Can Dogs Eat Meatloaf – When it is or isn’t an Emergency

No, dogs shouldn’t eat meatloaf. Many meatloaf recipes are unsafe for dogs due to the use of ingredients like onion, which is toxic to pets.

What happens if a dog eats meatloaf?

Your dog could get sick from eating meatloaf. The severity will depend on a number of factors such as the amount of meatloaf the dog ate and the ingredients inside the meatloaf. A classic meatloaf recipe may include ingredients like ground beef, bread crumbs, ketchup, egg, and parsley. Most of these ingredients are fine for dogs as long as they are eaten in moderation. It starts to become unsafe if the dogs eat meatloaf containing ingredients like garlic, onion, and tomato sauce.

Dogs may start to show clinical signs within a few hours of eating meatloaf. This may include gastrointestinal symptoms like stomach upsets and diarrhea. Dogs that end up eating a lot of onions from the meatloaf may develop longer-term problems like anemia.

What to do if your dog ate a meatloaf

Your dog may end up being fine if he or she only ate a tiny piece of meatloaf. You may, in any case, want to still call the vet to keep it safe, especially if the meatloaf does contain toxic ingredients like onions. The ingestion of any larger amount of meatloaf should have you call the vet immediately.

Aside from meatloaf, there are many other human foods that are unsafe for dogs to consume. You can learn about them by visiting our human food for dogs database.