diff --git a/utils/patch_header.sh b/utils/patch_header.sh
index c50846ed2a03677c86ccd056dab111a04a8f4903..33fbff879b3166596e153685105873adeae8405b 100644
--- a/utils/patch_header.sh
+++ b/utils/patch_header.sh
@@ -131,6 +131,10 @@ function update_version {
 }
 
 function dump_table {
+    if [[ -z $MYSQLDUMP_CMD ]]; then
+        echo "Cannot find mysqldump program!" >&2
+        exit 2
+    fi
     $MYSQLDUMP_CMD $(get_db_args_nodb) $DATABASE_NAME $1 \
                     > ${DATABASE_NAME}.${1}.${OLD_VERSION}.dump.sql
 }