Yes, dogs can eat hot dogs, but it’s not recommended.
Hot dogs are produced using highly processed ingredients and are not recommended to be fed to your dog. That’s the black and white answer anyway.
However, for a very occasional treat, it’s probably going to be fine, as long as your dog isn’t allergic to any of the suspect ingredients.
If you are going to feed them to your dog, keep them plain. I.e. don’t serve them in a bun and don’t cover them in mustard and onions.
Keep it simple and as a one off.
If your dogs been sneaky and had snaffled one (as they often do), don’t worry too much.
They could potentially get an upset stomach, so speak to your vet if you have concerns.
Can dogs eat raw hot dogs?
Yes, hot dogs are usually precooked, so there’s not much difference between raw, cold, uncooked or cooked, its already been done.
They taste a lot better heated though!
Are there dog friendly hot dogs?
The short answer is no. Anything with that many ingredients is never a good thing for your dog to be eating.
You could make your own sausage and keep them meat only, but it wouldn’t really be a hot dog if it was healthy right?
If you are at a BBQ and you want to give something to your dog, give them a plain piece of meat, such as pork, beef chicken etc, that is unseasoned and has been chopped up.
This is a far better choice.
Can hot dogs kill dogs?
No, there seems to be a rumour going around that they potentially could, but any food can technically if they choke on it, or are severely allergic.
A small amount of hot dog is generally fine, just don’t go silly and don’t make it a regular thing.
Check with a vet if you are unsure.
Allergies
As with most foods, your dog may be allergic to hotdogs. If you suspect this, do not feed them any more and speak to your vet to try and ascertain which ingredient your dog is intolerant to. As hotdogs have many ingredients, it could be any one of them.
And just in case you were wondering what’s in the things…
Hot dog ingredients
The below are the ingredients for Princes hot dogs in brine. Yours may vary slightly, but they are probably very similar. Full of rubbish!
Hot Dogs (Mechanically Separated Chicken (56%), Water, Pork Rind (11%), Potato Starch, Salt, Thickener: E412, Casing: Beef Collagen, White Pepper, Stabilisers (E451, E452), Antioxidant: E316, Glucose Syrup, Lemon Extract, Yeast Extract, Herbs and Spices, Smoke Flavouring, Garlic Powder, Flavouring, Dextrose, Onion Powder, Sugar, Chicory Extract, Preservative: E250, Colour: E155), Water, Salt
As you can see, they are not what we would term ‘healthy’ ingredients, be it if you or your dog are eating them.
The ingredients that can potentially cause your pooch the most issues are:
Mechanically Separated Chicken – this is a slightly controversial subject, but this is essentially a small amount of meat along with bones, blood vessels, skin and nerves that have been forced under pressure through a sieve to form a ‘paste’.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t like the sound of this and wouldn’t be happy giving it to my family or dog.
If it feels wrong, it probably is!
Salt – Hotdogs are full of salt. Just one half of a hotdog is likely to put your dog over their recommended sodium levels for the day. In the short term this can cause dehydration and in the long-term, high blood pressure.
Onion Powder – Dogs shouldn’t eat onions as it can affect their blood. This goes for either fresh onions or the powdered form.
Many will say not to feed a dog Garlic either.
Garlic is not as much of a problem for dogs as they need a large amount of it before it would cause them any issues.
Preservative: E250 (sodium nitrite) – sodium nitrite is thought to be carcinogenic to both humans and dogs. It is used as a preservative in cured meats.
Conclusion
A small portion of hot dog probably isn’t going to hurt your dog, but just make sure it’s not a regular part of their food intake and just like your own diet, be aware of what is actually in the things your dog is eating.
As always, if you have any concerns about your dog, we recommend that you speak to your vet for further advice.