, not something you share with your dog regularly. Eating table scraps can lead to bad habits in your dog, but more than that, they can develop gastroenteritis due to the change in their regular diet and suffer from obesity due to consistently receiving more calories than they use.
What Should You Do if Your Dog Eats Something They Shouldn’t?
Accidents can happen, so what should you be on the lookout for? Well, first, if you’re at all worried, contact your veterinarian immediately. Your dog might start to show some signs days after ingestion if they’ve eaten something like onions, but you don’t have to wait for a reaction before contacting your vet. However, take your dog to the vet immediately if they show these signs:
- Abdominal pain
- Diarrhea
- Exercise intolerance
- Increased heart rate
- Increased respiratory rate
- Lethargy/weakness
- Not eating
- Pale gums
- Red/brown urine
- Stumbling/loss of balance
- Vomiting
Final Thoughts
It’s perfectly healthy to share hamburger meat with your dog at the next family cookout, but make sure they eat a plain burger. The added flavors that we enjoy might end up causing a reaction and result in a trip to the vet. Whenever you’re enjoying a burger loaded with onions and other toppings toxic to canines, please keep it away from your pet and feed them high-quality dog food instead.
Featured Image Credit: JRMartins, Pixabay
