When feeding your dogs, you might often wonder what foods are cheap and readily available. The list of such foods includes bread, a staple in all of our diets, which is available at the price of a bottle of water. But can your German Shepherd eat it? The answer is yes; German Shepherds can eat plain white bread, in moderation of course.
But knowing that isn’t enough. You need a little more information to ensure your pet stays safe and healthy after consuming the bread. In most cases, plain white bread should not pose a threat to your dog’s health but read along to learn about different scenarios where you may need to be extra careful with your furry friends.
Will bread add any nutrients to my German Shepherd’s diet?
Although bread contains a small amount of protein, iron, folate, sodium, and fiber, it does not have any nutrients that are not already available in your German Shepherd’s regular diet. Additionally, bread is heavy with carbohydrates, so too much bread might propel your dog on the route to obesity, and obesity may make your dog vulnerable to many other diseases.
Bread also contains gluten, so you should be monitoring your German Shepherd for any gluten allergies that it might have. As bread will not add any extra nutrients to your dog’s diet, you can give it to your dog as a treat sometimes. This can be a cheap alternative to expensive dog treats available in the market, and your dog may even end up loving you for rewarding it for its good behavior. But remember, do not overfeed bread to your German Shepherd.
Is it safe to give Bread to my German Shepherd?
After getting the answer, you might be wondering, “Okay, but is it safe to feed bread to my German Shepherd?” The answer to this is not all black and white, and we will explain it to you in detail. We established that white bread or wheat bread is, indeed, safe for your dog, but other types of bread may prove to be harmful.
Even though German Shepherds may not be affected by bread itself, there are certain ingredients that they may be allergic to, and you should watch out for these ingredients. The list below explains what ingredients might be hidden in your bread and how they might harm your four-legged friend’s health.
- Nuts: All nuts may not be toxic, but most nuts have a very high-fat content. This can result in your dog getting obese or facing pancreatic issues. Additionally, if salted nuts are used in the bread, it can create water retention and other problems in your dog’s body. If nuts like peanuts and pistachios are added as a whole, they may even be a choking hazard for your dog. Some types of bread might contain macadamia nuts, which are serious toxins for your dog, so you should check the ingredients beforehand.
- Onions/Garlic or other aromatics: Some types of Bread, like focaccia, might contain onions and garlic. These are from the allium family, and all the allium family members are toxic for German Shepherds. These can cause anemia (which kills one’s red blood cells). So if you have some leftover focaccia, please don’t feed it to your dogs.
- Raisin: These can result in kidney failure in dogs and may even lead to fatalities. If your dog ends up consuming Bread which had raisin content, it may experience lethargy, digestion problems, bad breath, shivering, and many other fatal symptoms. So never feed your dogs with bread that contains raisins.
- Chocolate: Babka bread is a type of white Bread that has swirls of chocolate in it; if you feed your leftover Babka bread to your dog, it may end up in chronic health issues. This is because chocolate is severely poisonous for dogs, and dogs cannot digest it.
- Yeast: Yeast is one of the active ingredients in bread making; giving your dog raw yeast or raw bread dough can have severe implications on its health. So avoid feeding your dog raw bread dough to save it from any discomfort.
How much Bread should I feed to my German Shepherd?
Learning about whether bread is safe or not and what type of Bread you should avoid giving to your dog may have sparked another thought in your brain; then how much bread should you give to your German Shepherd? The answer to that is, it should be fed in moderation but this is a little bit vague, so we’re just going to take this opportunity to explain the exact amount that will be the safest.
One slice of plain white bread a day or a bite from your sandwich will not be harmful to your dogs. It might be a yummy snack for your dog between meals, so you can work on your things and not deal with a cranky dog. The less the amount, the better it is because excessive bread consumption may lead your dog on the path to obesity, which can be harmful. So treat your furry friend with bread now and then but always remember to be moderate.
Can bread help my sick German Shepherd?
Sometimes your dog can get ill due to minor stomach issues or an upset stomach, or indigestion. In this case, if the dog has eaten something acidic or some indigestible food, then bread can help absorb the acid and let the food pass smoothly through the gastrointestinal tract. This has been the case for many humans, so we assume that bread may help sick dogs in the same way.
German Shepherds are huge dogs, and they are likely to chew on bones a lot. Sometimes your dog may over-chew the bone and end up swallowing the sharp edges of the bone. In this case, you can use bread to help pass the sharp edges of the bone through the dog’s gastrointestinal tract so that its system can process the bones and digest them. This proves effective because the bread acts as a casing around the sharp food.
