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Why do some dogs get sick from raw food and others don't?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Cavalier King Charles Spaniel | Female | spayed | 7 years and 7 months old | 17 lbs

Hi Melanie, what is the ph of a dogs stomach, is it similar to humans and if not, how does it differ? How does this affect their ability to process raw meats and dairy and can they get sick as easily as humans would if they eat raw meats and dairy? just curious to how some dogs will eat raw foods and never get sick while others will almost immediately. Thanks!

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on February 18th, 2020

The pH of a dog's stomach is actually slightly stronger than humans. One test showed that a human's stomach pH can range from 1.5 to 3.5 after eating. For dogs, it was 1.05 to 2.2. It is not the actual bacteria that make dogs and humans sick from raw meat. It is the ingestion of toxins previously produced by the bacteria in the raw meat and then absorbed into the blood stream causing vomiting and diarrhoea as well as fever and weakness. The pH of their stomach doesn't prevent them from absorbing these toxins. I think it's just luck of the draw that some dogs don't get sick from eating raw meat. Think of in it terms of humans. I've had beef tartare. Raw beef. Didn't make me sick, but it does have the potential to make people very sick. Granted, I only had it once!

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1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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