A staple of any diet, bread is beloved worldwide. You use it in the kitchen, you pack it in lunches, and you take it on picnics with your fur baby. Speaking of your furry friend, can dogs eat bread? During those picnic days, your pup surely looks at you with hopeful eyes. Waiting to snag a bite of that crispy, crunchy baguette.
The short answer to can dogs eat bread is yes. But, a short yes won’t cut it. Your dog has a complex body, and when it comes to their diet, the answer never ends with a simple ‘yes.’
Why Can Dogs Eat Bread?
Provided your pup has no allergies to wheat or gluten, the occasional piece of bread is fine. So long as you feed your pup a balanced diet of about ninety percent dog food and ten percent healthy treats.
However, a bread treat provides little benefit to your dog’s diet. Bread is largely made up of carbohydrates and contains little vitamins or minerals. While tossing the occasional piece of bread to your dog is okay, avoid feeding them bread too often.
Feeding too much bread to your dog risks the possibility of them gaining weight. Of course, if your dog needs to gain weight, adding bread treats to their diet would definitely be of benefit to them.
When I talk about feeding bread to your pup, I refer to plain, white or wheat bread. These bread types provide little to no risk to your dog’s health, as long as they don’t have any bread allergies.
However, there are types of bread containing toxic ingredients that risk damaging your fur baby’s health.
Doughn’t You Know
For you bakers out there, make sure to keep any and all bread dough out of your dog’s reach. While I applaud you for immersing yourself in the art of making bread, bread dough is hazardous for a dog’s health when consumed.
When your dog eats bread dough, the yeast in the dough that allows it to rise thrives within the conditions of your pup’s tummy. That is to say that the dough will start to ‘cook’ in your dog’s stomach and the dough will expand.
The pressure caused by the rising dough may cause bloating, but alcohol toxosis provides the real threat. As the yeast cooks in the stomach, it releases ethanol (alcohol) into your pup’s bloodstream.
Obviously, you never want that to happen. So, if you fear your pup ever ate some bread dough, look out for these signs and symptoms:
- Unsteady, Drunken Gait
- Weakness
- Depression
- Slow Reactions
- Tremors
If you notice any of these symptoms in your fur baby, take them to the vet as soon as possible.
As for bread types that are not plain, white or wheat bread, please take precautions. Many breads contain ingredients that provide a risk to your pup’s health.
For example, many tasty breads contain toxic ingredients like raisins or garlic. Also, avoid feeding your fur baby any breads that contain nuts or seeds. Because even nuts and seeds that are safe for canine consumption put your pup at risk for an upset tummy.
Speaking of upset tummies…
Can Dogs Eat Bread To Help An Upset Stomach?
A lot of dog owners and experts swear by bread as an excellent remedy for treating their dog’s upset stomach. However, the Merck Veterinary Manual explains that feeding your dog bland rice and boiled chicken provides a better treatment for upset stomach. Of course, if the upset stomach persists, call your vet to rule out anything severe.
Bread To Win
The occasional table scrap of plain bread is fine for your pup, and they’ll certainly appreciate it.
Like us hoomans, dogs love them some bread!
