Can we give bread to a dog?

The owners sometimes give bread to their dog to please them, to keep them occupied, so that they bite their teeth … But bread can be responsible for weight gain and digestive disorders and it has no positive effect on oral hygiene. What can we replace bread with?

Why is it not recommended to give bread to dogs?

Owners often try to give their own food to their dogs like bread.

Fresh bread can be given to dogs if they ask their owners for it (as a treat). Hard bread can be given to keep the dogs busy, for the puppies to bite their teeth and to have an abrasive action on the teeth.

This is however not recommended for several reasons:

• The bread just like the cookies and cakes we eat are too high in calories for dogs. They promote weight gain and overweight.
• Food gaps can also be responsible for digestive disorders like diarrhea. Indeed, the intestinal microbiota of dogs, also called digestive flora, is sensitive to sudden changes in diet.
• Hard bread has a limited abrasive action on the teeth, so it is not not beneficial for oral hygiene.

Beware of bread dough which is toxic to dogs because of the baker’s yeast it contains. For more information, we invite you to read our fact sheet on the subject.

What can we replace bread with?

If you want to please your dog, we advise you to choose treats specially designed for dogs. Their composition is adapted to the needs of dogs. The risk of digestive disorders linked to treats is therefore limited. Treats should be distributed in reasonable quantities to prevent dogs from gaining weight.

If you want to occupy your dog, do not hesitate to offer him an educational toy, it will keep him occupied for a long time and will make his cognitive functions work. Cognitive spending is just as important as physical spending for the well-being of dogs. It is also possible to offer him a toy or a chewing treat.

Puppies have significant chewing needs, especially when they change their teeth between 4 and 7 months old. Chew toys and chew bones will also be very helpful during this time to meet their chewing needs.

For good oral hygiene, it is best to choose chewable strips that promote good oral hygiene. It is also possible to brush the teeth of his dog, to add an oral solution to his drinking water, to add a powder for oral hygiene to his food, etc … Do not hesitate to read our file on the maintenance of the dog’s mouth for more details.