Can dogs eat bread? Generally the answer is yes they can. However, if you are talking about the sliced bread variety you buy from the store, it should be in very small amounts.
You are advised not to let your dog eat sliced white bread, as it is very high in calories. A single slice may have up to 150 calories within it. Salt levels in packaged supermarket bread are also very high. Crammed with preservatives so as to last several days from factory to your kitchen cupboards, such bread is notoriously unhealthy for you and your dog.
Can dogs eat bread – benefits?
There are actually no real benefits to your dog eating bread.
Some dog foods and dog biscuits do contain wheat that is obviously the prime ingredient to bread, however, their presence in dog meals is minimal and used as a bind material more than anything else.
Can dogs eat Bread – Precautions?
As already stated, bread in most forms is high in calories, salt and sometimes sugar. (Even the all bran, supposed healthy varieties are best avoided.)
Also, you could find that your dog is allergic to the wheat within the bread.
Uncooked bread or yeast can be harmful if ingested by your dog, as it can expand within their stomach.
This can happen when the dog is unable to breakdown the yeast within the gut. The warm, liquid environment is an ideal place for the yeast to multiply.
Quite simply the dogs stomach acts like a bread maker, resulting in a large expanding mass of dough growing inside them. It will cause great pain and can be dangerous.
The expanding stomach can cause breathing difficulties if severe enough to press against the dog’s diaphragm. In a number of extremely rare reported cases, dogs have died through suffocation.
Believe it or not, if your dog eats bread in yeast form, it can ferment producing mild amounts of alcohol within the blood stream.
If your dog has eaten bread like this, you may see an indication of ill health through in the following ways:
• Distended abdomen
• They may show signs of weakness
• Lack of coordination and disorientation
• Retching or vomiting
With any such signs you should contact your veterinary immediately.
Resources
- For an in depth look into the nutritional value of white bread head here.
- The ASPCA has more information on hazardous foods for dogs
- Web MD – Top 5 issues facing American pets today.
- Can dogs eat peanut butter?
Comments
Can dogs eat bread? If you have any comments on your own experiences with feeding your dog bread please leave them below.