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Jerrybo66's avatar
Jerrybo66
Explorer
Oct 08, 2014

What's the deal on pork and dog food?

I have tried everything to combat the dogs having gas, loud rumbling to be heard across the room. I'm on raw & probiotics now.
I've read zillions of ingredients but no pork. Everything from rabbits to buffalo but no pork. I make pork sausage as treats and a vehicle to give pills and the dogs wolf them down. I would think that relatively cheap butcher scraps would be a prime ingredient in dog food but not even the supermarket brands advertise it. I grind it, fry it to remove fat and mix it in their food. They like it. No, the rumblings are not connected with pork. I've only started the ground pork. Chunks are great to give pills with. There has to be a lot of waste when butchering a hog so why isn't it being used for dog food? Grandpap used to say, "they use everything of the pig except the squeal, and that they put on records"..... He's been gone long enough to not hear modern "singing" but I have to agree with him... :)

17 Replies

  • Whoa, pork is much to valuable to feed to dogs. I need my sausage.
  • CA POPPY wrote:
    You aren't feeding and handling raw pork, are you? There's this to worry about in that case: Trichinosis I remember knowing of someone who got that parasite from a "fabulous sausage" and was in the hospital quite ill for some time.


    Trichinellosis Surveillance --- United States, 1997--2001
    Although trichinellosis was associated historically with eating Trichinella-infected pork from domesticated sources, wild game meat was the most common source of infection during 1997--2001. During this 5-year period, 72 cases were reported to CDC. Of these, 31 (43%) cases were associated with eating wild game: 29 with bear meat, one with cougar meat, and one with wild boar meat. In comparison, only 12 (17%) cases were associated with eating commercial pork products, including four cases traced to a foreign source. Nine (13%) cases were associated with eating noncommercial pork from home-raised or direct-from-farm swine where U.S. commercial pork production industry standards and regulations do not apply.

    In the United States, the national trichinellosis surveillance system has documented a steady decline in the reported incidence of this disease. During 1947--1951, a median of 393 cases (range: 327--487) was reported annually, including 57 trichinellosis-related deaths (4). During 1997--2001, the incidence decreased to a median of 12 cases annually (range: 11--23) and no reported deaths. No apparent change in the trichinellosis surveillance system can account for this decline. However, because the surveillance system is not designed to detect asymptomatic cases, the number of reported cases probably represents only a portion of the total number of infections.

    Historically, pork products were the most commonly identified source of Trichinella infection in the United States. However, the number of annual reported cases attributed to pork has declined for many years, largely because of changes implemented by the U.S. pork industry that have resulted in reduced prevalence of Trichinella among domestic swine. This report presents data for 1997--2001 on trichinellosis and describes the changing epidemiology of this disease.
  • You aren't feeding and handling raw pork, are you? There's this to worry about in that case: Trichinosis I remember knowing of someone who got that parasite from a "fabulous sausage" and was in the hospital quite ill for some time.

    A lot of people have wished for pork ingredients in (cooked) dog food. Usually the answer for why it doesn't seem to be available is that many religions and cultures do not include pork in their diet. Since the owners don't eat it, they wouldn't want to handle it for their pets, either. I agree that our dog would probably love it.
  • It's used for the sausage your are eating. Ever hear of "whole hog" sausage, well it is literally that!