One of the main foods that we include in our everyday lives is bread. It mainly helps in giving energy to the body. Sometimes, we see our four-legged friend try to mimic us and eat bread. But, can dogs eat bread?
The good news is that you can let your dog mimic you as he can have bread. This food doesn’t contain any harmful ingredients unless it has extra flavours and toppings. Also, you keep the quantity moderate. Breads are plant-based foods, so dogs can’t eat them as much as we can.
Now let’s discover some safety concerns related to feeding bread to dogs.
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Can Dogs Have Bread?
Breads do not have any toxins or nutritional value, so your dog can hardly get any side effects from them. It means you can offer bread to your canine friend occasionally. Also, make sure that the quantity is moderate since it is not dog food.
Dogs can only eat those breads that don’t have garlic, raisins, chocolate, seeds, nuts, or any flavouring. In short, your dog has to eat plain bread that is properly baked.
What Breads Can Dogs Have?
Dogs can have bread, but that doesn’t mean they can have all types of bread. Some particular breads are allowed for dogs to eat. Such as:
Wheat Bread
Wheat bread doesn’t have any toxic ingredients or any ingredients that can be harmful to dogs. Unless your dog has allergies, you are good to go with feeding him a small piece of wheat bread.
Cooked Sourdough
Cooked sourdough is easy for dogs to digest. So you can feed it to your canine friend.
White Bread
White bread and wheat bread are almost the same. If your dog can eat wheat bread, he can eat white bread too.
Rye Bread
Rye breads don’t have any toxic ingredients but five and magnesium. It is going to be healthy for your dog in moderation.
What Breads Dogs Cannot Have?
Unfortunately, dogs can’t enjoy some tasty and flavorful breads. Such as:
Pumpkin Bread
Pumpkin breads have nutmeg that is toxic to dogs. Hence, you should avoid it for your paw friend.
Ginger Bread
Gingerbreads have nutmeg and sugar. These two ingredients are toxic to dogs and other pets, so you must avoid them.
Banana Bread
Banana breads have raisins, sugar, and macadamia nuts. All these ingredients are toxic for dogs and pose health threats to them.
Raw Bread Dough
Raw bread dough releases toxic ethanol in dogs and offers several health issues. Make sure your canine friend doesn’t consume it.
How Much Bread Can Dogs Have?
First, observe by offering one pea-sized amount of bread to your dog. If he consumes it without showing any symptoms, offer him another size of bread. If everything seems fine, you can let your dog have one or two bites of bread if he is a small breed. For medium breeds, two to three bites of bread are enough. Again, for larger breeds, don’t make it over six bites.
Benefits Of Eating Bread For Dogs
Almost in all nations, bread is a part of people’s daily meals. The reason must be its benefits and the satisfaction we get after eating it.
One of the main reasons why we eat bread every day is because it has carbohydrates that give us energy. Besides, it soothes an upset stomach with its high starch content. If your dog is suffering from IBS or gastric issues, a small amount of white bread can be good for him.
Eating the right bread in the right quantity can also maintain your dog’s digestive tract. It means you won’t have an upset stomach and constipation at the same time. Bread is good for keeping the GI tract well-balanced.
Note: These benefits are inevitable for dogs if you offer them the right bread in the proper quantity.
Risks Of Eating Bread For Dogs
Risks may arise after feeding bread to dogs if the quantity is not right or the type of bread is not right. For instance, your dog ate raw bread dough. It has yeast that will release toxins into your dog’s bloodstream. This can cause weakness, hypothermia, vomiting, diarrhoea, etc. for him.
If your dog ever eats garlic bread, banana bread, or any flavorful bread, he can have these mentioned health issues. However, breads containing nuts have higher calories, which can cause pancreatitis in your dog.
Even if you offer your dog white or wheat bread, he may have side effects. This can be because of two reasons: either he is allergic or it is in large quantities. These can cause irritation, vomiting, and watery diarrhoea.
When Can Dogs Have Bread?
Since bread is a portion of human food, not dog food, dogs can’t eat it as much as we want. Besides, they can’t eat it every time, as feeding bread to them is dependent on their health.
If your dog has any sort of allergy, try to avoid giving them human foods like bread. Also, dogs with sensitive stomachs shall not eat bread, as its high fibre content will lead to diarrhoea.
Let’s say your dog doesn’t have any allergies or health issues. In that case, you also can’t feed bread to him directly. First, you have to offer him a tiny piece of bread. If he eats it and doesn’t give any reaction, you can offer him some more.
Frequently Asked Questions: Can Dogs Have Bread?
Can dogs eat roti?
Although dogs can eat roti in a very small amount, it is not safe for them. Roti has gluten that can be hard for your canine friend to digest.
Can dogs have bread with milk?
Dogs are lactose-intolerant, so they can’t have milk. Besides, some dogs can’t withstand plant-based foods and gluten. Hence, bread is also not an appropriate option for them.
Can dogs have toasted bread?
Like plain breads, toasted breads are also safe for dogs as they don’t have any harmful ingredients. Just make sure the quantity is limited and that you have to follow that while providing wheat bread to your dog.
Can dogs eat bread and butter?
A small piece of plain bread won’t do any harm to your dog. But if you feed it with butter, that can be harmful. It is because butter has a high-fat content that can disrupt your dog’s GI tract.
Final Thoughts
Sometimes we see that our dogs are vomiting and having diarrhoea after knowing bread is safe for them. This makes us wonder: can dogs have bread?
There is nothing in bread that can cause health issues for dogs unless they are allergic, and the quantity is large. Dogs only react after eating bread when it has flavours and toppings like garlic, chocolate, nuts, etc. Hopefully, you will be aware of the amount of bread before serving it to your dog.