Lastly, if your dog has swallowed a string or threat-like substance and it gets stuck along its digestive system, you can again use bread to help it pass easily. Bread also contains a good amount of dietary fibers, which can help with the bowel movement of your dog.
Is Yeast, the main ingredient in most pieces of Bread, safe for my German Shepherd?
The answer is; NO. Yeast, when consumed as it is or through the raw dough, can be a very severe life-threatening toxin for dogs. Yeast thrives in warm, moist settings, making your dog’s stomach the ideal environment for its growth. When a German Shepherd consumes yeast, the growth makes the dog vulnerable to bloating, a mortal illness that develops rather quickly.
When German Shepherds experience bloating, their stomachs fill up with gas that they are unable to get rid of. As the gas pressure rises, the stomach grows, and they may face conditions like decreased blood flow, stomach lining rupture, cardiovascular system injury, and increased pressure on the diaphragm, making them unable to breathe properly.
Eating yeast can also cause alcohol toxicity in German Shepherds. Yeast creates ethanol during the fermentation process, which then makes it was into the dog’s bloodstream, and it leads to severe problems which could prove to be fatal for your German Shepherd. If you know that your dog has eaten raw bread dough or yeast, immediately take them to the emergency section of a hospital to try and extract any yeast contents from their body.
Which types of Bread are 100% safe for my German Shepherd?
Due to the different ingredients that different types of Bread contain, you may have to be super careful before feeding your dog bread. Here are a few types of bread which are completely safe for you German Shepherd to consume:
- Plain White Bread: This does not include any nuts or toxins that might be harmful to a German Shepherd. It contains yeast, but the yeast dies during the baking process, so white Bread may not be a health hazard for your dogs. Secondly, it does not have any chocolate either, so that it will be one of the best types of bread for your dog.
- Whole grain bread: This, similar to white bread, does not include any toxins that might harm your dog. Additionally, whole grain bread has a good amount of fiber which may aid in digestion for your dog and help it fight many health concerns.
- Potato buns: Potato buns include potato starch, boiled potatoes, flour, and water. All of the above ingredients are safe for your dogs, so this type of bread is highly suitable for German Shepherds.
To conclude, as we explained earlier, you can feed your German Shepherd any bread which does not have ingredients that are toxic for dogs. So whatever type you choose, make sure always to have a look at the ingredients list at the back before you offer it to your dog.
Can I feed leftover bread dough to my German Shepherd?
NO! Yeast, a major ingredient in raw bread dough, is highly poisonous for dogs due to the aforementioned reasons. Hence it is a very simple answer that you should never feed leftover bread dough to your German Shepherd. Now you might be wondering, what would happen if I end up feeding it to my dog? Here’s a list of what could happen:
- Extreme bloating: the medical term for this is gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV). It is a serious condition and one which may end up taking your Shepherd’s life if not treated immediately. This is when the yeast starts fermenting in the dog’s body and ends up enlarging its stomach through bloating.
- Drooling: Due to the consumption of yeast, dogs could feel extreme discomfort in their stomach and start to drool a lot. This could lead to dehydration, and your dog may get severely ill. So it is always best to keep your German Shepherd away from yeast consumption.
- Anxiety: Due to the fatal condition that the German Shepherd gets in, it might experience severe stress shocks or even heart attacks.
- Attempts to vomit: Your German Shepherd may want to relieve itself of some pain by attempting to vomit repeatedly. However, it might not be able to do so because it is very difficult for the dog’s body to automatically throw out so much of the yeast that was consumed.
Can I feed my German Shepherd my leftover bread sandwiches?
Yes, you can. Especially if the sandwiches are made of meat, your dog will enjoy the sandwich a lot as a treat. Bread sandwiches made with butter, cheese, meat, potatoes, and some fruits, etc., are safe for your German Shepherd to consume and may even provide some nutrients to your pet.
However, before giving leftover Bread to your German Shepherd, you should make sure that there is no fungus on it. Fungus is a toxin for almost all mammals, which makes it a toxin for German Shepherds too. If you mistakenly feed molded bread to your dog, the poor little fellow may get sick with symptoms including vomiting, fever, seizures, and severe poisoning.
Conclusion
Before feeding your dog anything other than its regular diet, remember that its body does not function like a human body. Some foods that you may consider to be your staples might be toxic for your dog. On this note, even though bread is a safe option of food to give to your dog, you may want to control the amount that you are giving to prevent your dog from getting obese.
There are certain ingredients that you should always watch out for. Lastly, treat your German Shepherds with affection and do not feed them all the leftovers in the house because some leftovers, like bread dough, may prove to be poisonous. Let your German Shepherds enjoy bread in a way that it does no harm when it is doing little good to them.
