How many times have you been in a situation when you are eating food, and your baby just looks at you with those puppy dog eyes, hoping against hope that you would share some of the delicious sandwiches?
And how many times have you finally given in to its begging, strictly instructing it, and yourself secretly, never to beg and give it again? But eventually, it happens all over again.
Many times, the food that you are feeding your dog includes toxic foods that can be harmful to your dog’s digestive tract. So, before you feed your dog something new, ask yourself, should you be feeding it to your dog or not?
One such food that you should question yourself about is bread; question yourself, can dog eat bread? Since we are already tackling this issue, the answer to that question is yes; dogs can eat bread. But there is a huge ‘but’ involved in this situation. But, there are only a few particular types of bread that you should feed your dog; many other types can prove to be quite toxic to it and damage its stomachs.
Also, it is best if you do not add bread to its daily diet. Try to give it to your dog in moderation and make sure that you do not overfeed it with bread, even if the bread does not fall into the harmful category.
Another thing you need to look out for is allergies to bread or its particular types; we will discuss that later in detail.
Bread & Nutrients
Many people feel that bread contains a lot of nutrients; hence they feed it to their dogs almost every day. But this is only a myth; bread does not contain many nutrients, especially those that are essential for dogs.
However, it does contain a lot of carbohydrates so it may eventually lead to obesity in your pup; and making your dog lose that fat is not an easy task. Heck! Even we as human beings tend to avoid bread when trying to switch to a healthier diet. Similarly, you need to make sure that your dog has a healthy diet in which you can include bread mainly as a treat.
What types of bread can and cannot eat your dog?
Before we shift to the kinds of bread your dog can eat, we would like to list down the big no-nos for it. First of all, you need to know the dangers of bread dough; if you ever make bread at home or feel that some form of bread is not baked properly, then ensure that you do not feed it to your dog.
The problem with the dog is that a dog’s stomach provides a favorable environment for the dough to rise, yes inside the stomach only. This can be extremely dangerous for your dog as the yeast will rise, and alcohol toxicosis will occur. One of the earlier signs will be that your dog’s stomach will start to bloat.
The best type of bread you can give your fur baby is whole grain bread. This kind of bread does not contain any ingredients that can prove to be harmful to your dog. In fact, the fibers present in whole-grain bread can help with the digestive system. You can feed it healthy white bread as well. Pumpkin bread is also a good option to feed your pup.
The other types of bread that you should avoid at all costs are banana bread as it usually has bits of chocolate chips present in it which can be disastrous to the health. The raisins in raisin bread can be a cause of kidney failure which can be fatal as well, so make sure you do not give that as well.
Molded bread
Bread that has mold or fungus on it is not good for human beings, so imagine how much damage it can cause a dog. Make sure that you, at all costs, keep molded bread away from your baby. In case it manages to eat some up, make it vomit so that it throws it all up. That way there will be no severe impact on its health as all the toxins will be thrown out of its stomach.
How much bread is right?
It is best to play it safe when you are giving your dog bread. You can give the bread as treats; it would love that. You can even add some peanut butter to it. But do not add bread to its regular diet, it is just not too healthy for your dog. However, it is okay if you give it once or twice a week, but make sure you do not include more of it.
Bread & an upset stomach
There have been rumors that when your dog’s stomach is upset, you should give it bread. This goes to some extent as it will help in some cases, but in other, it will not help too much. At that time it will just add carbs to its diet.
The best type of food you can give it, in this case, is boiled chicken with rice. We suggest that it is best that you consult your vet in such a case as they will be able to diagnose the problem.
Allergies
Dogs, though not very often, are also prone to allergies. Some dogs might even be allergic to bread. The only and best way to find out whether your dog is allergic to bread or not is to observe your dog carefully for a while after you have given it bread for the first time.
If you feel that there is any reaction, make sure that you take it to a vet immediately; if there are no responses, then it would be safe for you to feed bread to your dog. As results can vary from mild to severe reactions, make sure that you seek vet’s help if it is too harsh.
