My Dog Ate Spoiled Food What Should I Do?

Reviewed By Kim •  Updated: 10/02/22 •  3 min read
Dog Severe Toxicity Level
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My Dog Ate Spoiled Food What Should I Do?

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Does your dog like to rummage through the trash and eat spoiled food? This is a common problem for many pet parents, even when their dogs eat a healthy diet and get plenty to eat! There’s just something irresistible about spoiled food for dogs. But what happens when a dog eats spoiled food?

Has your dog eaten spoiled food? Are you worried the spoiled food will make your dog sick? If so, you’ve come to the right place. We understand it can be scary when your dog eats something like this.

We’ve gathered information about spoiled food and whether it can make a dog sick. Let’s get started!

It is strongly recommended to contact a Pet Poison Helpline or your veterinarian.

What is Spoiled Food?

Spoiled food is food that has gone bad. When this happens, the food is no longer safe for humans to eat and should be thrown out. Food may spoil for many reasons. For one thing, it may be passed its expiration date. It’s also possible food may spoil if left out of the fridge or if its packaging has become damaged.

When food goes bad, bacteria and fungi become prevalent in the food. These work to break the food down. But what happens when a dog eats spoiled food?

Spoiled Food & Dogs

Unfortunately, spoiled food can make a dog pretty sick. We have to say that there are dogs who seem to have cast iron stomachs! They can eat almost anything and everything without getting sick. So, it’s possible your dog could be OK after eating spoiled food.

However, spoiled food usually makes a dog sick in some way. Sometimes a dog may end up with serious medical issues from bad food.

Symptoms of Spoiled Food Ingestion in Dogs

You may notice these symptoms if your dog has eaten spoiled food:

If you notice these symptoms in your dog, call the vet immediately. This is an emergency.

Treatment of Spoiled Food Ingestion in Dogs

The vet will first induce vomiting and use activated charcoal to treat your dog’s symptoms. These help your fur baby’s body to get rid of the remaining food and toxins. Next, the vet may treat your dog with IV fluids to flush toxins out of the body and rehydrate your canine companion.

Then the vet will treat symptoms as they arise. It’s possible your dog may need to be hospitalized until he’s in stable condition.

The prognosis is best for dogs who receive prompt medical treatment. And if your fur baby loves to eat spoiled food, you may want to consider investing in dog-proof garbage bins and wastebaskets. Prevention is always the best medicine!

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Kim

Kim is a talented author, who loves animals especially dogs. She engaged in writing books and articles relating to animals a decade ago. Kim resides in Chicago with her husband and son. The family is the proud owner of a dog and a parrot (Jack and Lily). Kim wanted more than these two pets, but her husband put his foot down... She often visits elementary schools to talk to the kids about what she learned about pets and how they could learn from them.

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