Is Blood Meal Poisonous to Dogs?

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.