Can Dogs Eat Bread? » Trusty Paw Pal

So the big question is, can dogs eat bread? Yes, they can eat bread, but is all bread good for dogs, no! Continue reading to find out…

What Types of Bread Can Dogs Eat?

Dogs can eat plain white or brown bread, both of which have been determined not to cause any stomach upsets. And while you can feed the above types of bread to your dog as treats, be sure to provide the necessary balanced diet, which includes water, and engage the dog in exercises.

What Type of Breads Can Dogs Not Eat?

Breads that contain onion seeds, garlic, raisins, xylitol, nuts and seeds, as well as various other additional ingredients that have been added to plain bread. The safest bread to give to your dog is plain white or brown bread, as it has been tried and tested.

Alternative Healthy Treats For Your Dogs

Watermelon – This fruit is highly nutritious when used as a treat for dogs, as it will provide them with potassium, vitamin A, B6, and C. However, dog owners should ensure to get rid of the rind because it has been found to cause gastrointestinal upset.
Apples – Apples will help freshen your dog’s breath but that does not mean that you abscond brushing its teeth, though it also helps keep the dog’s teeth clean. Apples provide your dog with vitamin A and C nutrients complete with dietary fiber. And just like removing the watermelon rind for the apple be sure to get rid of the core and the seeds before feeding it to your dog.
Green peas – Contains vitamins and minerals that help the dog with vision, digestion, immune system, skin, heart, and nerves. The green peas have also been determined to be a good source of zinc, potassium, iron, magnesium, and fiber, and to be more specific is that they are high in vitamin K, A, and various B vitamins.
Bananas – Help enhance your dog’s overall health, they are, therefore, packed with the vitamin B6, manganese, copper, potassium, biotin, and vitamin C. So, while bananas are highly nutritious they should only be fed ½ of the banana once a day. And if you have smaller dogs, they can be fed up to three small pieces in one day.
Carrots – Apart from being the best source for potassium, and vitamin B, carrots are the perfect edible chew toys for your dogs, which can help improve your dog’s dental health.

Can Treats Substitute Dog’s Main Meal?

Treats play a special role, which is training; other people give dogs treats as a form of training, or to reward good dog behavior. So, for as much as treats are nutritious, they can never supplement the proper meals but should, however, be taken as part of the daily food ration. The above then means that the quantity of food given during mealtimes should be reduced.

What’s more is that most dog owners are familiar with the notorious dog character of chewing, away into some of the household items, the reason why treats are introduced as they help redirect the chewing activities, from the household items.

What is The Best Time to Give Dog Treats?

Given that we have mentioned that you can give your dog treats and which should also account for the daily food ration, it might be confusing as to what is the best time to give your dog the treats. Treats are given to dogs for various reasons; you, however, must ensure that they are not given before or immediately after a meal because the dog will not be able to decipher anything whether it is a reward for good behavior or for training.

If you are training your dog using the treats, ensure that you save the best for last when the dog is visibly losing interest in the training exercise.

Factors to Consider When Getting Treats For Your Dogs

Ingredients – Treats should add nutritional value to your dog’s health, you will, therefore, find that some taste good, but are low in vitamins and nutrients. Remember also, that some treats are culprits to weight gain, more especially the white bread.

The textures of the treat – Chewy treats are used to help your dog strengthen its dental formula, but you should also consider their texture because some of them have the potential to break your dog’s teeth.

Size of the treat – Don’t challenge your dog into handling treats that don’t correlate with its size, because it will easily lose interest and probably not eat the treat.

The purpose of the treat – Consider what you seek to achieve with the treats, if you are looking to enhance a dog’s dental health, then you need to get the dental chews but if you are getting the treats for training. Then you need to get the small tasty treats, which will motivate them to work harder.