Should I feed hot dogs to my dachshund?

Question

I am considering feeding my dachshund some hot dogs and/or sausages. I witnessed my friend feed his dachshund multiple sausages, and the dog seemed fine afterwards.

Is this wise?

Beyond having society label him a "cannibal", are there any actual inherent dangers to feeding my dachshund (or, for that matter, any canine) a hot dog or variant thereof (frankfurter, sausage, bratwurst, kielbasa, blood sausage, etc.)? If there are dangers, what are they?

Does it matter if the hot dog is pork, beef (Kosher or not), other meat (chicken, turkey), or vegetarian (soy, etc.)? Are there safe hot dog-esque alternatives?

Essentially, I'd like to know how safe it is to feed hot dogs to a dog.

Answer 1

There's nothing inherently wrong with hot dogs. In fact, they're a popular treat used in training. But, they are treats, and as such should be given in moderation.

The meat shouldn't make a difference really (though pork should be cooked to avoid parasites, the same as you would if you were planning on eating it). What matters is what has been added to the meat. For safety, I would suggest avoiding flavored hot dogs, as they usually contain ingredients that can be harmful to dogs (e.g. Cheese-filled or beer batter bratwursts).

Although it's important to check the ingredients even with plain hot dogs, as all hot dogs will have various amounts of sodium added. Sausages worry me a little bit, because generally they're packed with various spices, which can include garlic and salt.

Since hot dogs are generally considered safe for dogs, there haven't been any alternatives that I know of, but there are pet-safe condiments you can add if you want. Something like Petchup and/or Muttstard should be fine to add if your dog likes them. (For cats, see Catchup and Meowstard)

Answer 2

Hot dogs are not bad for dogs in moderation but be careful because they are high in sodium and fat and low in real nutritional content. If you want to give fido a treat or use it for training I say go for it. Use common sense, you don't want to feed your dog hot dogs as their main food source just like you wouldn't recommend hot dogs as a staple food source for a person.

Answer 3

Hot dogs do not provide a nutritionally balanced meal, are often high in fat, contain low quality meats, spices, dies, preservatives and a number of things your dog (or a person) does not need. Onions are toxic to cats and hot dogs often have onion powder and other spices. I don't know if they contain anything toxic to dogs.

Feeding cats and dogs human food will also lead to begging and food stealing behaviors. Once the animal figures out what you are eating is tasty they will try to get some for themselves. This may be a pain to guests as they get jumped on while eating. Personally I don't like a dog sitting attentively and staring at me (begging) while I am at the dinner table. To me its a sign the owners don't know much about dogs.

Also Imagine a 90 pound Alaskan Malamute who also wants a bite of the pizza a toddler is running around with. There also may be some nipped fingers as well.

Consult a both a medical doctor and a veterinarian and they will tell you that you and your dog should stay away from hot dogs, or perhaps enjoy them in very moderate amounts.

If you just have to give him a yummy human style meat treat maybe some plain cooked lean beef or chicken.

Answer 4

I have a five year old Dachshund. I give her a little bit of finely cut up hot-dogs in her evening meal and she seems to do fine. Never more than a half of hot-dog. I also stick pills in a piece of hot-dog and she gobbles it up.

Answer 5

I feel it's important to point out that if you have small dogs like I do (I have 3 and 4 pound Yorkshire Terriers) a hot dog is about the same size as their little throats. They can get stuck in the throat and it could kill your dog. If I'm giving my dogs a treat of hot dogs I cut them up really good.

Answer 6

Hotdogs used to give my dachshund terrible, bloody, diarrhea. Her diet was always vegetarian so that could have been why she couldn't handle it on the rare occasions she ate meat.

We always fed my dog a grain-based dog food. When we picked her up after a trip to the kennel, they fed her a piece of a hotdog on her way out. Later that day, she had the stomach issues mentioned above.

On other occasions, we gave her a lamb bone on Easter (we're Greek and make a lamb soup). Every year we left any meat on it, she also had the stomach problems, but she was always "fine" the next day.