What the FAO Says About Blood Meal
The FAO of the United Nations states that animal products such as blood meal, meat and bone meal, poultry meal, and feather meal are good sources of protein and amino acids, and some are also packed with essential vitamins and minerals. In addition, these rendered products are generally easy for animals to digest.
These factors make them important ingredients in pet food in the United States and many other countries around the world. These products can therefore be added to the diets of a wide range of animal species, including dogs and cats.
That said, although modern rendering processes can kill many pathogens, contamination can occur afterward. Still, considerable advances in feed mill technology for the heat treatment and pasteurization of foods greatly reduce the risk of contamination. Blood meal and other animal by-products used in pet food must meet strict federal regulations in order for harmful bacteria to be eliminated and the digestibility of the product increased.
It is also important to note that only traces of blood meal are usually added to dog food. Popular pet food brands typically list organ, tissue, and bone meal as the most common animal by-products in dry dog food. In wet foods, most of the by-products come from animal organs, including livers, kidneys, and spleens.
Bone meal is made up of defatted, dried, and flash-frozen animal bones that are ground to a powder. Gardeners often use bone meal to dust spring bulbs (to prevent squirrels from ingesting the bulbs). This “bone” is also what makes it so palatable to your dog so make sure to keep your pet from digging in it and ingesting the soil. While this also makes a great organic fertilizer, it can become a problem when consumed in large amounts as the bone meal forms a large cement-like bowling ball foreign body in the stomach – which can cause an obstruction in the gastrointestinal tract – resulting in possible surgery to remove it.
Blood meal is dried, ground, and flash-frozen blood and contains 12% nitrogen. While it’s a great organic fertilizer, if ingested, it can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and severe pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas). Some types of blood meal are also fortified with iron, resulting in iron toxicity.
Many pet owners often attempt to be more “organic” in an attempt to keep their dogs and cats safe. However, certain types of organic products can be just as poisonous. Gardeners using bone meal, blood meal, or fish meal should be aware of the dangers of these soil amendment products. These meals are designed to naturally increase nitrogen content; unfortunately, they are quite palatable to both dogs and cats when accidentally ingested from the garden or yard.
The content of this page is not veterinary advice. A number of factors (amount of substance ingested, size of the animal, allergies, etc.) determine what is toxic to a particular pet. If you think your pet has eaten something potentially toxic, call Pet Poison Helpline or seek immediate veterinary treatment.
What the Pet Poison Helpline Says About Blood Meal
Pet Poison Helpline classifies blood meal and bone meal as toxic to pets, but that’s primarily when these types of organic “products” are used as fertilizers. Indeed, the blood meal typically used by gardeners is an excellent organic fertilizer because it contains 12% nitrogen. Also, since it is dried, ground, and flash-frozen blood, this product is also palatable for dogs and cats. Unfortunately, if your dog ingests a large amount of it, they could suffer from gastrointestinal problems, including:
The bottom line is that if you use blood meal as a fertilizer in your garden and you suspect that your pet has ingested it, contact your veterinarian immediately.
Blood Meal in Dog Food | Wag!
Certain folks who are owned by dogs often turn to organic yard and garden products to protect their canine pals from the horrors of chemical poisoning. What many don’t realize is that “organic” doesn’t always mean “safe if ingested.” Organic gardening products are either mined from rock minerals or made of natural animal and plant materials. Blood meal is a 100-percent natural fertilizer and soil conditioner that can injure or kill your best buddy.
You can’t blame Rusty for taking a keen interest in blood meal — it just smells and tastes so doggone good. This organic product consists of animal blood that has been flash-frozen, dried and ground into powder. No self-respecting canine would turn his nose up at such an irresistible delicacy. The downside is that the dog who sucks down a heaping helping may be setting himself up for a nasty bout with diarrhea, vomiting and severe inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis).
Adding insult to injury, that bag of blood in your garage is also chock-full of iron. Essential to your dog‘s health, iron in excessive amounts can give him a nasty case of iron toxicity. Mild to moderate toxicosis occurs within six hours of ingestion. The primary symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea and bleeding within the gastrointestinal tract. Severe toxicosis occurs between 12 and 96 hours later. The dog will experience recurrence of gastrointestinal symptoms as well as lethargy, tachycardia, hypotension, cardiovascular collapse, shock and possibly death.
A full-time writer since 2007, Axl J. Amistaadt is a DMS 2013 Outstanding Contributor Award recipient. He publishes online articles with major focus on pets, wildlife, gardening and fitness. He also covers parenting, juvenile science experiments, cooking and alternative/home remedies. Amistaadt has written book reviews for Work At Home Truth.