Can Dogs Have Bread? Things To Consider Before Giving Your Dogs Bread

Can Dogs Have Bread? Things To Consider Before Giving Your Dogs Bread

Some dogs just love to eat. It doesn’t matter if you are eating plain bread at the breakfast table or having delicious Choco-chips bread, your little puppy might roam around you just to have a piece. However, as much as you would want to give your dog a slice of your bread, stop and make sure if dogs can eat bread or not.

To help you make a decision quickly about feeding your furry friend bread, we have discussed the benefits and risk associated with bread for dogs so that you know everything you need to know before giving it to your beloved pet.

Can Dogs Eat Bread? Is it Safe?

There are many food items that you should avoid giving to your dogs. But breads are NOT one of them. This dairy item is safe for your beloved furry friend if it is not allergic to dairy altogether. Bread [plain white or whole grain, whatever your dog likes] can be an excellent occasional treat for your puppy- it will not only make the dog happy but also keep its tummy full for quite some time.

But then again, before making your furry friend happy with a bread treat, don’t forget to make sure that the bread doesn’t have any extra-sugary items, onions, garlic, and raisins that could potentially harm the dog badly.

Moreover, don’t make it a habit to give your puppy breads daily. Breads can add extra calories to its body and lead to weight gain and obesity.

What are the Risks of Feeding Bread to Dogs?

As we have said, even though breads are an incredible treat for your puppy, there are some risks associated with this food item. Let’s discuss the risks in detail for even better understanding.

Breads Can Upset Dog Stomach

Breads as a treat every now and then don’t create any health problems in dogs. But then again, if you feed it on regular basis, dogs with or even without allergies to gluten and dairy can become severely ill because of this food item. The enzymes present in the dog’s stomach can digest a certain amount of carbohydrates at a time. When it gets more carbs than intended, the dog’s stomach cannot digest them properly causing severe digestion issues.

One more thing you must also remember that there are many types of breads available in the market with many different types of extra ingredients like raisins and garlic. If these items are consumed in a high quantity by your little furry friend, they can cause stomach ache and might eventually lead to loose motion and other health problems.

It can lead to Weight Gain

If you have a little puppy, you are well-aware of the fact that its body is well-adapted to a high protein, vitamins and minerals. However, the things that your pet cannot digest properly are carbohydrates and fats. Both these are bad for the pup’s health and have the potential to cause health issues.

Breads, aside from being a carbohydrate, are also rich in fat. This food item, when taken in quite a large amount frequently can increase the overall weight of the dog and lead it to obesity in no time.

Can Cause Teeth Decay

Another risk of feeding bread to your dog on a regular basis is the chance of teeth decay. Most of the time breads contain sugar, and this sugar can get stuck to multiple areas of your furry friend’s teeth causing gum ache and teeth decay over time.

Even when the bread itself is sugar-free, the carbohydrate content of it has a high percentage of stored sugar in them. This sugar also acts, in the same way, causing problems in the puppy’s teeth and gum.

Toxic Ingredients can Cause Health Problems

Some extra ingredients used in some fancy bread are not only bad for the dog’s health but can also be extremely toxic and lethal. For instance, if you let your pup have garlic bread, even just a portion, it can upset the stomach and cause severe vomiting and diarrhoea as well.

On the contrary, these issues might seem temporary. However, remember that all these factors have the potential to cause some serious long-term reactions including weakness, unsteady gait, hypothermia, depression, and even coma.

What to Consider Before Giving Bread to Your Dogs?

Even though breads have some serious health risks, you shouldn’t stop giving it to your furry friend once in a while as a treat.

However, as there are some issues associated with dogs and breads, you must consider a few things before giving it to your beloved pet.

Let’s talk about them in details to understand better.

• Before letting your dog eat any type of bread, don’t forget to ensure that your puppy is not allergic to wheat- allergic to wheat can lead to serious health issues.
• If possible get a sugar-free loaf of bread for your precious little friend. If you don’t find one, buy bread that has the least amount of sugar in it. Always remember that sugar is harmful to the dogs.
• Another thing to keep in mind is that breads should never replace your pup’s regular meal. It can be a treat or comfort food, but never a regular meal.
• Before giving your dog a piece of bread, never forget to check if it contains extra ingredients like garlic, nuts and raisins. If the bread has these items, don’t even think of giving it to your beloved little puppy.

How Much Bread Is Good For Dogs?

Breads are an excellent treat for your precious pet dog. However, you have to be careful of the amount you feed to your puppy because of obvious reasons. To be on the safe side yet also to make your pup happy, give it only a few bites from a loaf of bread or cut a small piece from it and feed it once in a while. This will not only keep your furry friend happy but also would keep an upset stomach at bay.

Types of Breads to Avoid For Your Dogs

Even though breads can be given as a healthy treat to your pet dogs from time to time, there are more than a few types of breads that you should avoid altogether. These types of breads have the potential to cause extreme health issues in your puppy, and shouldn’t be given in any shape or form.

The types of breads that you should avoid for your dogs are:

Raisin bread: The breads that contain raisins are not the best for your little furry friends. These toppings can cause severe kidney problems in dogs and in some severe cases, can also lead to an untimely death.

Onion and/or Garlic Bread: Even though garlic and onion breads are tempting to you, you must never treat your pet with them. This is because these ingredients can lead to red blood cells damage and cause health problems or even death.

Nut Bread:  Breads containing nut sounds tasty. However, you should avoid them altogether because of the health risks associated with them.

Banana bread: Even though banana is not toxic for dogs, banana breads often contain other items like different types of nut and chocolate chips to increase the taste of it. These extra ingredients are not healthy for your furry friend and should be avoided in any circumstances.

Is Bread Dough Safe for Your Dog?

Where bread itself is bad for dogs in some cases, how bread dough can be safe for your beloved puppy?

If you are thinking to treat your precious little friend with some bread dough, then DON’T. Bread doughs are not at all safe for the dogs to eat in any shape or form.

This is because bread dough contains yeast. Yeast can be very toxic and dangerous for your puppy if it consumes it in the raw form-raw yeast has the potential to ferment in the dog’s stomach and be life-threatening for the little pet.

In addition to the life-threatening issue, bread dough can also result in serious bloating in the pup’s stomach and cause the intestine to expand leading to severe pain and serious internal injuries.

Aside from these problems, bread dough can also lead to other health issues. Some of the most common issues it can lead to are:

• Excessive formation of gas
• Vomiting
• Lightheadedness
• Increase in bladder issues
• Depression
• And many more

Can I Give My Dog Gluten-Free Breads?

Whether your pet dogs can eat gluten-free bread or not is a bit controversial. This is because only the pups that are genuinely allergic to wheat and gluten can benefit from gluten-free breads- the others not so much. If you avoid gluten for dogs that are not allergic, then they would miss out on a rich source of energy, fiber and important nutrients, and therefore, if your dog is not allergic to gluten or has other medical conditions, it’s better not to avoid it in any sense.

Wrapping Up

A piece of bread once in a while can be a delicious treat for your pet dog. This will not only make it happy but also help to explore its taste buds. However, never go overboard with this food item just to make your furry friend happy. A small amount would do the work just fine.