Research conducted by the University of Bristol found that giving dogs raw meat led to an increased presence of an antibiotic-resistant strain of the bacteria in their faeces.
The study, which was conducted on 600 healthy pet dogs, concluded that owners should consider switching to a non-raw food diet for their beloved pooches.
Alternatively it suggested owners should cook meat before feeding it to their dogs, or source the best possible quality meat if they wanted to feed it to their pooches in its raw form.
They also noted that good hand hygiene greatly reduces the immediate risk of E. coli being ingested.
The authors of the report called on the raw dog food industry to source meat from farms with more stringent antibiotic policies.
E. coli, which can cause food poisoning, is the UK’s most common cause of urinary tract and bloodstream infections, which can be life-threatening.
A particularly concerning finding in the study was that the strain of E.coli detected appeared resistant to ciprofloxacin, an antibiotic used to treat a range of bacterial infections in humans and animals.