Can Dogs Eat Fat Trimmings?

You might think giving your dog your fat trimmings is completely fine - it's meat after all. However, both cooked or uncooked fat trimmings can be bad for dogs.

Symptoms:

  • Abdominal Pain
  • Decreased Appetite
  • Dehydration
  • Diarrhoea
  • Fever
  • Lethargy
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting

Depending on how much fat your dog eats, they could develop pancreatitis.

How? 

Pancreatitis occurs when your dog has too much fat in their diet. But what is 'too much'? It depends on the individual animal.  

Too much fat would be if you were feeding your dog large amounts occasionally or small amounts regularly.

Generally, however, the occasional piece of fat trimmings for dogs won't cause many problems. 

can dogs eat fat trimmings

Top Tips:

  • The general rule is that any fats, fruits, vegetables - essentially any human food or treats - should make up roughly 10% of your dog's diet. 
  • It varies depending on how much fat your dog is used to. If your dog has a low-fat diet, then a sudden increase would increase the likelihood of pancreatitis. 

Treatment Plan

If your dog has developed signs of pancreatitis, there are a few things you can do:

Monitor - Keep an eye on developing symptoms and contact your vet if they seem to worsen.

Fast - Withhold your dog's food and water for 24 hours to give their pancreas time to heal. 

IV Fluids - If you go to your vet, they will most likely give your dog IV fluid. It will help keep your dog hydrated.

Low-fat - If your dog has pancreatitis, you need to make sure they have a low-fat diet from now on. A large amount of fat in your dog's diet can cause a range of health issues, so take caution.