Its festive season or you and your family, relatives, and friends are on wingding, one surest exquisite meal that can find its way on the dining room is ham. At this time, you can find it hard to see your dog salivate for just a piece.
But the big bone of contention, that is itching every dog owners is, can dogs eat ham? Well this can be simple if you value the health your dog. Ham in generally has some health implication on dogs and it is advisable to avoid. We have given a comprehensive review in detail, on things you should not before giving your dogs that ham.
Read more: Can Dogs Eat Ham Bones?
Is Ham Safe for Your Dogs?
Ham is very nutritious when we human’s consume it, they have a large number of proteins and iron and sodium, Ham that is cured so that calcium and potassium content goes down. They always undergo preservation through curing, salting or smoking.
In 100g of Ham, we have the following nutritional values; 145 calories, 6 grams of fat –which is equivalent to 1.8g of saturated fats, 1,203mg of sodium, and 287 mg of potassium, and 1.5 grams of carbohydrate.
When we take a look at this facts figures, nutritional contents we find that there are certain values that are not propitious to dog’s health. Let’s look at them individually to see how they can be dangerous to your dog.
1. The Content of Fats in Ham
It is very precarious if dogs consume fats in large quantity, one of the deadliest complications the dog can have is getting pancreatitis. If you don’t know, the dog’s digestive enzymes are very essential, they help in the digestion process.
Now, this can cause a problem in dogs, when the pancreas becomes inflamed as a result of inactive enzymes becoming active before they reach pancreas instead.in the event of such activities, pancreas begins to digest itself, causing pain and swallowing.one factor contributing to this is overweight in dogs. When you feed your dogs on ham more often without taking extra precaution, they will develop extra weight, leading to obesity.
Seek vets for elaborate treatment if you see this symptom; swollen abdomen, lethargy, restlessness, vomiting or if there are any changes that are not common.
2. The Sodium in Ham
In 100 grams of Ham, we have 1,203 mg of sodium. This amount is not healthy for dogs, they lead to bloating. When dogs take a large quantity of water, the air becomes a problem to mention. They inhale a lot of air when they drink water, causing stomach twist and cause congestion. This can lead to death if not diagnosed early.
3. Potassium
The high amount of sodium in Ham leads to a disease known as Hyperkalemia. This happens when there is a large quantity of potassium in the blood. They affect dogs heart, paralyzes its normal functioning. You will notice this in dogs, when they are experiencing symptoms such as; extreme weakness, limps become rigid-flaccid paralysis or arrhythmias.
Conclusion
We are now aware that ham has a large quantity of sodium, potassium and the vulnerable one fats. Well, can a dog eat ham that is the question that was proving maddening to you, ham is not good for your dogs some of the complications it causes from its nutrients like fats, sodium and potassium is fatal.