Bread
CautionA slice of plain bread rarely hurts a dog, but it is filler calories with no nutrition. The real dangers are raisin bread, sugar-free bakery goods sweetened with xylitol, garlic bread, and above all raw yeast dough.
This food guide has not been reviewed by a veterinarian. It summarises general information from sources and should not be used to decide whether a food is suitable for an individual dog or to assess an emergency.
Check before feeding
Check the precautions before sharing
Risk depends on preparation, ingredients or amount. Read the precautions below; body weight alone cannot establish a safe portion.
Signs and health concerns
This list includes both observable signs and conditions identified through examination or testing. It cannot establish the cause or whether an exposure is safe.
- Vomiting
- Diarrhoea
- Excess gas
- Abdominal pain
- Weight gain
- Itching
More about this food
The AKC's position on bread is that plain white and wheat bread are generally safe for dogs that have no allergies, and that a slice now and then will not hurt a dog otherwise eating a complete and balanced diet. It also says bread is essentially a filler food that adds no nutrients the dog's food does not already supply. So bread is not dangerous so much as pointless: a slice of sandwich bread runs roughly 80-100 calories, which is close to a third of the daily budget for a 10 lb dog. Keep all treats inside 10% of daily calories.
The risk lives in which bread, not in bread. Raisin bread and raisin-studded baked goods come first, because grapes and raisins cause acute kidney injury in dogs and even a few can matter. Second, sugar-free and keto bakery items sweetened with xylitol: Merck puts hypoglycemia above roughly 100 mg/kg and hepatic failure above 500 mg/kg. Third, garlic bread, which the AKC warns can cause abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, weakness and collapse. Fourth, nut breads such as banana-walnut, where high-fat nuts and seeds bring stomach irritation and pancreatitis, and where nutmeg often rides along.
The genuine emergency is raw yeast dough left to rise on the counter. Merck describes the dog's warm, moist stomach as an efficient incubator for yeast: the dough keeps expanding while ethanol is absorbed into the bloodstream, and death more often follows the metabolic effects of the ethanol than the distension itself. Ataxia, disorientation, weakness, hypothermia and seizures make this an emergency-clinic problem tonight.
Some dogs simply do not tolerate wheat. VCA lists wheat gluten among the most common canine food allergens. If bread is followed by itchy skin, paws and ears or chronic soft stool, talk to your vet about an elimination diet trial rather than swapping bread brands.
What to do now depends on what was in it. For plain bread, offer water and watch. For anything with raisins, xylitol, garlic or nuts, call your veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 without waiting for signs. For raw dough, go to an emergency clinic. Do not induce vomiting at home in any of these cases.
Frequently asked questions
- My dog stole a slice of sandwich bread. Should I worry?
- A plain slice is usually a non-event. Offer water and watch. Check the bag first, though, for raisins, nuts or a sugar-free label, because any of those changes the answer and warrants a call to your vet.
- He ate raw bread dough that was rising. What do I do?
- Treat it as an emergency and go now. The dough keeps expanding in the stomach and ferments into ethanol, and dogs die from the alcohol more often than from the distension. Do not try to make him vomit at home.
- Can I give a little bread every day since he loves it?
- Better not. Bread adds calories without adding anything his food lacks, and a single slice is close to a third of a small dog's daily calories. Daily bread means weight gain and less appetite for balanced food.